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A Level: Psychology > Social influence > Flashcards

Social influence Flashcards

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1
Q

Define conformity

A

A change in a persons behaviour or opinions as a result of real or imagined influence of pressure from others

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2
Q

Name the three types of conformity

A

Compliance
Internalisation
Identification

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3
Q

Define compliance

A

Going along with others in public but privately not changing opinion
Superficial and temporary

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4
Q

Define internalisation

A

Occurs when a person genuinely accepts the group norms
Results in a private as well as public change
Permanent

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5
Q

Define identification

A

Form of influence where an individual adopted an attitude or behaviour because they want to be associated with a particular person or group

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6
Q

Explain normative social influence

A
  • need to be liked
  • public not private
  • change in attitude/ behaviour is temporary
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7
Q

Explain informative social influence

A
  • the need to be right
  • individual believes the group has more knowledge
  • likely to be permanent
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8
Q

Briefly evaluate explanations of conformity

A

✅Jenness
✅asch
❌artificial tasks
✅Schultz

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9
Q

Explain Jenness study

A

Used a a glass bottle filled with white beans
Asked to individually estimate how many beans the glass bottle contained
They then divided into groups and provided a group estimate
After discussion the individually estimated the number of beans
Most changed there answers by considerable amount

✅support informative social influence

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10
Q

Explain Aschs study

A

Line judgement task
3/4 confirmed on at least one trial
Each participant was tested individually with a group of 6-8 confederated
These all gave the same answer

✅ normative social influence- participants do not change their mind privately, they wanted the approval of other people

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11
Q

Criticise aschs research

A

The use of artificial tasks has very low ecological validity and cannot he compared to normal every day tasks

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12
Q

Explain Schultz

A

Wanted to persuade guests to reuse there towels rather than having fresh ones delivered

A sign placed saying 75% chose to reuse there towels everyday

People reduced their need for towels by 25%

✅ supports NSI

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13
Q

Name the three variables affecting aschs research

Explain each

A

Group size- people are likely to comply as long as there are 3 or more other people in the group
Unanimity- the presence of a dissenter enabled the naive participant to behave more independently
Task difficulty - suggested ISI played a more important role when the task was harder

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14
Q

Briefly evaluate aschs research

A

❌ecological validity
❌population validity
❌temporal validity
❌culture

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15
Q

What is meant by temporal validity

A

Refers to how likely it is that the time period when a study was conducted has influenced the findings and whether they can be generalised to other periods of time

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16
Q

Explain a criticism of aschs research: culture

A
  • limited to western individualistic cultures
  • this is because aschs study was conducted in the USA which is where individuals are much more focused on the self rather than the group
  • when repeated in China (collectivist countries) conformity rates are far higher
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17
Q

Explain Smith et al (cultural variations)

A

Average conformity rates:

  • individualistic cultures: 25%
  • collectivist cultures: 37%

Culturally limited

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18
Q

Define social roles

A

The parts people play as members of various groups

Eg student/ child

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19
Q

Describe the Stanford prison experiment

A
  • Zimbardo
  • participants all male students at stanford uni
  • volunteer and randomly assigned to either prisoner or prison guard
  • prisoners were arrested at home and taken to the mock prison in the uni given a uniform and a number
  • prison guards given a uniform and mirrored Sunnies
  • everyone conformed to their roles within the prison and the stereotypical behaviour of these roles
  • deindividuation
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20
Q

Define the term deindivuduation

A

Where u lose your sense of identity and personal responsibility

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21
Q

Briefly evaluate zimbardos research into social roles

A

✅high level of control
❌ecological validity
❌population validity
❌ethical issues

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22
Q

Describe some of the ethical issues involved in zimbardos study

A
  • researcher bias
  • protection from harm
  • informed consent
  • right to withdraw
  • dehumanising
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23
Q

define obedience

A

A form of social influence in which an individual follows a direct order from an authority figure

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24
Q

Explain 3 differences between conformity and obedience

A
  • conformity= no request you pick up the behaviour / obedience= direct request to change behaviour
  • conformity= pressure from a group of people / obedience= request from just one person
  • conformity= from a same status (a peer) / obedience= from a higher status
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25
Q

Describe milgrams obedience study

A
  • male Yale uni students
  • participants was paired with another person ( confederate)
  • supposedly draw straws for roles but participant was always teacher and confederate always learner
  • learner asked a question- got it wrong- teacher gives learner a shock
  • teacher encouraged with standardised prods
  • all participants shocked up 300 volts and 65% up to 450V
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26
Q

Briefly evaluate milgrams research

A

❌ecological validity
✅real life supporting evidence: Hofling (nurses)
❌population validity
❌ethical issues

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27
Q

Describe the study by hofling

A

They conducted a field experiment with nurses in a hospital ward,
Nurses asked over the phone to administer a illegal dosage
21\22 obeyed and administered the drug

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28
Q

What are the four explanations for obedience

A

1) situational variables
2) agentic state
3) legitimacy of authority
4) authoritarian personality (dispositional explanation)

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29
Q

Define situational variables in relation to obedience

A

These are the factors that influence obedience that all relate to the external circumstances rather than the personalities of the people involved

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30
Q

Name 3 situational variables

Explain

A

1) proximity- obedience fell when the teacher and learner was in the same room - 65%➡️40%
2) location - conducting experiment in a run down building- fell to 47.5%
3) uniform- when the researcher was wearing everyday clothes obedience dropped to 20%

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31
Q

briefly Evaluate milgrams variations (situational factors)

A

✅control of variables
✅bickman= the power of uniform
❌western cultures only

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32
Q

Describe the study by bickman

A

Three Male researchers gave orders to 153 randomly selected participants
The researchers were dressed in either three ways: suit, milkman or guard
They gave orders to pedestrians

Found people obeyed more when the researcher was a guard (80%) rather than a milkman or civilian (40%)

33
Q

Explain a criticism of situational variables: western cultures only

A

Milgrams research took place in the west

This is a problem because these countries are individualistic, people in collectivist countries will obey instructions that come from within your group or benefit the group

34
Q

Define agentic state

A

A mental state where we feel no personal responsibility for our behaviour because we are acting for an authority figure

35
Q

Define agentic shift

A

Involved moving from an autonomous (independent) state into an agentic state

36
Q

Explain binding factors

A

Explains why a person remains in a agentic state, this is because the participant has commitment to the researcher and may fear appearing arrogant and rude

37
Q

List two evaluative points for agentic state

A

✅supporting evidence: hofling

  • nurses
  • fake drug
  • obeyed a perceived authority

❌does not fully account for real life obedience
Doctors at Auschwitz: lifton
Found people had shifted from caring doctors into people capable of carrying out lethal experiments
This was a gradual and irreversible transition

38
Q

What is legitimacy of authority

A

Idea that we are more likely to obey people who we perceive to have authority over us because this persons authority is justified

39
Q

Evaluate legitimacy of authority

A

✅bickman
✅ Tarnow
❌cultural differences- Kilburn and Mann

40
Q

Explain tarnow study on legitimacy of authority

A

Obedience in the cockpit
Aviation accidents

Found excessive dependence on the captains authority and expertise

41
Q

Explain Kilburn and Mann study into cultural differences

A

Replicated milgrams study in Australia

Only 16% of participants went up to top voltage scale

42
Q

What did Mantell find

A

85% of Germans shocked up to the maximum

43
Q

Describe the dispositional explanation

A

Obedience is caused by an individuals own personal characteristics rather than situational influences

44
Q

Define authoritarian personality

A

A type of personality that Adorno argues was characterised by strict compliance traditional values and a belief in absolute obedience or submission to authority

45
Q

List 3 characteristics of authoritarian personality

A
  • very obedient to authority
  • extreme respect for authority
  • look down on inferior people
46
Q

Where does Adorno argue an authoritarian personality is created

A

In childhood as a result of harsh parenting

47
Q

What did Adorno argue harsh parenting leads to in a child

A

Resentment and hostility

These were displaced onto others

48
Q

Explain adornos study

A

Investigated the cause of obedience in a study of Americans using a questionnaire

Developed the f-scale test to measure authoritarian personality

There was a strong positive correlation between authoritarianism and prejudice

49
Q

briefly evaluating authoritarian personality

A

pro:
-elms and Milgram= found participants who were most obediant scored higher on the f-scale test
con:
-correlational research- difficult to establish cause and effect
-culturally limited- pettigrew

50
Q

describe elms and milgrams research

A

repeated milgrams obediance study using the f-scale test

found obediant participants scored higher on the f-scale test

51
Q

describe Pettigrews study

A

-white south africans showed high levels of anti-black prejudice but not authoritarianism, suggests personality type alone cannot explain why people are prejudice

therefore extremely unlikely that they would all possess an authoritarian personality

52
Q

define resistance to social influence

A

the ability of people to withstand the social pressure to conform to the majority or obey authority

53
Q

define social support

A

the presence of people who resist pressures to conform or obey can help others to do the same

54
Q

give an example of social support in aschs research

A

when the confederates werent unanimous, it inspired someone else to follow their own conscience, in this conformity dropped to 25%

55
Q

describe allen and levine

what does this support

A

found conformity decreased when there was one dissenter in an asch type study

supports the view of social support

56
Q

describe gamson

what does this support

A

participants were in groups and had to produce evidence to falsely damage the reputation of an oil company
87.9% rebelled
shows that peer support is linked to greater resistance

57
Q

define locus of control

A

this refers to the level of control we percieve to have over events and situations in our lives

58
Q

explain the difference between internal locus of control and external locus of control

A

internal LOC believes we are responsible for what happens to us
external LOC believes it is mainly out of our control and down to outside forces

59
Q

which type of LOC would you expect to be linked to resistance to social influence

A

internal-able to resist conformity pressure and have control over our own lives

60
Q

what is the continuum

A

there isnt just internal and externalLOC but it is mor eof a continuum, a scale,

61
Q

evaluate LOC

A

pro:

  • oliner and oliner
  • holland

con-
-methodical problems= questionnaire

62
Q

describe oliner and oliners study

A

interviewed two group of non-jewish people who had lived through nazi germany and the holocaust
compared 406 people who had protected and rescued the jews from the nazies and 126 who had not, found those who did rescue jews had internal LOC

therefore shows how those with internal LOC can resist
obediance even in the most dramatic of circumstances

63
Q

describe hollands study

A

repeated milgrams study and measured whether participants were internal or external

found 37% of internal did not shock up to the highest level, whereas 23% of externals did not continue

64
Q

what is the problem with questionnaires

A

can lead to people to only give socially desirable answers to make themselves look better, weakens validity of results as not accurate

65
Q

who was the first person to identify the process of minority influence as a contrast to majority influence

A

Serge Moscovici

66
Q

define minority influence

A

refers to situations where one person or a small group of people persuade others to adopt their beliefs, attitudes or behaviours

67
Q

what are the three behavioural characteristics of minority influence

A

1) consistency
2) commitment
3) flexibility

68
Q

explain consistency

A

minority influence is effective if the minority keeps up the same belief over time and between all members of the minority

69
Q

explain commitment

A

most powerful if the minority demonstrate dedication tot heir position, eg making personal sacrifices

70
Q

explain flexibility

A

relentless consistency could be counter productive if it is seen by majority as unreasonable, more effective is accept the possibility of compromise

71
Q

describe moscovicis study into minority influence

A

two conditions:

1) two of the six participants were confederates, said all slides were green
2) two of the six were confederates said that 24 were green and 12 blue

in condition 1 the real participants agree on 8.2% of trials, whereas in condition 2 participants only agreed on 1.25% of trials

72
Q

criticise moscovicis study

A

lacks population validity-
all participants were female- not an accurate representation of whole population
cannot generalise to men as well

73
Q

explain clarks study

A

twelve angry men experiment
- 270 college students were asked to role play the part of jurors and read a summary of a court case presented in the film 12 angry men, students who were all unfamilair with the film had to decide whether the accused was guilty

clark found that participants were most persuaded when they heard consistent persuasive arguments from the minority jury members

74
Q

criticise moscovicis and clarks study

A

clark- artificial tasks as it was a role play, nothing was really at stake ( demand characteristics?)
moscovici- artificial tasks not applicable to everyday

75
Q

define social change

A

this occurs when whole societies rather than just individuals adopt new attitudes, beliefs and ways of doing things, for example womens rights and environmental issues

76
Q

what are the six steps of social change

A

1) drawing attention
2) consistency
3) deeper processing- those who had just accepted the status quo begin to question it
4) augmentation principle- were a number of incidents where individuals risked their lives, eg freedom riders
5) snowball effect- got attention of the us govt
6) social cryptoamnesia- change has occured but people cannot remember how it happened

77
Q

how does conformity contribute to social change

A

campaigners use normative social influence to influence others

78
Q

evaluate social influence and social change

A

methodical problems-
moscovici- ecological validity
asch- population vaLIDITY

A Level: Psychology (11 decks)

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