Social Influence Flashcards

Question

How did Milgram modify his original study to observe the effects of proximity on the results?

Answer 1

The study was repeated with a similar manner, but the learner and the teacher were in the same room. Obedience levels were 30% less than the study before (now only 35% obeyed)

Answer 2

The study was repeated, but this time the participant had to hold the confederate's hand to a "shock plate", and obedience therefore dropped to only 30% of people obeying.

Answer 3

The study was repeated, but the experimenter confederate giving the order to shock the learner over the phone. This study resulted in the majority defying obedience, with only 21% of participants delivering the maximum shock.

Answer 4

The study was originally located in Yale University, which apparently gave participants the idea that the shocks couldn't be real and/or harmful, or that the study must have been legitimate, which would have increased levels of obedience. Milgram therefore repeated the experiment in a less trusted/prestiegeous location (a ran down office far away from the university). Though obedience levels dropped slightly, 48% of participants still administered the maximum 450 v shock.

Answer 5

Uniforms have been shown to associated with power and authority, so a person wearing a uniform may see to have more legitimacy of authority, so a uniform could increase the chances of obedience. An example of this would be Bushman's study in 1988, when a confederate dressed in many different uniforms stopped random stranger on the street and asked them for change. When the confederate was in uniform, 72% obeyed, when dressed as a beggar 52% obeyed, and when dressed as a business executive, 48% obeyed.

Answer 6

Milgram was inspired by the media's televising of the trials of some German Leaders involved in WW2, specifically a man named Eichman, who was partly responsible for the idea/use of death camps for jews in Auschwitz and Birkenau. Eichman, claimed that the soldiers were "Just following orders" and "didn't understand what they were doing". Many of the British public believed that Germans were evil, but Milgram believed they were just subject to unfortunate circumstance and situational pressure, hence the study.

Answer 7

In 1950, adorno created a questionnaire known as the F scale, which he used to measure whether you likely have an authoritarian personality. Adorno believed authoritarian personality was a result of learned behavior and imitating strict parents, so many of the questions focused on this.

Answer 8

In 1981, Altmeyer reduced personality traits to 3 "clusters" : Conventionalism, Authoritarian Aggression and Authoritarian Submission. He also repeated Milgram's experiment, but asked the participant to shock themselves at the end of the experiment, and found that 80% obeyed.

Answer 9

It suggests a fear of change, a belief in a rigid status quo, and a dislike of divergence

Answer 10

Authoritarian aggression would suggest a fear of outsiders, foreign things or unfamiliarity. For example, Donald Trump shows an Authoritarian Aggression.

Answer 11

Authoritarian Submission suggests a fear of punishment, so would cause a person to obey orders just to avoid repercussions.

Answer 12

They tried to decipher whether participants high in authoritarianism were more likely to obey an authority figure. It also wanted to test how much of obedience was situational or dispositional.

Answer 13

The 1966 study used people who had participated in Milgram's first study, using twenty who had obeyed twenty participants who had defied the "orders".

Answer 14

Many people believed that obedience was not just down to situational influence, as the first study had suggested, but was also influenced by dispositional factors, such as psychopathy, or an authoritarian personality.

Answer 15

After 20 obedient and 20 defiant participant from Milgram's previous study were selected, each participant was tested for authoritarianism, using the MMPI scale and Adorno's F scale, as well as an open-questioned questionnaire.

Answer 16

higher levels of authoritarianism were found in participant who had obeyed in the 1963 study. The recurring differences found between obedient and defiant participants (as shown through the questionnaire, F scale and MMPI scale) was that obedient participants (participants who delivered maximum shock) found the "researcher "more admirable than the "learner", as they had higher authority, while the defiant participants found the learner to be more admirable.

Answer 17

Abu Ghraib In this events soldiers were told to act like guards of prisoners in the Iraq war 2004. The soldiers, playing to their idea of being a proper guard to the prisoners, sexually abused, tortured, raped, sodomised, and tortured their prisoners.

Answer 18

Asch’s study was proved to have Good Internal Validity. This was shown by how Asch’s experiment was replicated in both 1980 and 2010. Though there were different findings, the design still gave valid results.

Answer 19

The confederates could have been unconvincing. The stooges were actually just colleagues of Asch’s so could have been unconvincing actors. This could have caused demand characteristics or reduced compliance.

Answer 20

could have low Temporal validity, as it is an older study conducted in the 1950s. In 1950s America, people were more conscious of fitting in, meaning conformity as more likely. The experiment was repeated in the 1980s and conformity levels reached as low as 1%, so gave a completely different result.

Answer 21

Used volunteer sampling of 26 Male University undergraduate students. Sample was split into 2 conditions, prisoner and Guard. laboratory experiment,in an unused corridor of Stanford University adapted to mimic a prison.The guards were told to behave as they imagined a guard would, but not to hurt the prisoners.The experiment was supposed to last 2 weeks, and relied on the prisoners deindividuation. Zimbardo observed their behaviors via surveillance, and also gave instructions to the guards, acting as the “superintendent”.

Answer 22

Most participants did conform, but there were some dissenters (i.e. Daniel Cup). The results were hard to analyse as the brief that was set was so vague. The guards ended up becoming increasingly violent towards the prisoners, both physically and verbally abusing them. The experiment had to be cut short after 6 days, when 2 participants had to withdraw due to showing symptoms of Anxiety and PTSD, and when the guards became too violating.

Answer 23

The prisoners did not give informed consent, were deceived and were not protected from harm. 2 of the prisoners were also denied of their right to withdraw upon first asking. Both these men later had emotional breakdowns and had to be removed.

Answer 24

The study also had low Mundane Realism. The few dissenters who initially resisted conformity, did so as they were not convinced of the prison, as it was not completely realistic. These dissenters disrupted the experiment a lot. This would have affected the internal validity of the study.

Answer 25

The study presented many Ethical Issues. There was a lack of informed consent, the participants were deceived throughout the experiment. There was also a case of lasting harm. One of the participants, after partaking in the study, had a severe panic attack that lead to a heart attack.

Answer 26

The study lacked Mundane Realism. Participants could have questioned whether the shocks were real, which would have affected obedience.

Answer 27

Results could’ve been affected by dispositional factors. For example if the participant had an authoritarian personality. This contests Milgram's idea that anyone will obey an authority figure in the write circumstance.

Answer 28

the study had good construct validity. The study’s method use tried and tested techniques of other psychologists(e.g. the F scale) and used self report technique to reduce demand characteristics. Though the questions could have triggered admirability effect, the questions were open answer, so the answers were probably genuine.

Answer 29

Social support- believing peers agree with/support your resistance. Locus of Control- personality traits related to confidence and self belief.

Answer 30

Internal LOC- belief that you control your own actions and fate External LOC- belief in external control i.e. you do not control your own fate.

Answer 31

People with internal LOC are more likely to resist conformity and defy National Social Influence. People with Internal LOC are more likely to resist obedience. They would tend to trust themselves and look to authority less, reducing the chance of an Agentic shift.

Answer 32

Can help someone resist the majority if they believe they have social support. Social support against conformity is so powerful as it breaks the unanimity of the majority. Disobedient peers can also act as role models for resisting obedience.

Answer 33

This theory could be considered to have poor external/historical validity as change in attitudes. Twenge’s 2004 meta-analysis shows an increase of externality in young people throughout history. Locus of control also does not particularly affect people experiencing Informational social influence, which is often present in everyday situations.

Answer 34

Aim-test the role of a consistent minority on the majority in an unambiguous situation Method-all female participants, placed into 32 groups of 6 with 4 participants and 2 stooges.Each group was shown 36 different blue slides with varying colour intensities and were asked the colour of the slides.The stooges were deliberately wrong, saying that only 12 of the slides were blue and the other 24 were green.

Answer 35

8.2% agreed with the minority’s judgement on every slide and 32% agreed at least once. However, when the minority was inconsistent, only 1.25% agreed.

Answer 36

commitment: If you stay committed to your beliefs, persuading others is more likely. Minorities usually have greater commitment than the majority, as there is a greater risk. Flexibility- adjust your campaign to fit and address relevant issues. Consistency: constantly and consistently promoting views.

Answer 37

You could argue the test wasn’t completely unambiguous. Colour perception is subjective,whether or not the participant is confident in their eyesight/judgement could affect the results.

Answer 38

-Could argue that Moscovici’s test had good external validity. The test design had many features, like a control group, that insured valid results. The test was repeated in the study, and the study was later replicated.

Answer 39

The sample was all female, suggesting gynocentrism.

Answer 40

Drawing Attention, Cognitive Conflict, Consistency of Position, the augmentation principle, the snowball effect and social cryptomnesia

Answer 41

Drawing attention to the issue- usually creates conflict that motivates recognition by the majority

Answer 42

the opposing views shown in step 1 cause the majority to think deeper about issues being challenged, though this rarely causes minority growth

Answer 43

most successful minorities have expressed their arguments consistently over time and in the group

Answer 44

minorities take risks to further the conflict, the minority therefore looks more serious as they’re willing to suffer

Answer 45

influence and effect of minority grows, group gains more support

Answer 46

though people know change has occurred, but people forget the struggle of the minority, as the new policy is now a staple.

Answer 47

He refined the idea of the authoritarian personality to create right-wing authoritarianism

Answer 48

Conventionalism, authoritarian aggression ad authoritarian submission.

Answer 49

An adherence to conventional norms and values, which can create a fear of change

Answer 50

aggressive feelings toward people who violate social norms

Answer 51

unwavering submission to legitimate authorities.

Answer 52

He ordered participants to give themselves increasing levels of shocks when they answered questions on a quiz wrong. The higher the levels of RWA, the higher the shock they gave themselves.

Answer 53

a state in which a person sees himself or herself as an agent for carrying out another person's wishes.

Answer 54

One could suggest that some people adopt an agentic state in order to maintain a positive self image. This is because it allows a person to perform actions guilt free, as they believe they are simply obeying other people's will.

Answer 55

a person will seem like a more legitimate authority figure if they represent an institution.

Answer 56

People high in externality tend to approach events with a more passive and fatalistic attitude than intervals, taking less personal responsibility for their actions and being less likely to display independent behavior and more likely to accept the influence of others.

Answer 57

- High internals seek their own information and rely less on the opinions of others - High internals tend to be more achievement-oriented and are therefore more likely to become leaders than followers, suggesting they can resist social influence. - High internals may be better able to resist coercion from others.

Answer 58

He used a control group