social influence Flashcards
What is compliance in the context of conformity?
Behaviour/attitudes are changed publicly but not privately.
Define identification as a type of conformity.
A person changes their behaviour and beliefs, but only while they are in the presence of the group they are identifying with.
What does internalisation mean in terms of conformity?
A person changes their behaviour and beliefs both publicly and privately. This is when a true change occurs.
What did Asch’s (1951) study find regarding conformity?
Many participants went along with wrong answers to avoid disapproval from the rest of the group, supporting normative social influence (NSI).
What did Jenness (1932) demonstrate in his study?
Participants moved closer to a group estimate rather than an individual one when estimating the number of beans in a jar, supporting informational social influence (ISI).
What are ‘nAffiliators’ in the context of conformity?
Someone who tends to please others and conforms due to normative social influence (NSI).
What is normative social influence?
Conforming to be accepted or belong to a group; the desire to be liked.
Define informative social influence.
Conforming to gain knowledge or because they believe that someone else is ‘right’; the desire to be right.
What was the aim of Zimbardo’s research into conformity to social roles in 1973?
To examine whether people conform to the social roles.
What method did Zimbardo use in his study?
Participants were randomly assigned to the role of prisoner or guard in a mock prison environment.
What were the results of Zimbardo’s study?
Prisoners and guards quickly identified with their social roles, leading to abusive behavior from guards and rebellion from prisoners.
What ethical issues were raised in Zimbardo’s study?
The study was unethical due to physical and mental torment experienced by participants.
What was the conclusion drawn from Zimbardo’s research?
The study has implications for understanding why riots and violence occur in prisons and why some people conform to roles.
What did Reicher and Haslam (2006) find in their replication of Zimbardo’s study?
The guards did not identify with their status and refused to impose their authority.
What was the aim of Asch’s study in 1951?
To examine how social pressure to conform from a unanimous majority affects conformity in an unambiguous situation.
What was a significant finding regarding conformity rates in Asch’s study?
On average, real participants conformed to incorrect answers on 32% of the critical trials.
What were the effects of group size on conformity according to Asch’s findings?
Conformity increased with group size up to three confederates, after which further increases had less effect.
What happens to conformity when there is a dissenter present?
Conformity dropped to 5% when there was a dissenter among the confederates.
How does task difficulty affect conformity?
When the task was made harder, conformity increased.
What is the impact of anonymity on conformity?
When answers were given anonymously (written down), conformity decreased.
What are situational factors affecting obedience?
External factors such as proximity, location, and uniform.
What did Milgram’s original study aim to investigate?
Whether ordinary people would obey an unjust order from an authority figure and inflict pain on an innocent person.
What was the percentage of participants who reached 450 volts in Milgram’s study?
65% of participants reached 450 volts.
How did proximity affect obedience in Milgram’s study?
Obedience decreased when the teacher and learner were in the same room (to 40%) and further dropped to 20% when instructions were given over the phone.
What did Bickman’s (1974) research support?
The role of uniform in increasing obedience.
What is the authoritarian personality?
A personality type characterized by extreme respect for authority and higher levels of obedience.
What did Elms and Milgram (1966) investigate?
Whether obedient participants in Milgram’s research were more likely to display authoritarian personality traits.
What was Adorno et al.’s (1950) aim in their research?
To investigate unconscious views towards other racial groups.
What did Oliner & Oliner (1998) find regarding locus of control?
Non-Jewish survivors of WWII who resisted orders were more likely to have a high internal locus of control.
What is social support in the context of resisting social influence?
Having an ally or someone else who resists conformity or obedience, increasing confidence and decreasing fear of ridicule.
What is an internal locus of control?
The belief that what happens in life is the result of one’s own behavior, leading to greater independence and resistance to social influence.
What is the significance of consistency in minority influence?
When minority groups say the same thing over time (diachronic) and as each other (synchronic), they are more influential.
List the three factors that make a minority influential.
- Consistency
- Commitment
- Flexibility
What is the snowball effect in the context of social change?
The process where the minority grows to become the majority.
What is social cryptoamnesia?
Not recalling how a change happened.
