Social Influence

Question 1

Conformity definition

Answer 1

A change in a persons behaviour opinions as a result of real or imagined pressure from a person or group of people (i.e. a majority)

Question 2

Internalisation Definition

Answer 2

Deep type of conformity where we take on the majority view because we accept it as correct.
Leads to a permanent change, even when the group is absent.

Question 3

Compliance Definition

Answer 3

Superficial and temporary type of conformity where we outwardly go along with the group but privately disagree.
Only lasts as long as you’re with the group.

Question 4

Identification Definition

Answer 4

Moderate type of conformity where we act in the same way as a group because we value it and want to be a part of it.
Don’t necessarily agree with everything the majority believes.

Question 5

Types of conformity

Answer 5

Identification
Compliance
Internalisation

Question 6

Explanations for conformity

Answer 6

Informational social influence

Normative social influence

Question 7

What is informational social influence?

What type of conformity may it lead to?

Answer 7

Explanation of conformity that says we go along with the opinion of the majority because we believe it as correct.
May lead to internalisation

Question 8

What is normative social influence?

What type of conformity may it lead to?

Answer 8

An explanation for conformity that says we agree with the opinion of the majority because we want to be accepted/gain social approval/be liked.
May lead to compliance.

Question 9

Research support for ISI?

Answer 9

Lucas et al. (2006) asked students to give answers to mathematical problems that ranged in difficulty. There was greater conformity to incorrect answers when they were difficult rather than when they were easier.
Most true for students when their maths ability is poor.
This shows people conform in situations where they feel unsure of an answer, we look to others and assume they know better than us and must be right.

Question 10

Individual differences in NSI (evaluation)

Answer 10

Some research that shows NSI does not affect everybody in the same way. nAffiliators (those less concerned about being liked) are less affected by NSI. Those who have a greater need for affiliation are more likely to conform.
This shows that there are individual differences in the way people respond.

Question 11

Brief outline of Asch’s procedure

Answer 11

Tested conformity by showing two white cards, one with a standard line, one with comparison lines. Ppts had to say which of the comparison lines was the same length as the standard line.
The other 2 lines were clearly wrong.
123 male undergrad students
Each ppt tested with 6-8 confederates

Question 12

Asch’s findings

Answer 12

75% of ppts conformed at least once, 25% did not conform at all.
Naïve participant gave the wrong answer 36.8% of the time.

Question 13

Asch’s variations, 3

Answer 13

Group size
Unanimity
Task difficulty

Question 14

How did Asch’s investigate the effect of group size?

What was the optimum number of participants?

Answer 14

He increased the number of confederates until there was no change in conformity of participants.
The conformity rose up to 3 confederates (36.8%), after this the addition of anymore confederates did not produce an increase in conformity.

Question 15

How did Asch investigate the effect of unanimity?

Why did the introduction of a d——- affect conformity and how?

Answer 15

Asch added a dissenter (non-conforming person). The dissenter sometimes gave the wrong answer, sometimes gave the correct one, but never the same as the other confederates.
The introduction of a dissenter reduced conformity as they enabled the naïve participant to behave more independently.

Question 16

How did Asch investigate the effect of task difficulty on conformity?
What effect did task difficulty have on conformity?

Answer 16

Asch made the task more difficult to see if conformity would increase.
The more difficult the task, the more conformity there was. This suggests ISI plays a greater role as the participant has to look for guidance from the participants.

Question 17

Evaluation of Asch

Answer 17

• Child of its time- repeated in U.K. with engineering students- only 1 ppt conformed- 1950s especially conformist time- Asch effect not consistent across time
• Artificial situation and task-demand characteristics- trivial task- no reason to conform- groups not groupy- findings do not generalise
• Limited application of findings- only men tested, gender bias- US, individualist culture; may be increased conformity in collectivist culture

Question 18

Social roles definition

Answer 18

The ‘parts’ people play as members of various social groups. i.e. parent, child, student, passenger etc.
There are expectations of what is appropriate behaviour in each role.

Question 19

Outline of Zimbardo’s procedure

Answer 19

Set up a mock prison in the basement of the psychology department at Stanford university.
Advertised for students willing to volunteer. Determined who was emotionally stable by extensive psychological testing.
Students were randomly assigned the role of either guard or prisoner.
Prisoners arrested at their homes, blindfolded, strip-searched, and issued a uniform and number.

Question 20

Zimbardo’s findings

Answer 20

Slow start, guards took up their roles with enthusiasm. Guards’ behaviour began to become a threat to the prisoners’ psychological and physical health.
Prisoners rebelled, guards retaliated with fire extinguishers. Guards harassed the prisoners constantly, and highlighted the difference in roles by enforcing rules whenever they could.
Prisoners became subdued, depressed and anxious.
One prisoner released due to psychological disturbance, one prisoner went on hunger strike.

Question 21

Zimbardo’s conclusions

Answer 21

The simulation showed the power of the situation to influence behaviour. All participants conformed. Even volunteers who came in, such as the prison chaplain, found themselves acting as if they were in a prison rather than a study.

Question 22

Zimbardo evaluation (control over variables and lack of realism)

Answer 22

-Control over variables, i.e. the selection of participants, emotionally stable individuals were chosen, and randomly assigned roles to reduce personality differences as an explanation of the findings.
Control over variables gives increased internal validity to the findings.
-Lack of realism- guards acting based on film characters and stereotypes, rather than genuinely conforming to a role, Zimbardo argued that the situation was real to ppts as 90% of prison convos were about prison life, giving high internal validity.

Question 23

Zimbardo evaluation (role of dispositional influences)

Answer 23

-Role of dispositional influences- Fromm accused Zimbardo of exaggerating the power of the situation and minimising the role of personality factors, only a third acted brutally, a third applied rules fairly and the other third tried to help and support prisoners. This suggests Zimbardo’s conclusion may be over-stated, because the differences in guards’ behaviour indicates that they were able to exercise right and wrong choices, despite situational pressures to conform.

Question 24

Obedience definition

Answer 24

A form of social influence in which an individual follows a direct order. The person issuing the order is usually a figure of authority, who has the power to punish when obedient behaviour is not forthcoming.

Question 25

Milgram’s procedure

Answer 25

40 male participants found through newspaper adverts- ppts thought the study was about memory. Ppts aged 20-50, with jobs ranging from unskilled to professional. Ppts paid to take part. Rigged draw for role, ppt always teacher, ‘mr wallace’ always learner. Ppts told they could leave the study at any time.
Learner strapped to a chair in another room and wired with electrodes. Teacher gave increasing severe shock, when learner got answer wrong for word pair task. ‘Mr Wallace’ had heart issues. at 300v mr Wallace pounded on the wall and then did not respond. at 315v the learner pounded on the wall again, no response after this.

Question 26

What were the 4 prods given by the researcher?

Answer 26

1. Please go on
2. The experiment requires that you continue.
3. It is absolutely essential that you continue.
4. You have no other choice, you must go on.

Question 27

Milgram’s findings

Answer 27

No ppts stopped below 300v. 12.5% stopped at 300v. 65% continued to the highest level of 450v.
Ppts were sweating, trembling, stuttering, biting their lips, groaning and digging their findernails into their hands.
All ppts were debriefed, and assured behaviour was normal. 84% reported that they were glad to have participated.

Question 28

Milgram evaluation (Low internal validity)

Answer 28

Low internal validity- Orne and Holland (1968) argued that participants behaved the way they did because they didn’t believe the set up- they guessed the electric shocks weren’t real. So therefore, milgram was not testing what he intended to.
However, Sheridan and King (1972) conducted a similar study in which real shocks were given to a puppy. 54% of male ppts, and 100% of female ppts went to what they believed was a fatal shock.

Question 29

Milgram Evaluation (Good external validity)

Answer 29

May appear to lack external validity, but the central feature was the relationship between experimenter and ppt. Milgram argued that this accurately reflected wider authority relationships. Hofling et al. studied nurses in a ward and found that levels of obedience to unjustified demands was very high (21/22). Suggests that processes of obedience shown in Milgram’s study can be generalised to other situations.

Question 30

Milgram Evaluation (Ethical issues)

Answer 30

Deception- ppts deceived about true purpose, therefore could not give fully informed consent. They believed their role had been chosen randomly, but it was infact rigged. Ppts were also told that the electric shocks were real.
Protection from harm- Ppts were visibly distressed

Question 31

Milgram situational variables

Answer 31

Proximity
Location
Uniform

Question 32

Obedience- social-psychological factor

Answer 32

Agentic State

Legitimacy of authority

Question 33

What is the agentic state?

Answer 33

A mental state where we feel no personal responsibility for our behaviour because we believe ourselves to be acting for an authority figure. This frees us from the demands of our consciences and allows us to obey even a destructive authority figure.

Question 34

What is the autonomous state?

Answer 34

A state where we are free to behave according to our own principles and therefore feel responsibility for our own actions.

Question 35

What are binding factors?

Answer 35

Aspects of the situation that allow us to ignore or minimise the damaging effect of our behaviour, this reduces the moral strain we may feel.

Question 36

What is legitimacy of authority?

Answer 36

An explanation for obedience which suggests that we are more likely to obey people who we perceive to have authority over us. This authority is justified by the individual’s position of power within a social hierarchy..

Question 37

Agentic state evaluation

Answer 37

Research support- Blass and Schmitt showed a film