Social Influence 2

Question 1

What is the definition of conformity?

Answer 1

The tendency to adopt the behaviour, attitudes and values of other members of a group as a result of a real or imagined pressure to do so - Zimbardo (1995).

Question 2

What are the three types of conformity?

Answer 2

Compliance, internalisation and identification.

Question 3

What is compliance?

Answer 3

The weakest level of conformity. Individuals adjust their behaviour because the seek approval. Public (not private) conformity, only shown in the presence of a group.

Question 4

What is an example of compliance?

Answer 4

Claiming to support a certain football team because many of your friends do and you do not want to be ridiculed by them.

Question 5

What is identification?

Answer 5

A modified level of conformity. Confirming to seek approval from other members of a group because you value that group. Involves public and private conformity, but is only temporary because it is not maintained when an individual leaves the group.

Question 6

What is an example of identification?

Answer 6

Soldiers in the army adopt the behaviour of fellow soldiers, but when leaving the army for civilian live, new behaviour later and opinions will be adopted.

Question 7

What is internalisation?

Answer 7

The deepest level of conformity. It is public and private m, and it is permanent, even in the absence of a group.

Question 8

What is an example of internalisation?

Answer 8

Becoming a vegetarian because your roommate is a vegetarian.

Question 9

What are the of the explanations for conformity?

Answer 9

ISI - informational social influence.

NSI - normative social influence.

Question 10

What is ISI?

Answer 10

Informational social influence - the desire and need to be ‘right’. Looking to others for guidance in how to be correct.

Question 11

What is NSI?

Answer 11

Normative social influence - a motivational force to be liked and accepted by a group, the desire and need to be ‘liked’.

Question 12

Why kind of social influence was Asch (1951) line judgment experiment testing?

Answer 12

Normative social influence.

Question 13

What was the aim of Asch (1951) line judgement experiments?

Answer 13

To investigate the degree to which individuals would create conform to a majority who gave obviously wrong answers.

Question 14

What was the procedure of Asch’d (1951) line judgement experiment?

Answer 14

123 American males took part in an experiment which they thought would be about visual perception. Each real participants was put in to a group with between 7 and 9 participants (confederates). There were two cards: a standard card and a comparison card. The standard card has 1 line, and the comparison card had 3 lines labelled A, B and C. The participants were asked to say which line, A, B and C, was the same as the line on the standard card. There were 18 trails, and in 12 of them, all the confederates gave identical wrong answers, and the naive participants gave their answers last or last but one.

Question 15

What were the findings of Asch’s (1951) line judgement experiment?

Answer 15

Participants gave the wrong answer 37% of the time, and 75% of all participants conformed at least once. 5% of participants conformed to all 12 wrong answers.

Question 16

After Asch’s (1951) line judgement experiment, what did participants admit to?

Answer 16

The fact that they know they were wrong but did not want the other participants to disapprove of them.

Question 17

What were the negatives of Asch’s (1951) line judgement experiment?

Answer 17

• Low ecological validity.
• Low population validity.
• Not ethical because participants were deceived.

Question 18

What were the positives of Asch’s (1951) line judgement experiment?

Answer 18

+It is reliable because it was done in a laboratory setting so all control variables were controlled.

Question 19

What were the findings and conclusion of Lucas’ (2006) per conformity in maths experiment?

Answer 19

He found that participants were more likely to conform when faced with a harder maths problem, especially those participants who doubted their mathematical ability. He concluded that people look to others when in an unknown situation for guidance as to what the right answer is.

Question 20

What was Sherif’s auto kinetic effect experiment? (1935).

Answer 20

A small spot of light in a dark room is projected on to a screen and it appears to move, but is an optical illusion. He found that when alone, the estimates for how far the light travelled varied, but when in a group, estimates converged to a common estimate.

Question 21

Where were the three situational variables used in Asch’s (1951) experiment?

Answer 21

Group size, presence of an ally and task difficulty.

Question 22

How does group size affect conformity?

Answer 22

When the task was undertaken with a larger majority l, conformity rates increased up to a certain point.

Question 23

How does presence of an ally affect conformity?

Answer 23

Presence of an ally decreases conformity rates.

Question 24

How does task difficulty affect conformity?

Answer 24

Conformity rates are higher when the task difficulty is higher (ISI is the dominant force).

Question 25

What are three factors which decrease conformity (from Asch’s 1951 line judgement experiment)?

Answer 25

Writing down answers rather than saying the aloud, a non-unanimous majority, and having an ally.

Question 26

What did Zimbardo (1973) want to find out?

Answer 26

Whether brutality reported among guards in American prisons was due to sadistic personalities, or whether these were ‘ordinary’ people and the brutality had more to do with the prison environment.

Question 27

What did Zimbardo do in his prison experiment?

Answer 27

Selected 21 students (the most physical and mentally stable, free and criminal tenderness) and made 11 prisoners, 11 guards and payed them 15 dollars a day. He observed how they acted.

Question 28

What were the findings of Zimbardo’s (1973) prison experiment?

Answer 28

Guards were aggressive and unfair to prisoners. Prisoners became stressed, anxious and depressed (the study was stopped early because it was getting out of hand).

Question 29

What were the conclusions of Zimbardo’s prison experiment?

Answer 29

Brutality among guards was not due to sadistic personalities, but due to the prison experiment.

Question 30

What is the definition of obedience?

Answer 30

A different form of social influence where the source of influence comes from a direct order from someone of perceived authority e.g. policeman.

Question 31

Where does the motivation to obey come from?

Answer 31

Fear of punishment and/or the belief in a legitimate authority.

Question 32

What was the aim of Milgram’s (1963) research?

Answer 32

To investigate whether people obey and suspend their own moral judgement and follow authority orders.

Question 33

What was he procedure of Milgram’s (1963) electric shock experiment?

Answer 33

Participants were told they were taking part in an investigation as to how punishment into the room at a time and ‘randomly’ selected one to be the student (actually a confederate) and one to be the teacher. The teacher had to ask the student questions, and for each wrong answer the teacher had to deliver an electric shock to the student. The electric shocks ranged from 15v to 450v, and with each wrong answer the teacher gave, the intensity increased. Before the investigation began, the doctor reassured the teacher that the shocks do not actually damage, they just cause pain. The teacher also told the student they were worried because they have a heart problem.

Question 34

What were the findings of Milgram’s (1963) experiment?

Answer 34

100% of participants went to 300v and 65% went to 450v. Participants became very distressed.

Question 35

What are the positives of Milgram’s (1963) electric shock experiment?

Answer 35

2/3 of the people said they were actually pleased to have taken part.
It disproved the ‘german’s are different’ hypothesis, because this study was done with Americans.

Question 36

What are the negatives of Milgram’s (1963) electric shock experiment?

Answer 36

The participants were lied to and deceived - lack of informed consent.
Participants were given no true right to withdraw.

Question 37

What was the study to support Milgram’s methodology?

Answer 37

Hofling et al (1966) showed that obedience is just as likely in a real life situation. He got doctors to ring up nurses and tell them to give the patient a lethal does of medicine. The nurse knew the does would be lethal but did so anyway.