social Influence Flashcards
briefly outline and evaluate normative social influence as an explanation for conformity.
- when an individual agrees and conforms with the majority to gain approval and as desire to fit in.
leads to compliance in which they publicly agree but their internal beliefs remain unchanged. - e.g Asch study, participants said they conformed to avoid rejection.
however there are other explanations of this such as ISI.
briefly explain two ways in which psychologists might address ethical issues.
participants should be given right to withdraw throughout study however this is made difficult.
informed consent should be obtained by informing them of the role they will be playing however there is possible deception so full consent cannot be obtained.
what is meant by internalisation?
a change in individuals behaviour and internal beliefs for conform with the majority of the group and it is a permanent change as you continue to have this belief even when not in presence of the group.
what is meant by compliance?
a change in individuals behaviour to conform with that of a group, but only in the presence of the group to gain approval of them (favourable reaction) so private beliefs remain unchanged - links to NSI.
Marcus wants to persuade his friends to go travelling in summer but rest pf group want to go on beach holiday - suggest three behaviours to persuade his friends on holiday.
commitment - by explaining how he is working hard/taking time to organise the trip and saving money.
consistency - kept on repeating the same message of wanting to go travelling and it will be great.
flexibility - by listening to others and agreeing to go on beach holiday at the end of travelling.
referring to research into obedience explain three reasons why instructors advice should be effective (6)
- presence of uniform shows there is legitimate authority, like in milgrims exp where experimenter wore lab coat.
- proximity, standing close means people more likely to follow instructions, like in milgrims exp authority figure was in same room so more effective.
- location, use of instructors office shows legitimate authority, like milgrims exp where Yale was more likely to result in obedience than run down office.
describe two ethical issues that can be illustrated by milgrims research.
deception - milgrim deceived participants into thinking the shocks given were real.
harm - participants may have suffered from distress when taking part in this study.
explain a way of dealing with an ethical issue.
deception could be dealt with by debriefing with them - would have explain the necessity to deceive them and reassure them.
using your knowledge of how people resist pressures to obey, explain why you are less likely to obey the nurse outside of the hospital.
legitimacy of authority may not be recognised as there is no uniform.
the location may not be legitimate for the nurse to give an order to obey to.
outline one advantage and one limitation of conducting obedience research outside a laboratory setting.
advantage - high in ecological validity, so results can be generalised.
limitation - lack of control of confounding variables, so other factors could influence the outcome.
explain what is meant by locus of control.
an individuals perception of control they have over their own behaviour and events that happen in their life.
this is measured on a scale with internal locus control at one end and external locus control at the other.
internal control refers to people who see as having personal control over their lives and the outcomes of their actions. external control refers to those who believe their behaviour is controlled by external factors such as luck or fate.
using your knowledge of locus of control, identify which boy is most likely to resist the social influence of his friends - explain why.
Daniel as he an internal locus of control - meaning he is less likely to conform with the group and their opinions and he will not seek social approval as much as someone with an external locus of control would.
explain how Tom’s refusal to take part might affect Daniel and Matthew’s ability to resist social influence.
Tom acts as a social support meaning it increases their ability to resist the social influence - however Tom is more likely to affect Matthew than Daniel as Matthew has an external locus of control while Daniel has an internal locus of control.
what are the implications for social change of research into social influence? (6)
- minorities contribute to social influence by being consistent, flexible and showing commitment - through snowball effect, minority becomes majority.
- the influence of obedience e.g changes in law which make a certain behaviour more of a social norm makes it more likely for others to adopt.
- definitions of commitment, consistency and flexibility.
- theories linked to minority influence e.g snowball effect.
describe how social influence research has contributed to our understanding of social change (6)
- social change occurs when individuals change the way majority thinks or acts e.g civil rights movement.
social influence research helps us to understand how it’s possible to change peoples behaviour - e.g persuade people to eat more healthy - with reference to this example, explain how psychology might affect the economy.
- social influence research tells us how behaviour/attitudes can be changed e.g how minority influence can be exerted.
- in this case, the result of people eating more healthily means they should be and stay healthy.
- economic implication: saves health service as less are off work sick.
