Social Influence (AO1)

Question 1

Aim, Design, IV/DV, Sample of Asch’s study?

Answer 1

Aim: To test rates of conformity

Design: Lab, Repeated Measures

IV/DV: Variables Affecting Conformity/Conformity Rate

Sample: 123 US male college students, most were confederates and put w/a naive one who was put with 6 - 8 confederates. Naive not aware of confederates.

Question 2

Procedure of Asch’s study?

Answer 2

Procedure: Gave groups of ppts 2 large white cards w/lines on. 1 contained standard line and other lines of diff lengths, ppts had to answer which was same length. Confederates started given right answers then purposely started to give wrong answer and it the answer given by naive ppts was recorded. 6 trials were right answers, 12 wrong + known as ‘critical trials’

Question 3

Aim, Design, IV/DV, Sample of Milgram’s study?

Answer 3

Aim: To study the effects of obedience, particularly why the German population allowed Hitler and the persecution of minorities in Nazi Germany.

Design: Lab, Independent Groups

IV/DV: Voltage/Obedience

Sample: Recruited 40 males, aged between 20+50. Told study was for memory

Question 4

Procedure for Milgram’s study?

Answer 4

When arrived, ppts took rigged draw to see what role they’d get but always get teacher, confederate who was man who was middle aged would always be learner then leave room. Another confederate was the ‘experimenter’, who told ppt they could leave any time, then gave instructions for experiment which was to give learner word questions and every time learner got it wrong shock was given and each time increased by 15V until 450V. When learner got to 300V they ‘pounded on wall’ then gave no response to next question but ‘pounded’ on wall again at 315V shock and then no further response at all, if teacher consulted experimenter gave various prods from ‘please continue/go on’ to ‘you have no other choice, please go on’.

Question 5

Findings of Milgram’s study?

Answer 5

Findings: No ppts stopped below 300V, some stopped at that tho (only 12.5%), 65% continued to highest level of 450V. Qualitative data was also collected from observations, w/some ppts having ‘extreme tension’ including sweating, nail /lip biting or digging nails into hands. Psychologists estimated how many would go to 400V and they said only 3% lol. After experiment ppts were debriefed and told that their behaviour was natural and normal, also sent follow-up questionnaire and 84% said they were glad to participate.

Question 6

What is conformity?

Answer 6

A change in behaviour or opinion due to real or imagined pressure from a group or single person

Question 7

Name the 3 types of conformity

Answer 7

• Compliance
• Identification
• Internalisation

Question 8

What are the 2 types of Social Influences?

Answer 8

Normative and Informational Social Influence

Question 9

Explain the 2 types of social influence?

Answer 9

NSI: Based on human need to be and accepted by others or groups around us. Adopting behaviour based on what is perceived to be the social norms. An emotional prices because it is to do w/acting due to how we feel and leads to compliance.

ISI: Based on human need to be right and the ambiguity of a situation. May consult a perceived expert on the issue before making a decision on what to do. Can lead to internalisation and is a cognitive process as it is regarding how and what we think.

Question 10

What were the results of Asch’s study?

Answer 10

Naive ppts gave wrong answer 36.8% of the time and therefore went along and conformed with the clearly incorrect majority on the critical trials. Over the critical trials roughly 75% of participants conformed at least once, and 25% of participant never conformed. In the control group, with no pressure to conform to confederates, less than 1% of participants gave the wrong answer.

Question 11

What were the aims and procedure of Asch’s study?

Answer 11

A: To investigate the extent to which social pressure from a majority group could affect a person to conform.

P: 50 male US college students were put in groups of 8 where only one was a naive participant, the other confederates. Here they would be given a ‘vision’ test where they would be shown a standard line, and then three other lines of varying lengths and asked which of the three was the closest to the standard. Regardless of similarity, the confederates would all choose the same answer. There were 18 trials and in 12 of these (dubbed critical trials) confederates gave the wrong answer.

Question 12

What is a binding factor?

Answer 12

What causes someone to stay in the agentic state;

Aspects of the situation that allow the person to minimise or ignore the impact of their behaviour and thus reduce the ‘moral strain’ they receive such as placing blame on the victim or denying the damage done

Question 13

What is the agentic state?

Answer 13

• Idea that the obedience to destructive authority occurs when a person does not take responsibility for their own actions.
• They become an agent as they act for someone else but will still feel high levels of anxiety if they realise when they realise the wrongs of their actions

Question 14

What was the name and year of Zimbardo’s study?

His aim?

Answer 14

• Stanford Prison Experiment (SPE)
• To investigate conformity to social roles. To investigate how readily people would conform to social roles in a simulated, yet reflective scenario.

Question 15

Why did SPE have to shut down?

Answer 15

Guards started to become verbally abusive and degrade the prisoners through physical labour being punishment and putting put rebels in the ‘hole’, a small cupboard. Guards seemed to enjoy the power given to them.

Question 16

What aspects of Milgram’s baseline study were modified?

Answer 16

Proximity, Location, Uniform

Question 17

What do Milgram’s modifications aim to do?

Answer 17

How situational variables impact obedience and it’s likeability

Question 18

Explain Compliance

Answer 18

A form of conformity, superficial and a change that is only in public. Occurs when ‘going along’ with a group for public acceptance and this will differ when in private. Affected by the perceived surveillance of such group. Depends on group pressure.

Question 19

Explain Internalisation

Answer 19

A form of conformity of a deep level due to agreeing with a group or seeing them as correct/valuing them. Change in behaviour and opinion is both in public and private - a permanent change. Views are consistent with one’s internal belief system.

Question 20

Explain Identification

Answer 20

A form of conformity, moderate in nature and occurs when behaviour is cried due to a desire to be accepted by the group. May not privately agree/accept beliefs, but will do so in public at least to be a part of the group.

Question 21

Define obedience

Answer 21

Social influence when a direct order is followed. Person giving order is usually an authority figure.

Question 22

What are the GENERAL findings for Milgram’s situational variables?

Answer 22

Originally the obedience rate was 65% and all variations caused obedience to drop

Question 23

How did Milgram manipulate proximity in his work?

Answer 23

• Originally, learner and teachers were in adjoining rooms, so never actually saw each other once experiment began, so this had the proximity between the two had the most variations
• When in the same room, obedience dropped to 40%.
• In a more dramatic version, the teacher had to force the learner’s hand onto a ‘shock plate’ and obedience became 30%.
• When instructions were given just over the phone and the experimenter had no physical presence, obedience went down to 20% and ppts even began to give weaker shocks or none at all!

Question 24

How did Milgram manipulate location in his work?

Answer 24

• Baseline was done in of course an official laboratory, however one variation changed the location to a run-down office/building. Here obedience dropped to 47.5% and was a drop of 14.5% from the baseline’s 65%

Question 25

How did Milgram manipulate uniform in his work?

Answer 25

• Used as a way to highlight status or authority so when someone wears uniforms one presumes that they should follow their orders because they have the authority to do so
• In the baseline study, the experimenter wore smart clothing and a grey lab coat. In one variation however, the experimenter had to leave due to an ‘urgent phone call’ and was replaced by a ‘member of the public’ (also confederate) dressed in casual clothes. This caused the lowest obedience rate of them all at 20%!

Question 26

Explain the obedience factor Legitimacy of Authority

Answer 26

• Most societies are hierarchically structured so most accept that authoritative figures have some social power which they can exercise over us below
• We are therefore willing to give up some independence and hand control of some of our behaviour to them as we trust them to appropriately use such power/authority

Question 27

Why can a destructive authority cause problems within society?

Answer 27

• Causes problems when the authority becomes destructive. Hitler was popular due to his charisma and skills, yet later on use this power to make people behave in callous ways and persecute others
• In Milligram’s study, this was shown when the experimenter makes ppts carry on even when they want to quit

Question 28

Findings of Asch’s study?

Answer 28

Findings: Overall, 25% conformed never so 75% at least once. Ppts who conformed said they did to avoid rejection (NSI). Asch effect was coined to describe when people conform even when situation is NOT ambiguous.