Social Influence

Question 1

What is Compliance?

Answer 1

A type of conformity to gain approval.

Question 2

What is Internalisation?

Answer 2

A type of conformity because of an individual accepting views.

Question 3

What is Identification?

Answer 3

A type of conformity associated with a group.

This has aspects of compliance and internalisation (to be liked and to be right)

Question 4

What is Normative social influence?

Answer 4

An explanation for conformity based on the desire to be liked/approved.

Usually referred to as Compliance to gain acceptance.
Public Only.

Question 5

What is Informational social influence?

Answer 5

An explanation for conformity based on the desire to be right/correct.

Example of Internalisation
Public AND Private

Question 6

What is the key study for CONFORMITY?

Answer 6

Asch, 1956, line study

1. Participants viewed lines of different lengths and compared them to a standard line
2. Group contained confederates with participants answering second to last
3. Confederates gave the same wrong answer on 12/18 trials.

Question 7

What were the findings for Asch’s line study?

Answer 7

1. Conformity rates were approx. 33%
2. Without confederates participants made mistakes 1% of the time
3. Participants conformed to avoid disapproval.

Question 8

Name 3 factors affecting conformity.

Answer 8

1. Group size (increased to 30% with majority of 3)
2. Unanimity of majority
3. Difficulty of the task (if correct answer was less obvious, conformity increased)

Question 9

What is the key study for CONFORMITY IN SOCIAL ROLES?

Answer 9

The Stanford prison experiment, Zimbardo et al.

1. Male volunteers assigned roles of either prisoner or guard
2. prisoners referred to as numbers only, guards given uniforms (including mirrored sunglasses) and power to make rules.

Question 10

What were the findings of the Stanford prison experiment?

Answer 10

1. guards became abusive with the prisoners

2. prisoners conformed to their roles with the some showing extreme reactions of crying and rage.

Question 11

Describe the BBC prison study

Answer 11

male volunteers, matched on social and clinical measures, assigned roles of prisoners or guards.

Findings:
Unlike the Stanford prison experiment neither guards or prisoners conformed to their assigned roles.
Prisoners worked collectively to challenge authority of the guards, resulting in a power shift.

Question 12

Was the Stanford prison experiment ethical?

Answer 12

Zimbardo’s study followed ethical guidelines:
1. Informed consent
2. Deception
3. Right to withdraw
4. Protection from physical and psychological harm
5. Confidentiality
6. Privacy
HOWEVER his participants still suffered psychological harm.

Question 13

What is the key study for OBEDIENCE?

Answer 13

Milgram, 1963, Shock study

1. 40 volunteer participants in each condition
2. real participant acted as ‘teacher’, confederate as ‘learner’
3. Teacher administered increasing shock levels up to 450V (labelled as XXX)
4. At 300V the learner pounded on the wall then went silent after.

Question 14

What were the findings of Milgram’s study?

Answer 14

65% went to maximum 450V

100% went to 300V

Question 15

What factors effect Obedience?

Answer 15

Proximity - obedience levels decreased with increasing proximity
Location - obedience levels dropped to 48% in a lower-status setting
Uniform - more likely to obey someone in uniform

Question 16

Was Milgram’s shock study ethical?

Answer 16

No. The study was deceiving as the true reason for the study was not told until after it had taken place. There was also a lack of informed consent from the participants - partly due to deception.

There is a lack of External validity to the study.

Question 17

What is the Agentic State?

Name an evaluation point

Answer 17

Where a person acts as an agent to carry out another persons wishes and will transfer all consequences onto the person giving directions. e.g. in Milgram’s study participants may not have felt responsibility for shocking up to 450V as they pass the consequences onto the researcher.

Evaluation:
does not explain gradual transitions found in Nazi doctors - Agentic state or cruelty?

Question 18

What is a Legitimacy of Authority?

Answer 18

A person must perceive an individual in a position of social control, this typically causes individuals to accept a situation more.

Question 19

What is the authoritarian personality?

Answer 19

People scoring high on F scale raised within authoritarian family backgrounds - it is a distinct personality pattern characterised by strict adherence to conventional values and a belief in absolute obedience or submission to authority.

Question 20

What is a key study for the authoritarian personality?

Answer 20

Elms and Milgram, 1966

1. 20 ‘obedient’ participants and 20 ‘defiant’ participants
2. completed MMPI and F-scale and asked open-ended questions

Question 21

What were the findings of Elms and Milgram’s study?

Answer 21

1. Little difference between obedient and defiant participants on MMPI
2. Higher levels of authoritarianism in obedient participants
3. Obedient participants reported being less close to fathers.

Question 22

Evaluation of Elms and Milgram’s study

Answer 22

1. A positive correlation between RWA scores and maximum voltage shock of Milgram’s study was found.
2. Explanations lack flexibility.
3. Many fully obedient participants had good relationships with their parents

Question 23

Define locus of control (LOC).

Answer 23

Internal LOC - greater independence and less reliance on the options of others
External LOC - more passive attitude and greater acceptance of the influence of others.

Question 24

5 ways social change is caused by minority influence.

Answer 24

1. Drawing attention to an issue
2. Cognitive conflict
3. Consistency of position
4. The augmentation principle
   willingness to suffer for your views makes it seem more committed e.g. the suffragettes risked imprisonment and death.
5. The snowball effect
   minority influence gradually became larger