social influence a lot of exam questions Flashcards
Studies of conformity are sometimes criticised for being unethical. Briefly explain two ways in which psychologists might address ethical issues in social influence research.
* Participants should be given the right to withdraw (at the start; throughout the study; withdraw their data at the end)
* Participants should not be put in embarrassing/uncomfortable situations
* Participants should be fully debriefed at the earliest opportunity
Suggest one limitation of the Authoritarian Personality as an explanation for obedience.
measurement by F scale which has questionable validity
Outline Asch’s findings in relation to two variables affecting conformity. Briefly explain two limitations of Asch’s conformity research.
Asch found that group size affected level of conformity – up to 3 confederates levels increased, thereafter they tended to plateau.
*Asch found that task difficulty affected level of conformity – where the lines were of similar length making the judgement more difficult conformity levels increased (whereas when correct answer was obvious the levels decreased).
*Asch found that unanimity affected level of conformity – where the majority were unanimous in their wrong answer, conformity levels increased (whereas when there was an ally, conformity levels deceased).
Credit other relevant findings in relation to other variables studied by Asch.
Limitations:
*Asch’s findings may not be so relevant today – the outcome may have been influenced by social attitudes of the 1950s – post-war attitudes that people should work together and consent rather than dissent.
*Asch’s task was artificial – therefore not a valid measure of real life conformity where conforming takes place in a social context and often with people we know rather than strangers.
*Gender bias – use of a male sample thus may not represent female behaviour.
*Use of volunteer sample whose behaviour may not represent that of a wider population.
*Ethical problems including deception (participants believed they were taking part in a test of perception) and protection from harm (participants were put in a stressful and embarrassing situation).
Outline and discuss how consistency and commitment might contribute to minority influence.
consistency is repeating the same message, challenging the beliefs held by the majority. Consistency may be within the members of the group or over time. This draws attention to the minority view
* commitment is shown when members of the minority demonstrate their dedication to their belief perhaps by making sacrifices. This shows that the minority is not acting out of self-interest
* over time, consistency and/or commitment gives the members of the majority an opportunity to listen to the minority view and adopt it as their own.
Possible discussion points:
* discussion of effectiveness of consistency and commitment e.g. internalisation, drawing attention, snowball
* use of research such as that by Moscovici to support the role of consistency in minority influence
* discussion of the link between commitment and the augmentation principle
* discussion of the link between commitment (tipping point) and the snowball effect
* discussion that suggests other factors also play a role in minority influence, not just consistency and commitment
* discussion of implications, e.g. examples of real life situations (such as the suffragettes)
* discussion of ethics, e.g. deliberate manipulation
Discuss the authoritarian personality as an explanation for obedience.
AO1 Possible content:
*authoritarian personality is a collection of traits developed from strict/rigid parenting
*examples of traits – conformist/conventional/dogmatic/hostile towards those of perceived lower status (scapegoating)
*obedient/servile towards people of perceived higher status.
*assessment of the authoritarian personality using the F-scale
AO3 Possible discussion points:
*dispositional explanations cannot explain obedience in entire societies
*research findings in obedience studies, eg Milgram can be more readily explained by situational factors
*use of evidence/analysis of evidence to illustrate the validity of the explanation, eg using the F-scale
*methodological evaluation of evidence if used to discuss the strength, or otherwise, of the explanation
*comparison with alternatives.
For this study, the researchers had to use different participants in each condition and this could have affected the results.
Outline one way in which the researchers could have addressed this issue.
Random allocation
each participant is assigned a number or identified by name
*the numbers/names are placed into a random number generator/hat/lottery method
*the first participant drawn is assigned to condition 1, the second to condition 2, etc. OR the first 15 participants are assigned to condition 1 and the next 15 are assigned to condition 2.
Using an example, explain the role of social influence processes in social change.
Social change refers to the change that occurs in a society and not at the individual level.
* Minorities bring about social change by being consistent, flexible and committed. Through social crypto-amnesia and the snowball effect, gradually the minority turns into the majority.
Discuss ethical issues in social influence research.
knowledge of ethical issues in social influence research and/or specific examples of where they occur in studies
* deception/lack of informed consent − when participants are misled or information is withheld, e.g. Asch’s participants were told the study was investigating visual perception and knew nothing of the confederates; Milgram’s participants were unaware the shocks were not real
* protection from harm/psychological distress − participants should not be placed ‘at risk’; gain new negative knowledge of themselves, e.g. prisoners in the Stanford prison experiment (SPE) were humiliated, showed signs of severe distress; some guards felt pressured to follow the more dominant guards
* right to withdraw − participants should be free to leave when they choose to, e.g. Milgram’s participants were given ‘verbal prods’ to encourage them to remain within the experiment; prisoners in SPE pressurised to stay.
Possible discussion points:
* cost-benefit analysis − studies may be justified on the grounds of what we learn, e.g. Milgram − the dangers of ‘blind obedience’
* validity − deception/lack of informed consent justified as demand characteristics are reduced, e.g. in Asch; would be difficult to investigate processes such as obedience without deception
* use of debriefing in studies − retrospective consent, psychiatric follow-up assessments, etc.; participants confirmed they were happy to have taken part, etc.
* counterarguments/discussion points related to specific studies, e.g. Zimbardo’s study led to reform of real prisons; Milgram awarded prize by APA
* research was conducted at a time when ethical guidelines had not been established; could be argued that studies led to introduction of guidelines which protected future participants.
A survey shows that fewer young people are smoking today than in 1987.
Using your knowledge of social influence processes in social change, explain possible reasons for this change in behaviour.
Minority influence processes:
* examples of the influence of pressure groups/anti-smoking lobbies and how they may convince the majority through consistency, commitment (augmentation principle), flexibility
* the snowball effect − how smoking behaviour/views on smoking change gradually over time.
Conformity processes:
* normative social influence/compliance − the group norm among young people is to maintain health and fitness; people who go against this norm (by smoking) risk rejection from the group; smoking is anti-social, violates social norms, so young people who smoke are less likely to fit in
* informational social influence/internalisation − more is known now about the harmful effects of smoking, young people may have become convinced by such evidence.
Obedience processes:
* laws on smoking have changed, e.g. banned in public places, which may have influenced young people’s behaviour.
