Social Influence Flashcards

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1
Q

Conformity

A

A change in a person’s behaviour or opinion is a result of real or imagined pressure from a person or group of people.

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2
Q

Who proposed the three types of conformity?

A

Kelman (1958)

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3
Q

What are the three types of conformity?

A

Compliance
Internalisation
Identification

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4
Q

Compliance

A

Going with other people’s ideas/to go along with the group to gain their approval or avoid disapproval.

-You publically agree but privately disagree An individual’s change of view is temporary.
likely to occur as a result of NSI

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5
Q

Give an example of Compliance?

A

When friends pressure you into drinking alcohol when you don’t truly want to, and will not drink outside of such social situations.

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6
Q

Internalisation

A

Making the beliefs, values, attitude and behaviour of the group you own (the strongest type of conformity, and often occurs as a result of ISI). An individual’s change of view is permanent

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7
Q

Give an example of Internalisation

A

Being brought up in a religious household, and becoming religious yourself.

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8
Q

Identification

A

Short term change of behaviour and beliefs only in the presence of a group (middle level)

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9
Q

Give an example of identification?

A

Acting more professional and less silly when you arrive at your office to work.

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10
Q

What are the two explanations of conformity?

A
  1. Normative social influence

2. Influential social influence

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11
Q

Evidence for ISI

A
  • Fein et al. asked p’s to vote for a US presidential candidate after they saw others voting for somebody else.
  • Most changed their mind because they wanted to be ‘correct’, thus demonstrating the impact of informational social influence as a mechanism for conformity.
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12
Q

What is Normative social influence (NSI)

A

NSI - Conforming in order to be liked / to fit in → usually leads to compliance.

EX: When someone conforms because they want to be liked and be part of a group; when a person’s need to be accepted or have approval from a group drives compliance. It often occurs when a person wants to avoid the embarrassing situation of disagreeing with the majority.

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13
Q

Give an example of NSI

A

A person starting to smoke because they are surrounded by other people who smoke

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14
Q

Real-world application NSI & Bullying AO3 (A-A*)

A

A real-life application with an increased understanding of the different types of conformity. Garandeau and Cillissen found that a boy can be manipulated by a bully into victimising another child
as the bully provides a common goal for the boy’s group of friends, the goal is to victimise the other child, so the boy would most likely also victimise the child to avoid disapproval from his friends

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15
Q

Evidence showing the role of social influence

Lucas et al. (2003) Maths questions

A

Asked students to give answers to mathematical problems that were easy or more difficult.

  • Greater conformity to wrong answers when difficult rather than easier
  • Most true for students who rated their maths ability as poor
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16
Q

Who were the participants in Asch’s study

A
  • 123 male American undergraduates in groups of 6;

- consisting of 1 true participant and 5 confederates (actors/people in on the experiment)

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17
Q

What were the aims of Asch’s study?

A

To investigate conformity and majority influence

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18
Q

What was the procedure in Asch’s study?

A
  • Participants and confederates were presented with 4 lines; 3 comparison lines and 1 standard line
  • They asked to state which of three lines was the same length as a stimulus line
  • The real participant always answered last or second to last
  • Confederates would give the same incorrect answer for 12 out of 18 trials
  • Asch observed how often the participant would give the same incorrect answer as the confederates versus the correct answer
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19
Q

What were the findings of Asch’s study?

A
  • 36.8% conformed
  • 25% never conformed
  • 75% conformed at least once
  • In a controlled trial, only 1% of responses given by participants were incorrect (which eliminates eyesight/perception as an extraneous variable, thus increasing the validity of the conclusions drawn)
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20
Q

What were the factors affecting conformity in Asch’s study?

A

Size of majority/Group size
Unanimity of majority
Task Difficulty

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21
Q

What are the 2 differences between internalisation and compliance?

A

Public acceptance and private rejection.

Public and private acceptance.

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22
Q

Explain what is meant by normative and informational social influence.

A

Both explanations for conformity.

NSI - Conforming in order to be liked / to fit in → usually leads to compliance.
ISI - conforming in order to be right - conformity occurs when the situation is novel; the correct course of action is unclear; an expert is present → most likely to lead to internalisation.

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23
Q

What support for NSI was provided by Asch’s study (1951)?

A

Participants went along with a wrong answer because other people did.
When asked they said they feared disapproval by the others.
Supports: participants conformed in order to be accepted and gain social approval.

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24
Q

In relation to Asch’s research, explain what is meant by the terms unanimity and task difficulty.

A

Unanimity: The extent to which all members of a group agree.

Asch: The majority was unanimous when all confederates chose the same comparison line → produced the greatest levels of conformity.

Task difficulty: Asch’s study becomes more difficult when it becomes harder to work out the correct answer.

Asch: Conformity increases with task difficulty, as participants assume the majority is right.

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25
Q

Describe Asch’s study of conformity. Include details of what he did and what he found in your answer.

A
  • Showed participant 2 white cards - one had three lines of different length and one had a standard line.
  • Participants had to match the two lines of the same length.
  • Each participant was tested with a group of confederates, who after the first few trials started given the wrong answer. All confederates gave the same wrong answer.

Overall, the participants gave the wrong answer 36.8% of the time. Every participant conformed at least once, meaning that 75% conformed once.
When asked why they conformed, they said: “to avoid rejection”. → NSI

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26
Q

“Asch’s study is a child of its time” - Explain what is meant by this.

A
  • When Perrin and Spencer repeated Asch’s study in 1980, only one student conformed out of 396.
  • The 1950s (the time when Asch’s study was conducted) was a particularly conformist time in America - it made sense to conform to established norms.
  • Meaning that people may have conformed because it was the norm to do so → We now live in a less conformist age, meaning the results would be different i.e. the study is a child of its time.
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27
Q

Asch’s study has been criticised for being an artificial task and situation. What does this mean and why is this a limitation?

A

Participants knew they were in a study and may have just gone along with the situation → Demand characteristics.
The task was fairly trivial - not conforming would have had no negative impact - and not resembling any everyday task.

Limitation because the tasks cannot be generalised to everyday situations.

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28
Q

Explain the ethical issues with Asch’s research. Do you believe the benefits of the study outweighed the cost? Explain your answer.

A

Deception - they thought the other people were part of the study.
Benefits outweigh the costs - gives us information about conformity in society and shows us the destructive possibilities of conformity and how these can be combated.
The ethical issues were fairly unproblematic (mild embarrassment) and was dealt with by a debrief form.

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29
Q

Explain why Asch’s findings have limited application in the real world.

A

Only men were tested by Asch - research suggests that women may be more conformist because they are more concerned with social relationships.
The men were all from the USA - an individualist culture. In individualist cultures, people are largely concerned with themselves.
In conformity studies conducted in collectivist cultures (people are more concerned with social groups), conformity rates were higher → such cultures are more concerned with group needs.
Conformity rates could in fact be much higher than Asch suggested.
His results may only apply to western men, as he did not take gender and cultural differences into account.

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30
Q

Explain what is meant by a social role. Use examples in your answer.

A

The parts people play as members of different social groups e.g. teachers, teenagers, students, etc.
This is accompanied by the expectations people have of how individuals in these roles should behave.

31
Q

Outline the procedure, findings and conclusions of the Stanford Prison Experiment.

(Haney eat al) (1973)

A

Mock prison created + PPTs randomly assigned to guards or prisoners. PPTs arrested from home + blindfolded strip-searched etc.

Roles clearly divided - prisoners had 16 rules to follow, which were enforced by guards, who were all dressed in uniform with tinted glasses. Guards had total control.

Guards took to their roles quickly - constantly harassing and abusing prisoners (fire extinguishers, headcounts, isolation, reminders of who is in charge).

Prisoners rebelled against the guards - rebellion was put down and prisoners became subdued and depressed.
The experiment had to be ended after 6 days instead of the intended 14.

32
Q

One strength of the Stanford Prison Experiment is the level of control. Outline what is meant by this and why this is a strength.

A

The most obvious example of this is the PPT selection - psychologically tested and randomly assigned.
This meant that individual differences could be minimised and the behaviour displayed would be down to the role and not down to personality.
Increases the internal validity as is means it is easier to draw conclusions about the cause of the behaviour.

33
Q

Critics have argued that Zimbardo exaggerated the role of the situation - explain this point.

A

The role of the situation could have been exaggerated and the role of personality could have been minimised.
Not all guards behaved the same - some were brutal, some were fair and some were kind.
Social roles may not have caused the behaviour, as guards still seem to know the difference between right and wrong. → Dispositional factors are important.

34
Q

Why has it been argued that the Stanford Prison Experiment lacked realism?

A

Banuazizi & Mohavedi.
The performances of PPTs during the study was based on stereotypes of how people are supposed to behave. E.g. one guard based his character on ‘Cool Hand Luke’. This means that the results may not have been down to social roles.
However, Zimbardo claimed quantitative data gathered during the study indicated that prisoners thought the prison was real - just run by psychologists.
It seems on balance the situation was real to the participants which contradict claims by Banuazizi and Mohavedi.

35
Q

Outline ethical issues with Zimbardo’s research.

A

Ethical issues arose due to Zimbardo being part of the study - when ppts asked to leave the participant he was responding as a prison warden would and not like a researcher.
Protection from harm was the biggest issue - although prisoners were eventually allowed to leave, it was much later than it should have been.
Zimbardo should have remained detached.

36
Q

Outline the study done by Haslam and Reicher and explain why this challenges Zimbardo’s conclusions about conformity to social roles.

A

Replicated the SPE - but in Britain.
Findings were different - prisoners formed a collective identity and took over the prison → Attributed to social identity theory → The guards did not manage to do this.
In the SPE, Zimbardo argued that the people conformed to their roles quickly and easily and the behaviour of the PPT stemmed from these roles.
However, we can see from the BBC prison study that social roles are not taken on easily or naturally → which was also seen in the SPE where some of the guards were actually helping the prisoners.

37
Q

Outline Milgram’s research into obedience.

A

Procedure: ‘Teacher’ gave fake electric shocks to ‘learner’ during a ‘learning task’, ordered to do so by an experimenter. At 315v learner pounded on the wall for the last time. Prods, e.g. ‘You have no other choice, you must go on.

Findings: No participants stopped before 300v and 65% went all the way to the top of the shocking scale, 450v. Many showed signs of stress, most objected but continued anyway. The prior survey said 3% would obey.

38
Q

Evaluate Milgram’s research in terms of validity.

A

Low Validity - Orne & Holland. Participants could guess the study. Demand characteristics.
High External validity - Hofling et al. Nurses administering drugs after being told by doctors. Milgram’s findings apply to other situations.

39
Q

What is the social identity theory and why does it suggest that people obey?

A

All about group identification. In Milgram’s study, the teachers identified with the science and so obeyed the researcher. Obedience dropped because ppts started to identify with the victim.

40
Q

Why is the social identity theory a limitation to Milgram’s conclusions about obedience?

A

Milgram claimed ppts obeyed because of the presence of the authority figure. SIT suggests obedience occurred due to identification with the researcher or victim.

41
Q

Outline the ethical issues with Milgram’s instructions. What knock-on effects could these have had for participants?

A

Deception: Didn’t know that the teacher/learner was rigged; didn’t know the shocks were fake.
It prevents participants from giving their fully informed consent to take part. If participants are deceived about the procedure they can still consent to take part, but that consent is worthless because participants do not know what it is they are consenting to. It may even mean that participants are leaving themselves vulnerable to psychological harm because they do not know what the procedure involves and what their role in it is.

42
Q

Briefly outline what is meant by situational variables.

A

Factors that affect someone’s level of obedience. Factors are all due to external circumstances.

43
Q

Haney et al. (1973)

A

Started the Stanford prison experiment.

44
Q

Reicher and Haslam (2006)

The BBC Study

Procedure

A

Procedure: Randomly assigned men to the role of guard or prisoner and examined their behaviour within a specially created ‘prison’.

  • P’s were divided into 5 groups of three people who were as closely matched as possible on key personality variables.
  • From each group of three one person was randomly chose to be a guard and the other two prisoners.
45
Q

Reicher and Haslam (2006)

The BBC Study

How long did the study last?

A

8 nights

46
Q

Reicher and Haslam (2006)

The BBC Study

Findings

A

P’s did not conform automatically to their assigned role as had happened is SPE.

Prisoners increasingly identified as a group and worked collectively to challenge the authority of the guards and establish a more egalitarian set of social relations within the prison.

  • Guards failed to identify their role. Made them reluctant to impose their authority on the prisoners.
  • Lead to a shift in power and the collapse of the prisoner-guard system
47
Q

Situational factors in Obedience

A

Proximity-

Location- Studied were conducted in a laboratory at yale university. Location gave them confidence in the integrity of people involved.

The power of uniform- They are easily recognisable and covert power and authority which can become symbolised in the uniform itself

48
Q

Agentic state

A

A person sees themselves as an agent for carrying out another person’s wishes.

49
Q

Legitimacy of authority

A

A person who is perceived as an agent for carrying out another person’s wishes.

50
Q

Findings of Milgram’s study

A

No participants stopped before 300v and 65% went all the way to the top of the shocking scale, 450v. Many showed signs of stress, most objected but continued anyway. The prior survey said 3% would obey.

51
Q

What were the factors affecting conformity in Milgram’s study?

A

Proximity
Location
Uniform

52
Q

Dispositional explanation

A

internal explanation i.e personality factors/individual reasons why someone obeys.

53
Q

Atgis (1998)

A

conducted a meta-analysis of studies considering locus of control and likeliness to conform.

54
Q

Locus of control (Rotter 1966)

A

The locus of control is a measurement of an individual’s sense of control over their lives.

i.e to what extent they feel that events in their lives are under their own personal control, versus under the control of other external powers like fate

55
Q

Internal locus of control (more control)

A

Behaviour is caused by their own personal decisions and effort

56
Q

External (less control)

A

Behaviour is caused by luck or fate

57
Q

Give an example of a high internal locus of control

A

high internal locus of control thought: ‘I won the award because I worked hard for it.

58
Q

Give an example of a low internal locus of control

A

An example of a low external locus of control thought: ‘I won the award because it was meant to be – it was my destiny

59
Q

Oliner and Oliner (1988)

A

Found the link between locus of control and social
responsibility.

Interviewed two groups of non-Jewish people who had lived through the holocaust. They also interviewed 406 people who protected and rescued Jews from Nazis and 126 people who did not.

The rescuers were
found to have an internal locus of control and also scored higher on measures of social
responsibility.

60
Q

Who were the participants of Moscovici’s study?

A

Randomly selected participants and confederates

61
Q

What was the aim of Moscovici’s study?

A

To observe how minorities can influence a majority

62
Q

What was the procedure of Moscovici’s study?

A

• It was a lab experiment
• Participants were in a group where there were two confederates (the minority) and four participants (the majority).
• Everyone was shown 36 blue slides, each with a different shade
of blue.
• They were each asked to say whether the slide was blue or green.
• Confederates deliberately said they were green on two-thirds of the trials, thus producing a consistent minority view.
• The number of times that the real participants reported that the slide was green was observed.
• A control group was also used consisting of participants only – no confederates.

63
Q

What were the findings of Moscovici’s study?

A

When the confederates were consistent in their answers about 8% of participants said the slides were green. However, when the confederates answered inconsistently about 1% of participants said the slides were green. This shows that consistency is crucial for a
minority to exert maximum influence on a majority.

64
Q

What does Moscovici’s study demonstrate?

A

Moscovici’s study clearly demonstrates the role of consistency in minority influence. The majority is more likely to be influenced by the minority when the minority is consistent in their views.

65
Q

What are the two types of consistency?

A
  • Diachronic consistency

• Synchronic consistency

66
Q

Diachronic consistency

A

When the group remains consistent over time – they do not change their views over time.

67
Q

Synchronic consistency

A

When the group is consistent between all the members of the group – everyone in the group has the same views, and therefore agree with and support each other.

68
Q

Martin et al (2003)

A

Demonstrated that there is a greater degree of internalisation of a minority view, compared to a majority view.

69
Q

Adorno et al. (1950)

A

Developed a questionnaire called the California F scale, to measure levels of the authoritarian personality

70
Q

Middendorp and Meleon (1990) (AO3)

A

Found that less-educated people are more likely to display authoritarian personality characteristics than well-educated people.

71
Q

F scale

A

to measure levels of the authoritarian personality

72
Q

Right-wing authoritarianism

A

A cluster of personality variables (Conventionalism, authority submission and authoritarian aggression) are associated with a ‘right-wing’ attitude to life.

73
Q

Dispositional

A

Explanations of behaviours such as obedience emphasise the being used by individuals own personal characteristics rather than situation influences within the environment

74
Q

Authoritarian personality

A

A distinct personality pattern characterised by strict adherence to conventional values and a belief in absolute obedience or submission to authority