Social Influence

Question 1

What was the aim of Asch’s study?

Answer 1

To investigate conformity through responses of participants to group pressure in an unambiguous situation

Question 2

What was the method of Asch’s study?

Answer 2

123 America. Male students tested in a group of six to eight confederates. Two large cards were shows, one with three comparison lines. Participants were asked to select the matching line.
There were 18 trials and 12 where confederates all selected the wrong line

Question 3

What were the results of Asch’s study?

Answer 3

On the twelve critical trials the participants gave the wrong answer 1/3 of the time, agreeing with the confederates. 25% of the participants never gave a wrong answer.

Question 4

What was the conclusion of Asch’s study?

Answer 4

It shows people are influenced by group pressure and also shows a high level of independence as, despite group pressure, the majority went against group opinion.

Question 5

What are three weaknesses of Asch’s study?

Answer 5

It may only reflect conformity in 1950s America as it was repeated in 1980 uk and found just one conforming response in 396 trials.
The task and situation were artificial
It is more reflective of conformity in individualistic cultures as places such as China have much higher conformity rates (Bond and Smith)

Question 6

What are social factors in terms of conformity?

Answer 6

When conformity occurs because of real or imagined pressure from others.

Question 7

Describe group size as a factor of conformity

Answer 7

The more people there are in a group the greater the pressure to conform. Asch’s found that with two confederates conformity was 13.6%, but with three confederates it was 31.8%.

Question 8

What is a weakness of group size as an effect on conformity?

Answer 8

It depends on the task. When there is no obvious answer people conform when the group is 8+ people.

Question 9

Describe anonymity as a factor of conformity

Answer 9

When participants could write down answers (they were anonymous) conformity was lower.

Question 10

What is a weakness of anonymity as an effect on conformity?

Answer 10

It depends on the people you are with. If participants are friends expressing opinions anonymously they conform more (Huang and Li)

Question 11

Describe task difficulty as an effect on conformity

Answer 11

If the comparison lines are more similar to the standard, the task becomes harder and conformity increased

Question 12

What is a weakness of task difficulty as an effect on conformity?

Answer 12

Depends on the expertise as people with more will be less affected by task difficulty.

Question 13

What are dispositional factors of conformity?

Answer 13

The characteristics of a person

Question 14

Describe personality as an effect on conformity

Answer 14

Having an internal locus of control leads to lower conformity. When asked to rate cartoons, Burger and Cooper found that participants with a high desire for control (internals) were less likely to agree with confederates rating.

Question 15

What is a weakness of personality as an effect on conformity?

Answer 15

It depends on the familiarity of the situation as control is less important in familiar situations (Rotter)

Question 16

Describe Expertise as an effect on conformity

Answer 16

More knowledgeable people tend to be less conformist. For example, self-confessed maths experts were less likely to conform to others’ answers to a maths problem )Lucas et al.

Question 17

What is a weakness of expertise as an effect on conformity?

Answer 17

There is no single factor to explain conformity, e.g maths experts may conform in a group of strangers in order to be liked

Question 18

What was the aim or Milgram’s study?

Answer 18

To see if people would obey an unreasonable order (to deliver electric shocks)

Question 19

What was the method of Milgram’s study?

Answer 19

40 males volunteered for a study on memory, aged 20-50. A ‘teacher’ was paired with a ‘learner’ (confederate). The learner (confederate) was strapped to a chair and wired with electrodes which could give an eclectic shock. The teacher was instructed by the experimenter to give a shock to the learner when a mistake was made. Intensity increased from 15 to 450 volts.

Question 20

What were the results of Milgram’s study?

Answer 20

No participants stopped below 300 volts. Five participants (12.5%) stopped at 300 when they pounded on the wall. 65% continues to 450 volts. The participants showed extreme tension, e.g three had seizures.

Question 21

What were the conclusions of Milgram’s study?

Answer 21

Obedience had little to do with disposition. Factors in the situation made it difficult to disobey, e,g location of study, not wanting to disrupt the experiment and being in a never situation.

Question 22

What is a strength of Milgram’s study?

Answer 22

Other studies have found similar obedience levels. 100% females followed orders to give what they thought was a fatal shock to a puppy.

Question 23

What are two weaknesses of Milgram’s study?

Answer 23

Participants may not have believed that the shocks were real as they voiced suspicions about the shocks.
Milgram’s participants experience considerable distress which could have caused psychological damage.

Question 24

What is an agentic state?

Answer 24

Someone who follows orders with no sense of personal responsibility.

Question 25

What is autonomous state?

Answer 25

When a person makes their own free choices and feels responsible for their own actions

Question 26

Describe an overview of Milgram’s agency theory

Answer 26

It explains obedience in terms of the power of other and social factors

Question 27

What effect does authority have on Milgram’s agency theory?

Answer 27

Agentic shift is the change from autonomous to an agentic state, this occurs when someone sees someone else as a figure of authority

Question 28

How does proximity effect Milgram’s agency theory?

Answer 28

If the authority figure is physically closer then the other is less obedient

Question 29

What is one strength of Milgram’s agency theory?

Answer 29

There is research support as a Lass and Schmitt showed a film of Milgram’s study to students who blamed the ‘experimenter rather than the ‘teacher’ for the harm to the learner.

Question 30

What are two weaknesses of Milgram’s agency theory?

Answer 30

It cannot explain why there isn’t 100% obedience

It gives people an excuse for ‘blind’ obedience such as Nazis which makes it a dangerous excuse.

Question 31

Describe personality as an effect of crowd and collective behaviour

Answer 31

People with an internal locus of control are less likely to be influenced by others in a crowd

Question 32

What is a weakness of personality as an effect on crowd and collective behaviour?

Answer 32

Not all research shows that personality matters. E.g in one study ‘whistle-blowers’ had similar scores on a personality test as non-whistle-blowers

Question 33

Describe morality as an effect on crowd and collective behaviour

Answer 33

Morals are our sense of right and wrong. Those with greater moral strength are more likely to have their behaviour guided by these morals than be influenced by the opinions/behaviours of others

Question 34

What is a strength of morality as an effect on crowd and collective behaviour

Answer 34

It is supported by history when German Sophie School was executed for distributing anti-Nazi literature. She resisted group norm and was willing to sacrifice her life for her moral values

Question 35

Describe deindividuation as an effect on crowd and collective behaviour

Answer 35

Group norms (social factors) determine the behaviour of the crowd - either pro social or antisocial. It reduces personal identity and you take on the group identity

Question 36

What is a weakness of deindividuation as an effect on crowd and collective behaviour?

Answer 36

Antisocial effects may be due to being packed together in a small space (crowding), as researched by Freedman with rats

Question 37

Describe social loading as an effect on crowd and collective behaviour

Answer 37

When working in a group people individually put in less effort. Being in a group reduces personal identity and individual identity is unknown. Lanaté et al. found participants made less noise individually when shouting in a group of six than when on their own

Question 38

What is a weakness of social loafing as an effect on crowd and collective behaviour?

Answer 38

It depends on the situation as social loafing is not a problem for creative tasks

Question 39

Describe culture as an effect on crowd and collective behaviour

Answer 39

Individualist cultures (e.g. US and UK) focused on individual needs whereas collectivist cultures (e.g. China and Korea) focused on the needs of the group. Social loafing is lower in collectivist cultures

Question 40

What is a weakness of culture as an effect on crowd and collective behaviour

Answer 40

Making generalisations about countries may be a simplification of the way people behave since they are influenced by multiple cultures.

Question 41

What was the aim of Reicher’s study?

Answer 41

To investigate the behaviour of a crowd to see if their behaviour was rule or unruly

Question 42

What was Reicher’s method?

Answer 42

He analysed newspapers, TV, radio, and police reports of the St.Pauls riots in 1980. He interviewed 20 people immediately after the riot to understand what happened, including six in depth interviews.

Question 43

What were the results of Reicher’s study?

Answer 43

The riot was triggered by policemen raiding a café for drugs, which was seen as unjustified. A crowd of 300-3000 gathered and attacked the police and other properties, throwing stones and bricks and burning police cars. When the police left rioters calmed down and never moved beyond the St.Pauls area.

Question 44

What was the conclusion of Reicher’s study?

Answer 44

That the crowd’s behaviour was rule-driven and anger was only expressed towards predictable targets, based on the social attitudes of the area.

Question 45

What did Le Bon suggest about crowd and collective behaviour?

Answer 45

That being in a crowd creates anonymity, leading to antisocial behaviour. Behaviour is ruled by social norms so when we can’t be identified, we lose our sense of responsibility and behave irrationally and aggressively.

Question 46

What was the aim of Zimbargo’s study?

Answer 46

To investigate deindividuation in a study similar to Milgram’s

Question 47

What was the method of Zimbardo’s study?

Answer 47

Four female undergrads had to deliver fake electric shocks to another student. In group one they were individuated (wore own clothes, mane tags and could see each other). In group two they were deindividuated (wore large coats with hoods, never referred to by name)

Question 48

What were the results of of Zimbardo’s study?

Answer 48

The deindividuated group was more likely to press the button to shock the ‘learner’ in the other room. They held the shock button down twice as long as the individuated group.

Question 49

What was the conclusion of Zimbardo’s study?

Answer 49

It supports the view that anonymity and deindividuation increases the likelihood of antisocial behaviour

Question 50

What is one strength of Zimbardo’s study?

Answer 50

Understanding deindividuation can be used to manage crowds which is important at events such as sporting fixtures

Question 51

What are two weaknesses of Zimbardo’s study?

Answer 51

Deindividuation doesn’t always lead to antisocial behaviour as discovered by Johnson and Downing who found that fewer shocks were given when dressed like a nurse than in a KKK outfit.
Antisocial behaviour may be due to crowding rather than collective behaviour as discovered by Freedman

Question 52

What is bystander behaviour?

Answer 52

The observation that the presence of others (bystanders( reduces that likelihood that help will be offered in an emergency situation

Question 53

What is prosocial behaviour?

Answer 53

Behaviour which is beneficial to other people, and may not necessarily benefit the helper

Question 54

What is antisocial behaviour?

Answer 54

Behaviour which is harmful to other people

Question 55

Explain similarity to victim as a factor of prosocial behaviour

Answer 55

If you identify with a characteristic of the victim you are more likely to help. According to Levine et al. Man U fans are more likely to help another Man U fan than a Liverpool one.

Question 56

What is a weakness of similarity to victim as a factor of prosocial behaviour?

Answer 56

Similarity may increase helping but, for example, if the costs are too high or the situation is ambiguous it is not sufficient to guarantee helping

Question 57

Explain expertise as a factor of prosocial behaviour

Answer 57

People with specialist skills are more likely to help in emergency situations that suit their expertise. Registers nurses were much more likely to help a workman who had fallen off a ladder (Cramer et al.)

Question 58

What is a weakness of expertise as a factor of prosocial behaviour?

Answer 58

People who had received Red Cross training were no more likely to help a victim who was bleeding a lot than people who had received no training (Shotland and Heinold)

Question 59

Explain presence of others as a factor of prosocial behaviour

Answer 59

Bystander effect states that the more people are present the less likely that help is given. When part of an intercom discussion where one of the confederates had an epileptic seizure participants who thought they were alone reported it 85% of the time, contrast to 31% if they thought there were 4 other people.

Question 60

What is a weakness of presence of others as a factor of prosocial behaviour?

Answer 60

It depends on the situation and the cost of not helping. In very serious emergencies when immediate actions are needed help us given (faul et al.)

Question 61

Explain cost of helping as a factor of prosocial behaviour

Answer 61

The decision of whether to help depends on costs:
Cost of helping: danger to self or embarrassment
Cost of not helping: guilt, blame, leaving another in need

Question 62

What is a weakness of cost of helping as a factor of prosocial behaviour?

Answer 62

Help also depends on how the situation is interpreted, e.g. man and woman arguing, 65% intervened when the woman shouted ‘I don’t know you’ but only 19% when shouting ‘I don’t know why I married you’ ( Shotland and straw)

Question 63

What was the aim of Pilivan’s study?

Answer 63

To investigate if certain characteristics of a victim would affect whether people will help a bystander in a natural setting.

Question 64

What was the method of Pilivan’s study?

Answer 64

A male confederate collapses on a New York City subway train, either appearing drunk or disabled (with a cane). There were 103 trials. One confederate acted as a ‘model’ if no one else helped. Two observers recorded key information.

Question 65

What were the results of Pilivan’s study?

Answer 65

The ‘disabled’ victim (with cane) was given help in 95% of the trials, the ‘drunk’ victim was helped in 50% of the trials. Help was forthcoming as much in a crowded carriage as in a carriage with few people.

Question 66

What were the conclusions of Pilivan’s study?

Answer 66

Characteristics of the victim affect whether they will receive help. In a natural setting the number of people who witness an emergency doesn’t affect their willingness to help.

Question 67

What was one weakness of Pilivan’s study?

Answer 67

The participants came mostly from a city so were more used to these types of emergencies so may not have the typical reaction of all people.

Question 68

What are two strengths of Pilivan’s study?

Answer 68

The participants did not know their behaviour was being studied so the results were high in validity
Qualitative data was also collected as the observers noted down remarks heard from passengers

Question 69

What are three weaknesses of Adorno’s theory?

Answer 69

The theory was based in a flawed questionnaire which challenges the validity of the theory
The evidence was based on correlational data therefore we cannot claim that authoritarian personality causes greater obedience levels
It cannot explain all cases of obedience as millions of Germans displayed highly obedient and prejudiced behaviour.

Question 70

What is people with authoritarian personality’s cognitive style?

Answer 70

They think very ‘black and white’, very rigid. They believe in stereotypes and do not like change

Question 71

Explain scapegoating in authoritarian personality

Answer 71

Freud suggested that people who have hostility displace this onto others who are socially inferior. You offload anger to something else to relieve anxiety and hostility

Question 72

Explain the origins in childhood of authoritarian personalities

Answer 72

It originates from overly strict parenting and relieving only conditional love from patents. The child identifies with the parents’ moral values and feel hostility towards their parents which cannot be directly expresses for fear of reprisals