Social influence Flashcards
What is conformity?
A change in a person‘s behaviour or opinions as a result of real or imagined pressure from a person or group of people
What is internalisation?
Internalisation is the deepest type of conformity, where we take on the majority view because we accept it as correct,leading to permanent change in behaviour even when the group is absent
What is identification?
Identification is a moderate type of conformity where we act in the same way with the group because we value it and want to be a part of it, but we don’t necessarily agree with everything the majority believes
What is compliance?
A superficial and temporary type of conformity where we outwardly go along with the majority view but privately disagree with it the change in our behaviour only lasts as long as the group is monitoring us
What is informational social influence (ISI)?
An explanation of conformity that says we agree with the opinion of the majority because we believe it is correct, we accept it because you want to be correct as well this may lead to internalisation
What is normative social influence (NSI)
An explanation of conformity that says we agree with the opinion of the majority because we want to be accepted, gain social approval and be liked, this may lead to compliance
What is the evaluation research support for informational social influence by Lucas at al 2006
When students rated the mathematical ability as poor there was a greater conformity in the study of incorrect answers, when completing mathematical problems that appeared to be hard, this explains informational social influence
What is the evaluation for individual differences in normative social influence?
There are individual differences in the way people respond for example McGhee and Teevan 1967 found that a high need of affiliation were more likely to conform because of a desire to be liked were others may not
because they do not have the need to be liked
What is the evaluation point for informational social influence and normative social influence working together?
The two process approach explains NSI and ISI as being equally involved asit isn’t always possible to be sure when NSI and ISI are at work
What was Asch testing?
He was testing conformity
What was the procedure of Asch’s study?
The participants were asked which of the three lines matched the standard
How many participants were in Asch’s study?
123 male Undergraduates
In Asch’s study what was the range of Confederates in numbers
6 to 8 conferedarates within a group
What were the results of Asch’s study?
The naive participant gave the wrong answer 36.8% of the time overall, 25% of the participants did not conform on any trials, meaning 75% conformed at least once
(Normative social influence)
What were the three variations of Asch’s study?
Group size, unanimity and task difficulty
What is unanimity in Asch’s study
Unanimity is the extent to which all of the members agreed the Confederates selected the same comparison line and it produced at the greatest degree of conformity in the naive participants
What is the evaluation point of Asch’s study to do with a child of its time
The study was repeated 30 years later finding a drop in conformity since the original study highlighting that social norms have changed a great deal since 1950s America, showing that it is not consistent across situations and across time therefore not a fundamental feature of human behaviour
What was the evaluation point to do with artificial situation and task on Asch’s study?
There are demand characteristics as participants were aware of the study, You also cannot generalise the line study lab experiment to every day situations, were the consequences of conformity might be more important and interaction between groups would be more direct
What was the evaluation point to do with limited application of findings in Asch’s study
Only men were tested in the original study and it was conducted in the United States is an individualist culture (concerned with themselves rather than their social group) however collectivists cultures conformity rates are higher.
this can only be applied to American men because he didn’t take gender and cultural differences into account
What are the ethical issues as an evaluation point to do with Asch’s study
The naive participants were deceived
What did Zimbardo and his colleagues seek to answer with the Stanford prison experiment
Do prison guards behave brutally because they have sadistic personalities or is it the situation that creates such behaviour
What did Zimbardo’s procedure consist off
mock prison in the basement of the psychology department at Stanford university students were randomly assigned as prisoners and guards, Prisoners were arrested in their homes and blindfolded strip-searched deloused and issued a uniform and number.
Guards were given a wooden club handcuffs keys and mirror shades
How long did Zimbardo’s study last for
It lasted for six days but was supposed to be for 14
What were the findings in Zimbardo’s study
The prisoners rebelled and the guards took opportunity to enforce rules and punish even with the smallest misdemeanour prisoners became depressed and anxious they were treated with brutality and 3 people in total chose to leave
What was the conclusion of Zimbardo’s Study
It revealed the power of the situation to influence people’s behaviour as guards prisoners and researchers all come formed to their roles within the prison
What was the evaluation point to do with the control in Zimbardo’s study
There is high internal validity which is a strength of the study as they were control over variables they chose emotionally stable individuals and randomly assigned roles of guard and prisoner
What was the evaluation point to do with lack of realism in Zimbardo’s study
Other psychologists argue participants were merely acting rather than conforming to role based on stereotypes
However the participants stated that the situation felt real and gives it a high degree of internal validity
What was the evaluation point To do with role of dispositional influences in Zimbardo’s study
The social roles in the conclusion may have been overstated. as the guards behaviour indicates they were able to exercise right and wrong choices despite the situation or pressures of conforming to a role, based on individual personalities
What was the evaluation to do with lack of research support on Zimbardo’s study
Replicated studies of the original showed contrasting findings as prisoners eventually took control of mock prison, because they were able to share a social identity as a cohesive group but the guards could not
What were the ethical issues in Zimbardo’s study
The breached ethical issues were
Protection from psychological harm
Protection from physical harm
Right to withdraw
What is obedience
Obedience is a form of social influence in which an individual follows a direct order, the person issuing the order is usually a figure of authority who has the power to punish when obedient behaviour is not forthcoming
What did Milgram’s original obedience study seek to answer
Why the German population had followed the orders of Hitler and slaughtered over 10 million
