social influence Flashcards
define conformity
person changes behaviour, attitudes or beliefs to be in line with the majority, due to pressure (real or imagined)
Define compliance
Person addressed behaviour and views which they expressed in public to be in line with the majority
But private views don’t change
Therefore it is superficial and temporary
Define internalisation
Person adjusts behaviour and views which are expressed in public to be in line with the majority
Then examine their own views and accept the majority’s point of view (privately and publicly)
It is deeper and permanent
Define identification
Person accepts social influence as they want to be associated with another group or person to feel more part of the group
Normative social influence
people have fundamental need to be liked
Avoid behaviour that causes rejection
Copy behaviour of others to fit in
Effective strategy to ensure acceptance
What does normative social influence lead to
Compliance
Informational social influence
People have need to be confident that their beliefs are correct
Make objective test against reality
Rely on opinions of others
Happens when situation is ambiguous
What does informational social influence lead to
Internalisation
Positive evaluation of social influence (4)
+smoking
+Jury
+African-Americans
+Maths
Negative evaluation of social influence (2)
- Culture
- individual differences
what was Asch’s experiment
Naive participant in a group of Confederates
Look at ‘standard line’ and choose which of the other three ‘test lines’ were the same length
Give response out loud one at a time (naive participant = last or second last)
How many times did the Confederates gave the wrong answer in Asch’s experiment
12/18 trials
What was the chance of a genuine mistake in Asch’s experiment
1%
What were the result of Asch’s experiment
33% = incorrect responses 75% = conformed in at least 1/18 trials 5% = conformed on every trial 25% = did not conform
Why did people conform in Asch’s experiment
To avoid disapproval (normative social influence)
What was the effect of group size on conformity rates
1 = 3%
2= 13%
3+ = 32%
(doesn’t change significantly after this)
what was that affect of task difficulty on Asch’s experiment
The more difficult the task, the greater the informational social influence and the conformity
Was it affect of unanimity on Asch’s experiment
unanimous group = conformity increases
Presence of one Confederate going against the majority (Conformity from 33% to 5%)
When Confederate gave wrong answer (conformity from 33% to 9%)
Positive evaluation of Asch’s experiment (3)
+ jury
+smoking
+laboratory experiment
Negative evaluation of Asch’s experiment (3)
- Mundane realism/ecological validity
- gender
- time period (engineering students)
Define social roles
Behaviours expected of an individual who occupies a social position or status
explains Zimbardo’s experiment
Create a stimulated prison in the basement of the University
24 emotionally/psychologically stable young men were randomly assigned role of guard or a prisoner
guards = complete control
prisoners = confined to cells
guards told to maintain order by any means necessary (except physical violence)
What happened on day two in the prison
The prisoners tried to rebel by barricading themselves in the cells
guards sprayed them with co2, stripped them naked, took away their beds and forced the ringleaders into solitary confinement
What happened after the prison rebellion
The guards became increasingly cruel and aggressive
Prisoners became passive and depressed as guards used verbal abuse