Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

AS Psychology > Social influence > Flashcards

Social influence Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
Psychology 101 flashcards GRE® Psychology flashcards AP® Psychology flashcards
1
Q

What are the 3 types of conformity?

A
  1. compliance
  2. Identification
  3. Internalisation
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Define the term ‘conformity’?

A

A change in a persons behaviour due to an imagined pressure from a person or a majority of people around them

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What is compliance?

A

A temporary type of conformity where we outwardly go along with the majority view but privatey disagree with it. The change in our behaviour only lasts as long as we are with the group

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What is identification?

A

A moderate type of conformity where we act the same way as the people around us as we want to feel a part of the group but we dont necessarily agree with the majority view.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What is internalisation?

A

A deep type of conformity where we take on the majority view because we accept it as correct and they become a part of our beliefs. Leads to a permanent change in behaviour.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What are the two explanations for conformity?

A
  1. Normative Social influence

2. Informational social influence

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What is Normative Social Influence?

A

An explanation for conformity that says we agree with the opinions of others in order to be accepted/liked. This may lead to compliance

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What is Informational Social influence?

A

An explanation for conformity that says we agree because with opinions because we believe it to be correct and we also want to be correct. This may lead to internalisation

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Evaluate the explanations of conformity?

A

(FOR)
support for ISI
- Lucas et al found that students looked to others when they found a maths problem hard. (in order to be correct)
- Asch findings

(AGAINST)
Individual differences in NSI - Some people are less concerned about being liked than others. NSI affects people in different ways

ISI AND NSI work together - the two often work together, not independently

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Name the different research’s that look into conformity?

A
  1. Asch’s research

2. Zimbardos research

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Describe the procedure of Asch’s research.

A
  1. In 1950’s, 123 American male undergraduates were shown a card with a ‘standard line’ and a card with three ‘comparison lines’. One of the comparison lines was the same length as the standard line
  2. Participants were tested individually with a group of 6-8 confederates and they were all asked to state which of 3 lines was the same as standard. (participant was arranged in a place so that he answered near to last)
  3. In first few trials, confederates said right answer but started to deliberately give the same wrong answer afterwards
  4. Took part in 18 trials and on 12 trials, confederates were asked to say wrong answer
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What were the findings of this experiment?

A
  • Participants gave a wrong answer 36.8% of the time

- Overall, 25% of the participants did not conform on any trials whilst 75% did conform at least once

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What effect did the results of Asch’s research show us?

A

It shows us an ‘Asch effect’. This is the extent to which participants conform, even if the situation is unambiguous

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Why did the participants in Asch’s research conform?

A

Because of Normative Social influence

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What were Asch’s variations? (describe and explain)

A

Group size - Asch changed number of confederates to see if it affected conformity. Small majority was not sufficient to exert influence but a large majority (over 3 confederates) made little difference.

Unanimity - had one confederate disagree with other confederates and this decreases pp conformity rate by a quarter. (Suggests The influence of the majority depends on whether the group are unanimous)

Task difficulty - Found that conformity increased when task is made more difficult. (due to informative social influence)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Evaluate Asch’s research.

A

Pros: -Lab experiment

Cons:

  • Unreliable: Perrin and Spencer repeated research in 1980 and found that pps conformed on only 1/396 trials. Possibly, society has changed and people are less conformist today
  • Artificial situation and task - Findings do not generalise to everyday situations as groups didnt resembles groups in real-life. (real-life groups are more direct)
  • Gender bias/ethnocentric - results may have differed in collectivist cultures/women
  • Demand characteristics - Pps knew it was a research study and may have simply gone along with the demands of the situation.
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Describe the procedure for Zimbardos research.

A
  1. Chose students who were deemed as ‘emotionally stable’ and randomly assigned them role of ‘guard’ or ‘prisoner’
  2. ‘Prisoners’ were treated as real prisoners when taken to prison and were given codes as names, and a uniform
  3. Social roles were divided
  4. Guards given their own uniform, handcuffs, keys, wooden club and had complete power over prisoners
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Describe the findings of the experiment

A
  1. Prisoners rebelled in first couple days and became depressed and anxious
  2. Guards took up many opportunities to enforce rules and to punish small mistakes
  3. Guards behaviour became more brutal and aggressive
  4. Study was stopped after 6 days, instead of 14, due to the negative effect on ‘Prisoners’ health
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

What is a conclusion of Dr Zimbardos research?

A

Guards, prisoners and researchers quickly conformed to their roles within prison and this shows how the power of the situation influenced peoples behaviour

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Evaluate Dr Zimbardos research.

A

Pros (high internal validity)

  • Control: research was high in internal validity as he had control over variables e.g. using emotionally unstable pps. And hence, can make strong conclusions
  • High in realism to Zimbardo: 90% of convos of prisoners were about prison life and one prisoners expressed the view that the prison was a real one

Cons
- Lack of realism to some: Banuazizi and Mohavedi (1975) argued that pps were just play-acting based on
stereotypes of how prisoners/guards usually behave.
- Overexaggerated conc: Zimbardo overexaggerated power of influence. Only a minority of guards were brutal. He ignored the role of personality in research (Fromm 1973)
- Lack of research support: Reicher and Haslam had opposite results (2006)
- Ethical issues

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

What was the aim of Milgrams study?

A

The investigate how authority affects obedience

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

What method was used in Milgrams study?

A
  • Lab experiment
  • used 40 pps
  • self-selective sample
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Describe the procedure in Milgrams research

A
  • a ‘learner’ was given words to spell and each time they made a mistake, the ‘teacher’ (pp) had to administer a shock
  • shocks go up to 450V in 30 levels
  • experimenter used 4 standard prods to encourage pp to keep going, even if the ‘learner’ went quiet (after 315V)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

What were the results of Milgrams research

A

1- 12.5% stopped at 300V

  1. 65% continutes to 450V
  2. Participants felt very distressed during process
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

What did Milgram do to ensure that the research was more ethical?

A

Debriefed pps

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

Evaluate Milgrams research (cons)

A

Pros:

  • Good external validity - lab environment reflects wider authority relationships in real life (e.g. Hofling et al showed 21/22 nurses obeying to unjustified demands)
  • Easy to replicate - lab experiment

Cons:

  • Low internal validity - Orne and Holland argued that Pps may have not obeyed as they didnt believed in the electric shocks (not because of authority)
  • Ethical issues - deception/distress
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

Give a counter-argument for the evaluation of Milgrams study (pro)

A

70% of Milgrams participants had said they had believed the shocks were genuine

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

Name the situational variables in Milgrams research.

A
  1. Proximity (physical closeness)
  2. Location
  3. Uniform
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

How did proximity affect obedience in Milgrams research?

A

The closer the teacher was to the learner/the further the experimenter was from the teacher, the lower the level of obedience

  • obedience dropped to 40% when teacher and learner were in same room
  • obedience further dropped to 20.5% when experimenter gave instructions over phone
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

How did location affect obedience in Milgrams research?

A

Milgram conducted a study in a run down building and found that obedience level decreased to 47.5%

31
Q

How did uniform affect obedience in Milgrams study?

A

Confederate who was wearing a grey lab coat, had to ‘take a phone call’ and was replaced by an ordinary member of the public.
- Milgram recorded the lowest level of obedience at 20%

32
Q

What are the limitations of Milgrams variations?

A
  1. Lack of internal validity - participants may have found out aim of study and shown demand characteristics
  2. Smith and Bond (1998) state that most replications of this experiment only happen in the west so can’t be generalised to ALL countries, like collectivists
  3. Obedience alibi - not right to remove responsibility from Nazis due to ‘situational pressures’
33
Q

What were the strengths of Milgrams variations?

A
  1. Research support - Bickmans findings also show that uniform affects authority
  2. Cross-cultural replications - Experiment was repeated in Spain and showed high obedience levels, like Milgram (over90%)
  3. One by One variations - Milgram tested each variable, ONE BY ONE, so we could see how obedience levels are affected by each one
34
Q

Define agentic state.

A

A mental state where we feel no personal responsibility for our behvaviour because we believe ourselves to be acting for an authority figure. This frees us from the demands of our conscience and allows us to obey even an destructive authority figure.
- They feel extreme anxiety if they know what theyre doing is wrong, but feel powerless to disobey

35
Q

Define Autonomous state

A

A state in which we are free to behave according to their own principles and therefore feels a sense of responsibility for their own actions

36
Q

What is the agentic shift and how does it occur?

A
  • It is the transition from autonomy to agency

- It occurs when a person perceives someone else as a figure of authority (due to social hierarchy)

37
Q

Define binding factors and give examples of a few. (refer to Milgrams research in your examples)

A

Factors that allow a person to ignore the damaging effect of their behaviour and thus, reduce the ‘moral strain’ they are feeling

  • e.g. shifting responsibility to victims (e.g. he was foolish to volunteer
  • denying the damage they were doing to the victims
38
Q

Define legitimacy of authority

A

An explanation of obedience that suggests we are more likely to obey people who we perceive to have authority over us (people with a higher position of power within the social hierarchy

39
Q

What is destructive authority?

A

When individuals with legitimate authority order their followers to behave in cruel and dangerous ways (that may go against a persons own morals/concience)

40
Q

Evaluate the agentic shift explanation

A

Pros
1- Blass and Schmitt (2001) showed students Milgrams study and students said experimenter was to blame (as he had legitimate authority), supporting the agentic state explanation
2- Can help explain how obedience can lead to real-life war crimes (e.g holocaust)

Cons
3- Limited explanation: agentic shift doesn’t explain why some people didn’t obey (Nazis). Also, not everyone who obeys behaves in the same way as Milgrams pps. e.g. nurses from Hofling et al didn’t show same levels of anxiety, when they should’ve, as they understood their role in a dangerous process. (agentic shift)
4- ‘Agentic state’ doesnt explain why men obeyed the orders to shoot civilians in Poland, when they had a choice (Mendal 1998)

41
Q

Evaluate the legitimacy of authority explanation

A

Strengths
1- Supports cultural differences: When study was repeated again in other countries, results were different. (AUS - 17%, GER 85%). This shows how legitimacy is perceived differently in other cultures, as social hierarchy is arranged differently in other cultures (increases validity of research)

Weaknesses
2- Ignores other explanations such as social support, authoritarian personality.

42
Q

Describe the procedure of Adorno et Al’s study

A
  • In 1950, Investigated 2000 middle-class white Americans
  • Used F-Scale to measure authoritarian personality
  • One of the items from the F-scale was ‘obedience and respect for authority are the most important virtues children should learn’
43
Q

What were the findings of Adorno’s research?

A
  • People with authoritarian leanings scored high on the F-scale, and were, conscious of their own status and showed excessive respect to those of higher statuses
  • Authoritarians have fixed and distinctive stereotypes about other groups
  • There was a strong positive correlation between authoritarianism and prejudice
44
Q

Describe the likely characteristics of a person with an authoritarian personality.

A
  1. tendency to be especially obedient to authority
  2. show contempt to people they see as inferior
  3. Highly conventional attitudes towards sex, race and gender
45
Q

Describe a psychodynamic explanation for the origins of the authoritarian personality

A
  • Prejudice may be due to harsh parenting. This creates resentment and hostility in the child and the child projects the fear/hatred onto people that are ‘weaker’ (than them and their parents)
46
Q

What are the cons of the authoritarian personality/Adorno explanation?

A

Strengths
1- Large sample size: More representative so easier to generalise

Cons
2- Adorno only found a correlation,not a cause and effect
3- Not realistic to say that ALL those Nazis and german citizens had the same authoritarian personality
4- F-scale measures tendency towards an extreme form of right wing ideology so it doesn’t account for obedience to authority across the whole political spectrum. Some left wing ideologies emphasise the importance of obedience too
5- Experimenter bias:Researchers knew who had an authoritarian personality, based on questionnaire answers so they could’ve influenced pp’s responces in the interview about childhood experiences
6- Acquiescence bias: results may have been due to pp agreeing to every question

47
Q

How can social support affect conformity and what limits your explanation?

A

The pressure to conform can be reduced if there are others present who also do not conform
- BUT If the ‘non-conforming person’ starts conforming again, so will the pp

48
Q

How can social support affect obedience?

A

The pressure to obey can be reduced if another person is seen to disobey e.g. obedience reduced from 65% to 10% in Milgrams study

49
Q

Evaluate the social support theory .

A

Strengths

  1. Allen et al.support for resistance to conformity: In study, conformity decreased when there was another dissenter in an Asch type study (even when dissenter had thick glasses and problems with vision)
  2. Gamson et al support for resistance to obedience: in study, high levels of resistance in a group based study. 29/33 pps rebelled, showing that peer support was linked to greater resistance

Weaknesses:
1. Demand characteristics

50
Q

What does Locus of Control refer to?

A

LOC refers to the sense we have about what directs events in our lives

51
Q

What do Internals/Externals believe?

A
  • Internals believe they are mostly responsible for what happens in their lives (internal locus of control)
  • Externals believe it is a matter of luck or outside forces (external locus of control)
52
Q

How do we define Locus of Control?

A

Using a continuum with ‘high internal control’ on one side’ and ‘high external control’ on the other

53
Q

Why would people with an Internal LOC be more likely to resist orders?

A
  • They can accept responsibility and therefore feel less pressured
  • they tend to be more self-confident, more achievement-oriented and have less need for social approval
54
Q

What are the strengths of the LOC theory?

A

Research support: Holland (1967) repeated Milgrams study and measured whether person was internal/eternal. 37% of internals did not go to full shock level whilst 23% of externals didnt go to full shock level

55
Q

What are the limitations of the LOC theory?

A
  1. Contradictory research: Twenge et al (2004) found that people have become more resistant to obedience, but also more external
  2. Limited Role of LOC: LOC only comes to play in novel situations but our experiences mostly determines whether we obey or not e.g. if we conformed before, we will most likely conform again
56
Q

What is minority influence?

A
  • Form of social influence where one person/small group of people influence a persons beliefs and causes them to change their behaviour. Can lead to internalisation.
57
Q

How does consistency affect minority influence?

A
  • consistency in minoritys views increased the amount of interest from other people. This makes people rethink their own views
58
Q

What is synchronic and diachronic consistency?

A

Synchronic consistency - All saying the same thing

Diachronic consistency - all saying the same thing for some time now

59
Q

How does commitment affect minority influence?

A

Minority influence is even more powerful when the minority demonstrates dedication to their beliefs (shows self-interest)

60
Q

What is the augmentation principle?

A

When majority group members pay attention/consider the views of a minority as they see them placing commitment into a cause

61
Q

How does Flexibility affect consistency and therefore, Minority influence?

A
  • Nemeth (1986) says consistency cant affect minority influence alone, it has to be combined with flexibility
  • A person must be ready to adapt their own beliefs before adopting beliefs of a minority of people
62
Q

Describe the snowball effect.

A
  • People switch from a majority position to a minority position over time (conversion)
  • The more that this happens, the faster the rate of conversion
63
Q

What type of processing does minority influence use?

A

Deeper processing

64
Q

What are the strengths of the minority influence theory?

A

Pros
1- Research support for consistency: Moscovici et al conducted a study and found that a consistent minority opinion had more of an effect than an unconsistent minority opinion
2- Research support for Depth of thought: Martin et Al (2003) found that people were less willing to change their opinions if they heard it from a minority group, rather than majority. (as minority requires deeper processing)
3- Research support for internalisation: In variation of Moscovici study where respondents could answer privately, pps agreed with minority view

Weaknesses
1- Lacks external validity: situation in Moscovicis research doesnt represent real-life scenarios
2- Hard to define Minority/Majority groups: There is more to defining minority/majority groups then by just looking at numbers e.g. majorities tend to have more power and status, whilst minorities are usually more committed.

65
Q

Nme the steps that show how minority influence creates social change

A
  1. Drawing attention through social proof
  2. Consistency
  3. Deeper Processing
  4. Augmentation Processing
  5. Snowball effect
  6. Social cryptomnesia
66
Q

Describe the step “1. Drawing attention through social proof” using the example of the civil rights movement

A

Civil Rights marches drew attention to situation by providing social proof of problem

67
Q

Describe the step “2. Consistency” using the example of the civil rights movement

A

There were many marches and many took part, so their message was consistent

68
Q

Describe the step “3. Deeper processing of the issue”” using the example of the civil rights movement

A

The attention meant that many people who just accepted the status quo began to think about the unjusteness of it

69
Q

Describe the step “4. Augmentation Processing” using the example of the civil rights movement

A

There were a number of incidents where individuals risked their lives e.g. took ‘white seats’ on buses

70
Q

Describe the step “5. The Snowball Effect” using the example of the civil rights movement

A

Martin Luther king gradually got attention of US government, and civil rights act was passed in 1964. So there was a change from minority to majority support for civil rights

71
Q

Describe the step “6. Social cryptomnesia” using the example of the civil rights movement

A

Social change did come about and the south is a different place now but some people have no memory of the events above that led to change (social cryptomnesia)

72
Q

Give an application for research into conformity

A
  • Advertisements now exploit conformity processes by appealing to Normative Social Influence
  • By stating what other people are doing, it can encourage certain people to change their behaviour to be like them e.g. ‘Bin it- others do”
73
Q

Give an application for research into obedience

A

Zimbardo suggested that obedience can now be used to create a social change through the process of gradual commitment (once a small instruction is obeyed, it becomes hard to resist an even bigger one)

74
Q

What are the strengths of the argument that ‘minority influence causes social change’?

A

Strengths
1- Research support for normative influences: Nolan et al (2008) found that people conformed and decreased energy usage when they were told that others did the same

Weaknesses

  1. Minority influence is only indirectly effective: effects are most likely to be indirect or delayed, showing that its effects are fragile and its role in social influence is limited
  2. Role of deeper processing: Majority influence requires more processing to see why our beliefs are different to the ‘majority’ as we believe we are all the same. Casts doubt on validity of Mascovicis conversion theory
  3. Ignores the role of stereotypes: Some people resist social change as they dont want to be stereotypes e.g. as ‘man-haters’ or ‘tree-huggers’

AS Psychology (7 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions