Social influence Flashcards
Define conformity
A type of social influence where beliefs and/or behaviours change to fit in with a group. Group pressure can be imagined or real.
Define the 3 types of conformity
Compliance=Don’t believe in action-do it to fit in e.g. music
Internalisation= Do believe in action - adopt as it fits your views, both private and public beliefs change. e.g. recycling
Identification= No initial belief but you’re converted. e.g. religion
Define the 2 types of social influence
Normative: to fit in
Informational: to be correct
Write 2 paragraphs evaluating social influence and conformity. What 2 points can you write about?
P poor int val
E Individual differences such as level of education and anxiety affect both concepts
E However studies such as schultz et al (2008) show it to be useful when applied to environmental issues
L does not generalise to whole population, but ecologically valid
P compliance + internalisation cannot be separated so low internal validity
E Experiments cannot be measured accurately- use self report measures, demands c’s
E Research shows people cannot accurately perceive their own motivations (nolan et al 2008)
L Lacks test-retest reliability
What 2 experiments can be used to evaluate conformity and social influence?
Schultz et al (2008) - shows its useful when applied to environment
Nolan et al (2008) - People cannot accurately perceive own motivations
What did Zimbardo want to test for in his experiment?
- wanted to show that society has mutually agreed roles that people follow without thinking. Thought culturally established roles would be seen in any society.
- Deindividuation = loss of self awareness in groups
- Disinhibition= lack of restraint in actions
How was the Stanford prison experiment set up?
- 24 male subjects
- used a volunteer sample
- split into prisoners and guards (12 each)
- prisoners arrested a month before start day , no warning
- Guards told to maintain order (no violence)
- Stanford uni basement turned into a prison
- Zimbardo played the role of prison warden
- Study planned for 2 weeks, stopped after 6 days
- Symptoms of PTSD, anxiety and depression in prisoners
What was concluded from the Stanford prison experiment?
Conformity to social roles is very powerful
write 3 evaluation paragraphs about the Stanford prison experiment. What 3 points can you write about?
P - Ethical Issues
E - Guards hit and humiliated prisoners. Prisoners were also not given a right to withdraw or informed consent- especially as they were arrested a month before the start date.
E - However, ethics guidelines did not exist at the time so there was nothing stopping Zimbardo doing what he did.
It also paved the way for BPS guidelines,
L - Therefore prisoners were treated unethically but it led to improvements in the treatment of prisoners
P - Mundane Realism
E - Lack of mundane realism- obvious props such as plywood bars on the windows.
E - However in 2003 in Abu Ghraib, prisoners were tortured by guards, both male and female.
L - So although there was a low mundane realism, the experiment shows a high ecological validity.
P - Temporal validity
E - In 2006, reicher did a similar experiment and showed similar results.
E - However in his experiment the guards took most of the power over the guards.
L - Shows a test retest ability.
What experiments can be used to evaluate the Stanford prison experiment?
Abu Ghraib prison (2003) - Us soldiers tortured prisoners
Reicher (2006) - replicated SPE
What did Sherif experiment on?
informational social influence
What did Sherif’s experiment include?
- told ppt’s he was studying autokinetic effect (actually looking at ISI)
- ppts were told a light would move and they should guess how far it moved, it never did
- ppts stated their guesses in groups of 3,3rd always went between the first 2
What did Asch want to prove?
People do not make their own decisions.
How did Asch set up his experiment?
- used 123 men and was at a top uni
- One line participant and few confederates
- They were shown a line and 3 example lines
- They had to pick which example line matched the line
- In some experiment, all confederates gave a wrong answer
What were the results of Asch’s experiment?
A third of the time, the lone participant conformed with the wrong answer
What did Asch find affected conformity?
- group size= 3-6 confederates was the most persuasive
- Unanimity= compliance fell to 5.5% with one dissenter
- Difficulty of task= A difficult task led to more conformity
Write 3 evaluation paragraphs for Asch’s study.
What are 3 points you can write about?
P - Internally valid design
E - Experiment has been repeated by Asch to similar results - also has repeated it to find out what group size, unanimity and difficulty of task makes people conform more. (IV was easily manipulated without confounding or extraneous variables).
E - Also held in a top uni with very good equipment and facilities. - Swarthmore College
L - Therefore free from confounding and extraneous variables- so high internal validity
P - Unconvincing confederates
E -Students were used instead of professional actors which leads to poor mundane realism and demand characteristics.
E - Furthermore (Fiske-2014) noted that that people in the group didn’t know each other so were more likely to conform due to anxiety.
L - These issues are both confounding variables.
P - Temporal validity
E - USA had a McCarthyist culture with many wanting to fit in during the cold war.
E - In a later study it was found only 1% of people conformed, and the same levels were only found between prisoners and guards
L - Therefore cultural changes mean it has a poor test retest ability.
What experiment can you use to evaluate Asch’s study?
Fiske (2014) -noted people in the group didn’t know each other so likely to conform due to anxiety
What did Milgram (1963) want to prove?
He argued that anyone under the same circumstance could easily be persuaded to commit immoral and harmful acts.
What kind of obedience did Milgram want to prove in 1963?
Situational obedience
How was Milgrams situational obedience experiment in 1963 set up?
- A ppt is made a teacher and actor plays a learner. The teacher asks the learner to repeat pairs of words among other pairs that he had heard before.
- If the learner got it wrong he got an electric shock.
- Every time, the voltage increased by 15v, up to a fatal shock of 450v.
- The teacher was told to continue by a man in a lab coat.
