social influence Flashcards
internalisation
when a person genuinely accepts group norms and their change in action is likely to be permanent as a behaviour has been internalised
E.G. living with vegetarians at UNI and so becoming one yourself
identification
when we conform to the opinions and behaviours of a group because we value those people influencing us. This change in behaviour is likely to occur only in public as you may not fully agree with these opinions
E.G. living with vegetarians at UNI and not eating meat but then going home and eating steak
compliance
publicly going along with something but privately not changing personal opinions. This behaviour changes as soon as you leave that situation
informational social influence
occurs when you want information and are unsure of the answer. People are likely to conform when they believe the other person is more of an expert and are likely to be right. They do this because they wish to appear smarter
normative social influence
is about conforming when you are unsure of the social norms. I.E. what is normal or typical behaviour for that situation. This is most likely to occur in new or uncertain situations where we are unsure how to act. Alternatively it could happen with people we know because we want to impress them.
evaluations for explanations of conformity
Research support for ISI - greater conformity with more difficult answers
Research support for NSI - Participants feared disapproval in Asch study
Individual differences in NSI - nAffiliators - people not bothered with affiliation
Individual differences in ISI - Asch found that 28% of participants were less conformist and in a recreation with engineering students there was very little conformity
ISI and NSI work together - conformity reduced when there was one other participant.
Outline what Asch’s line study was
A group of actors (confederates) and one naive participant asked to state the length of lines. Actors were told to lie to see if the participant would conform to the wrong answer
what were Asch’s findings in the line study
True participants conformed on 32% of the critical trials where confederates gave the wrong answers. Additionally 75% of the sample conformed to the majority on at least one trial. 25% of participants did not conform at all.
what were Asch’s variations
group size
with three confederates conformity grew to 32% however did not change with more than this
unanimity
having another dissenter in the group lowered conformity even if they also gave a wrong answer
task difficulty
conformity increased under more difficult scenarios
evaluation of Asch’s research
When repeated in 1980 with groups of engineer studies only one in a total of 396 trials conformed.
Asch’s findings have a limited application for a variety of reasons.
The situation the participants were in were artificial and so there is a possibility they simply adhered to the demand characteristics of the situation and did what they thought was wanted by the researcher.and findings can’t be generalised
Findings only apply to certain situations.
There is also ethical issues - deception.
explain zimbardo’s prison experiment procedure
Set up a mock prison in the basement of stanford university
Participants were selected on whether they were emotionally stable
Participants randomly allocated role of guard or prisoner
Prisoners were arrested, strip searched and deloused for authenticity
Guards had complete power
explain what happened in Zimbardo’s prison experiment
Study was cut short after 6 days due to participant behaviour
Guards began to identify more and more with their role: they implemented divide and rule tactics, would treat prisoners unfairly E.G. head counts in the middle of the night, put rebellious prisoners in ‘the hole’, punishing small misdemeanours
Prisoners rebelled after 2 days
One prisoner sent home after one day due to signs of psychological disturbance
Prisoners turned on one another
One went on hunger strike and was then force fed
what were the conclusions of Zimbardo’s experiment
The power of situation to influence power was revealed
Guards, prisoners and researchers all conformed to their roles
All behaved as if situation was real
what are the evaluations of Zimbardo’s experiment
There was high control of variables because of random allocation which meant individual personality traits were unlikely to be an influence in findings
Some may argue that the situation lacked realism and that participants were only acting according to the stereotypes of real prisoners and guards. This was explained by rebellions by prisoners and one guard saying he based his actions off of a guard from a movie. However, quantitative data suggests differently as 90% of participants believed it was real
Zimbardo has been accused of exaggerating the situation and minimising personality differences. Only ⅓ of guards actually acted brutally and some even helped and sympathised with the prisoners. Suggesting that Zimbardo’s conclusion is exaggerated
Major ethical issues E.G. Zimbardo had a prisoner come to him asking to leave and instead of acting as a researcher with moral responsibilities he acted as a superintendent
explain the procedure of Milgram’s shock experiment
Volunteers were recruited for a lab experiment investigating “learning” Participants were 40 males, aged between 20 and 50, whose jobs ranged from unskilled to professional
confederate was always the learner. There was also an “experimenter” dressed in a gray lab coat
The teacher is told to administer an electric shock every time the learner makes a mistake, increasing the level of shock each time - hock generator marked from 15 volts (slight shock) to 450 (danger – severe shock).
The learner gave mainly wrong answers (on purpose), and for each of these, the teacher gave him an electric shock. When the teacher refused to administer a shock, the experimenter was to give a series of orders/prods to ensure they continued.
what were the findings of milgrams experiment
65% (two-thirds) of participants (i.e., teachers) continued to the highest level of 450 volts. All the participants continued to 300 volts.
what are the evaluations of Milgram’s experiment
he experiment has low internal validity because participants did not believe they were giving real shocks. However, in a study similar to Milgram’s 54% of males and 100% of females delivered fatal shocks to a puppy
Good external validity because the role of the researcher reflected that of authority figures in real life - nurse study- 21 out of 22 nurses obeyed unreasonable demands from doctors. This suggests authority in Milgram’s research can be generalised
A french tv documentary involved a replication of Milgram’s study called “la zone xtreme” 80% of tv participants delivered the maximum shock level.
social identity theory. The participants identified with the researcher and the science, when this stops they quit. Every time the 4th prod was used they quit because it it demands obedience.
There are major ethical issues with this study
explain Milgram’s variations
uniform:
When the researcher wore regular clothes instead of a lab coat obedience fell to 20% its lowest in the whole study
proximity:
When teacher and learner were in the same room obedience fell from 65% to 40%
In one variation the teachers hand was forced onto the plate. During this particular one obedience fell to 30%
When the researchers instructions were given over phone, obedience fell to 20.5%
location:
When the location was changed from yale uni to a run down building obedience fell to 47.5%
