Social Influence

Question 1

What are the three types of conformity?

Answer 1

The three types of conformity are :

• Compliance
• Internalisation
• Identification

Question 2

What is Compliance?

Answer 2

Compliance is where the individual goes along with the groups public opinion in order to be accepted, but their internal opinion stays the same.

Question 3

What is Internalisation?

Answer 3

Internalisation is when the individual goes along with the group opinion in order to be accepted, however when exposed to that way of thinking their internal opinion changes to that of the group.

Question 4

What is Identification?

Answer 4

Where the individual adopts a certain opinion in order to become part of the group (a mixture of Compliance and Internalisation).

Question 5

What is usually the result of Normative social influence?

Answer 5

Normative social influence usually results in people conforming to the majority view but doesn’t result in them changing their internal opinion.

Question 6

What does Informational social influence involve?

Answer 6

Informational social influence involves accepting information from others and therefore changing both public and private opinion.

Question 7

What are the three variables that affect conformity?

Answer 7

The three variables that affect conformity are :

• Group size
• Unanimity
• Task difficulty

Question 8

Who did the main study researching the variables that affect conformity in 1956?

Answer 8

Asch.

Question 9

Name a study that shows conformity to social roles?

Answer 9

The Stanford prison experiment (Zimbardo).

Question 10

What is Autonomous state?

Answer 10

The Autonomous state is when a person is in control of their actions.

Question 11

What is Agentic state?

Answer 11

The Agentic state is when a person has deferred responsibility for their actions. (Listening to an authority figure.) An example of this is Hitler and Germans.

Question 12

What is Agentic Shift?

Answer 12

Agentic Shift is the shift from Autonomy to Agency. (Following orders from yourself -> following someone else).

Question 13

What is Legitimacy of Authority?

Answer 13

Legitimacy of Authority is how likely we are to obey a person or system based on their reputation and position or status in society.

Question 14

What were the details of Stanford prison experiment?

Answer 14

The details of Stanford prison experiment were :

• 24 Male Subjects
• Volunteer Sampling
• Split into 2 teams (12 prisoners and 12 guards)
• Prisoners arrested from home without warning
• Guards told to maintain order
• Study was meant to last 2 weeks but was shut down after 6 days (unethical)

Question 15

What is Locus of control?

Answer 15

Locus of control is the amount of control people feel that they have over the outcome of events in their lives.

Question 16

What’s a persons conformity like when they have an internal LOC?

Answer 16

Likely to resist.

Question 17

What’s a persons conformity like when they have an external LOC?

Answer 17

More likely to conform because they believed social factors are more important.

Question 18

What are the three situational factors that affect Obedience?

Answer 18

• Proximity
• Location
• The power of uniform

Question 19

Outline key study Milgram (1963)

Answer 19

• Teacher, Learner and INSTRUCTOR.
• Instructor ordered shock to be given for every wrong answer from the learner. (Shocks got higher and higher in voltage)
• Teacher could hear learner in pain from shocks up to certain point until they became unresponsive.
• Instructor would tell them to continue all the way up to 450 volts.

Question 20

How did proximity affect ability to follow orders in Milgram’s (1963) study?

Answer 20

When the teacher and the learner were sat in the same room obedience levels dropped (to 40% from 65%). When the teacher had to place their hand on the shock plate obedience dropped even lower (to 35%).

Question 21

How did location affect ability to follow instructions in Milgram’s (1963) study?

Answer 21

Participants where less likely (17% less likely) to deliver the shock if the experiment was held in a less reputable place e.g (university vs run down office).

Question 22

What are the three factors that are key in helping minority influence?

Answer 22

• Consistency
• Commitment
• Flexibility

Question 23

Name the 5 stages of Social Change through minority influence?

Answer 23

1. Drawing attention to an issue.
2. Cognitive conflict.
3. Consistency of position.
4. The Augmentation principle.
5. The Snowball effect.

Question 24

What is the augmentation principle?

Answer 24

The augmentation principle is where a minority group shows that they are willing to suffer for their views. Because of this they are seen as more committed so are taken more seriously by others.

Question 25

What is the Snowball effect?

Answer 25

The snowball effect is where an idea spreads wider and wider until eventually it reaches a tipping point at which point it leads to wide spread social change.

Question 26

What is an example of a dispositional factor affecting obedience?

Answer 26

- Personality (this is because dispositional factors are internal characteristics within an individual)

Question 27

What is unanimity and what effect does it have on conformity?

Answer 27

Unanimity is whether or not someone is anonymous. Someone is less likely to conform if the are anonymous as they will not be judged by their peers for their answer.

Question 28

What is meant by the term conformity?

Answer 28

Conformity the tendency for people to adopt the behaviour, attitudes and values of other members of a group.

Question 29

Outline Asch (1956)?

Answer 29

- 123 undergraduate volunteers males tested on length of lines one at a time. - All of participants were confederates apart from volunteer. Volunteer would answer second last. - Confederates we’re instructed to give the wrong answer to see if the volunteer would conform. - Average conformity rate was 33%.

Question 30

What is the F scale?

Answer 30

The F scale (Fascism scale) was a measure of authoritarian traits and tendencies. (A person with a authoritarian personality is obedient and submissive to authority.)

Question 31

What is Authoritarian personality?

Answer 31

Someone who has a authoritarian personality believes in absolute submission and obedience to authority.

Question 32

Outline (Elms and Milgram)(1966).

Answer 32

- Follow up study to Milgram’s previous study. - They selected 20 obedient and 20 defiant participants from previous study. - Each participant completed MMPI scale and F scale tests to measure their levels of authoritarianism. Also asked questions about childhood relationship with parents. - Links between relationships in childhood with parents and ability to follow orders (how strict parents were.)

Question 33

Outline Mosovici (1969).

Answer 33

- Blue/Green slides - Would naïve participants be influenced by two confederates to say the slides are blue when they are green or green when blue.

Question 34

What is a Dissenter?

Answer 34

A Dissenter someone who doesn't do what they are told.

Question 35

Name one factor that makes people less likely to conform and why this is?

Answer 35

Social Support - | - Presence of disenter makes the subject less likely to conform.

Question 36

What were the findings of The Stanford Prison experiment?

Answer 36

- Guards became increasingly aggressive towards the prisoners and prisoners became submissive. - Guards forgot that they were acting. - 5 prisoners released due to extreme reactions.

Question 37

What is the MMPI test?

Answer 37

The MMPI test is a test of personality and psychopathology.

Question 38

What effect does social support have on conformity?

Answer 38

Social support decreases conformity. Asch found evidence for this in his line study.

Question 39

Why does Consistency help push minority views?

Answer 39

Consistency causes people to assess the issue leading them to putting more thought into formulating an opinion.

Question 40

Why does Commitment help push minority views?

Answer 40

Commitment suggests certainty and confidence in the view.

Question 41

Why does Flexability help push minority views?

Answer 41

Flexibility is important because the argument can be flexed and bent in response to points.

Question 42

How does Social Influence through Majority Influence work?

Answer 42

It works due to conformity. (drink and drive campaign.) E.g. Most adults don't drink and drive. Encouraging people not to do certain things because the majority doesn’t.