Social Influence AO1 and AO3 Flashcards
Who proposed the types of conformity?
Hebert Kelman (1958)
TRUE OR FALSE: In internalisation the change is permanent
TRUE
TRUE OR FALSE: Compliance results in a deep type of change
FALSE
What is identification
We conform to the group because we value it and want to be a part of it. We publicly agree with the group but don’t privately agree
Which 2 people developed the two-process theory for conformity?
Morton Deutsch and Harold Gerard (1955)
What is the two-process theory of conformity?
There are 2 main reasons why people conform which is based on two basic human needs: to be right (ISI) and to be liked (NSI)
Give an example of ISI
Not knowing an answer in class but following the majority because you assume that they are likely to be right
Give an example of NSI
Feigning interest in a conversation because you want to feel approved rather than rejected
What is the research support for ISI? AO3
Lucas et al. 2006 gave easy and difficult mathematical problems to students. There was greater conformity when the problems were more difficult especially if the person had poor mathematical abilities.
This proves that people conform when they don’t know the answer
What is the research support for NSI? AO3
Asch (1951) found that many participants went along with a clearly wrong answer because they were afraid of disapproval. When asked to write their answers down instead, conformity rates fell to 12.5%
What are the individual differences in ISI? AO3
ISI doesn’t affect everyone in the same way as Asch found that students were 9% less conformist than other participants. Perrin and Spencer found low conformity rates in engineering student.
Not everyone cares about being correct
What are the individual differences in NSI? AO3
nAffiliators (want to be liked) may conform more than others as McGhee and Teevan found (1967). People who don’t care about being liked may conform less
How do ISI and NSI work together? AO3
In Asch’s experiment conformity was reduced when there was a dissenting participant but this may be due to social support (NSI) or information (ISI)
What was the aim of Asch’s study?
Investigate how much people will conform to the opinion of others even in a situation where the answer is certain
What was the sample for Asch’s study?
123 male American undergraduates
Outline the procedure of Asch’s study
He showed participants, in groups of 6-8, 2 cards with a standard and comparison lines.
They had to pick which line matched with the standard line
There was only 1 or 2 naïve participants but the rest were confederates
When did Asch carry out his study?
1951
What were the findings from Asch’s study?
75% conformed at least once, 25% didn’t conform at all.
What was the conclusion from Asch?
People are more likely to conform to social roles as they don’t want to be rejected
Outline the idea that Asch’s research is a child of its time AO3
Perrin and Spencer did a similar research I 1980 and only one person conformed. Society may have changed so his research lacks concurrent validity
Outline the artificial situation and task of Asch’s study (A03)
Participants knew the aim of the research and therefore they had demand characteristics which reduces the ecological reliability
Outline the limited application of findings for Asch’s research (AO3)
He only tested American males which makes it difficult to generalise the findings to females and different cultures
Outline the certain applications of the findings from Asch’s research (AO3)
When participants had to answer out loud in front of strangers, there was more conformity than when they had to write their answers down
Outline the ethical issues with Asch’s research (AO3)
Participants were deceived which shouldn’t occur in research but the findings may have been more valuable than the ethical issue.
Outline Asch’s variation into group size
He found that with 3 confederates conformity rose to 31.8% but more made little difference
Outline Asch’s variation into unanimity
He introduced a confederate who disagreed with the others sometimes and this reduced conformity by a quarter
Outline Asch’s variation into task difficulty
He made the task more difficult which caused conformity to increase
How did Zimbardo collect his sample?
Volunteer sampling
How did Zimbardo assign his participants?
Randomly assigned
Outline Zimbardo’s aim
To find out if people will conform to social roles when in an evil situation
Outline Zimbardo’s procedure
He set up a mock prison and assigned emotionally stable participants to either prisoners or guards. The prisoners were arrested from their home, stripped searched and assigned a number
Outline the findings of Zimbardo’s research
It was meant to last 14 days but only lasted 6 days
A prisoner was released on the first day as he showed signs of psychological disturbance
After 2 days the prisoners rebelled against the guards
The prisoner’s became depressed
The guards were aggressive
Outline the conclusions from Zimbardo’s research
The situation was able to influence the participant’s behaviours
How did Zimbardo control his variables? AO3
He picked emotionally stable participants who were randomly assigned to the roles. This level of control increases internal validity making us more confident when drawing conclusions from this research
Strength=Realism of Zimbardo’s experiment AO3
Quantitative data showed that 90% of the prisoner’s conversations were about prison life and prisoners though that the prison was real but it was run by psychologists which increases internal validity
Role of dispositional influences in Zimbardo’s research AO3
Fromm (1973) suggested that Zimbardo may have exaggerated the power of the situation and minimised the role of personality factors. Only a third of the guards were brutal and the rest were more sympathetic. Zimbardo overstated the situation influence
Outline the lack of research support for Zimbardo’s research AO3
Reicher and Haslam (2006) replicated the study but found that the prisoners eventually took control of the prison as they had Social Identity Theory and were able to refuse their role as prisoners
Outline the ethical issues with Zimbardo’s study AO3
Zimbardo’s dual role clouded his judgement as he didnt release a prisoner who was showing signs of psychological harm. Also his participants weren’t protected from harm
What was the aim of Milgram’s research?
To understand why people obey
What was the procedure of Milgram’s research?
He paid 40 males to take part who were aged between 20 and 50. The learner and ‘Mr Wallace’ were confederates but the ‘teacher’ was a naive participant. The participants were told to shock the learner whenever they got an answer incorrect and the shocks went up to 450V. Prods were used to ensure they carried on
When did Milgram’s research take place?
1963
What were the findings from Milgram’s research?
12.5% of participants stopped at 300V but 65% continued to 450V, the highest, deadliest voltage.
What conclusions can be made from Milgram’s research?
The results were unexpected therefore people strangely obey authority
Outline the low internal validity of Milgram’s research AO3
Orne and Holland (1968) stated that the participants didn’t believe in the set-up and they guessed the shocks weren’t real. Milgram may not have been measuring what he was supposed to measure
Outline the good external validity of Milgram’s research AO3
The lab environment reflects wider authority relationships in real life such as doctors and nursers. Therefore, Milgram’s research can be generalised to other situations.
Outline the supporting replication of Milgram’s research AO3
The game of death (a documentary) supports Milgram and 80% of participants wold give the highest shock to an unconscious man and showed signs of disturbance i.e nail biting
What is an alternative explanation to obedience in Milgram’s research? AO3
Social Identity Theory-participants identified with the experimenter. When obedience levels fell this was because they identified less with the science of the situation. Therefore, Milgram may be wrong about authority being the reason people obeyed.
What are the ethical issues in Milgram’s research? AO3
Deception was used for the participants and there was no protection from harm as the participants showed signs of distress
What are the 3 situational variables that affect obedience?
Proximity
Location
Uniform
How did proximity affect obedience?
- When the learner and the teacher were in the same room, obedience dropped from 65% to 40%.
- When the teacher had to force the learner’s hand to the shock plate, obedience dropped to 30%
- When the experimenter gave instructions through a phone, obedience dropped to 20.5%
How did location affect obedience?
In a run-down building rather than the university setting, obedience dropped to 47.5% as there was less authority
How did uniform affect obedience?
A confederate in everyday clothing took over the experiment but obedience dropped to 20%
What are the 2 social psychological factors that affect obedience?
Agentic state and Legitimacy of authority
How does Agentic State affect obedience?
People obey when they believe they are working for someone else and that person will take responsibility of the consequences. We feel no personal responsibility for our behaviour
What are binding factors and how do they affect obedience?
Aspects of a situation that allow us to ignore the effects of our behaviour such as ‘he was foolish to volunteer’. We reduce the moral strain
How does legitimacy of authority affect obedience?
We are more likely to obey people who we believe have authority over us i.e a police officer. This could be shown through their uniform. Legitimate Authorities are usually agreed by society
When does authority become a problem?
When the authority figure becomes destructive
What is the authoritarian personality’s part in obedience?
People with this personality are more likely to obey authority
Who looked into the authoritarian personality?
Adorno et al
In what year was the authoritarian personality investigated?
1950
What was the procedure of investigating the authoritarian personality?
2000 middle class, white Americans used the F-scale which measured their unconscious attitudes to other racial groups and other factors
What was found from the research into authoritarian personalities?
Those who scored highly on the F-scale identified with strong people and were contemptuous of the weak. There was a positive correlation between authoritarianism and prejudice
Name three authoritarian characteristics
- Extreme respect for authority
- Highly conventional attitudes to sex
- Things are either right or wrong; no grey areas
What is the origin of the authoritarian personality?
Extremely strict parenting meant that children couldn’t express their feelings to their parents so their feeling were displaced onto other; who were perceived as weaker
How does social support cause resistance to conformity?
In Asch’s study, a dissenter reduced conformity and they didn’t even have to be correct. Dissenters act as role models for participants
How does social support cause resistance to obedience?
In Milgram’s research, obedience dropped to 10% when there was a disobedient confederate showing that a dissenter acts as a model
How does LOC cause resistant to social influence?
People with an internal LOC are more likely to resist pressures to conform and obey as they take full responsibility for their actions
What is the continuum in LOC?
People may be high or low internal LOC and high or low external LOC
How does consistency affect minority influence?
Increases interest in the topic from the majority. This could be diachronic (over time) or synchronic (between the group)
How does commitment affect minority influence?
Giving something up (augmentation principle) shows commitment and allows majority to consider the minority view
How does flexibility affect minority influence?
Accepting counter arguments is effective too and shows possible compromise
What is the process of social change?
- Drawing attention
- Consistency
- Deeper processing
- Augmentation Principle
- Snowball Effect
- Social Cryptomnesia
What are the lessons from conformity research?
Environmental and health campaigns use NSI to create social change
What are the lessons from obedience research?
Gradual commitment may create social change as once a small instruction is obeyed, bigger instructions are made.
What is the research support for Milgram’s situational variables? AO3
Bickman (1974) had confederates dressed in a suit and tie, a security guard or a milkman’s outfit who asked the members of public to do tasks. People were twice as likely to obey the security guard than the jacket and tie guy
Outline the cross-cultural replications of Milgram’s research AO3
Miranda et al (1981) found obedience rates in 90% of Spanish students
Outline the control of variables in Milgram’s variations AO3
He tested each variation one its own to get the effect it would have on obedience and all other variables were kept the same
Outline the obedience alibi as a weakness of Milgram’s variations AO3
It allows people to suggest that there are reason for their obedience which are out of their control
Outline the research support for Social Psychological factors for obedience AO3
Blass and Schmitt (2001) asked students to identify who was responsible for the harm to the learner and they blamed the experimenter showing they recognise legitimacy of authority as a cause of obedience
Outline a limited application of the social psychological explanation for obedience AO3
The agentic state doesn’t explain who participants do not obey so it can only account for some situations of obedience
Outline the cultural differences of social psychological explanations for obedience AO3
In Australia, it was found that 16% went to the top voltage whereas in Germany 85% did. This increases the validity of the explanation
Outline the real life crimes of obedience in the social psychological explanations for obedience AO3
The authority explanation can help us to explain real life war crimes. The explanation is generalisable
What is the research support for the authoritarian personality? AO3
Milgram and Elms (1966) conducted interviews with the full obedient participants, who score high on the F scale.They found a link between obedience and authoritarian personality
How does authoritarian personality for obedience have a limited explanation? AO3
Not all Nazi soldiers must have had the same personality but they all still obeyed which suggests that the personality explanation doesn’t fully explain why people obey
What are the methodological problems with the authoritarian personality? AO3
The items are written in the same direction meaning int is possible to get an authoritarian personality by ticking the same boxes. The scale isn’t measuring authoritarian ism but the ability to agree to everything
What is the correlation not causation evaluation for the authoritarian personality? AO3
Authoritarianism strongly correlates with prejudice against minority groups but this doesn’t mean that one causes the other-it is an association
What is the research support for social support as a reason for resistance to conformity? AO3
Allen ad Levine (1971) found that conformity decreased when there was a dissenter even when they wore thick glasses and couldn’t judge the lines well
What is the research support for social support as a reason for resistance to obedience? AO3
Milgram found the lowest level of obedience occurred when there was a dissenter (10%)
What is the research support for LOC as a reason for resistance to social influence? (AO3)
Holland (1967) found that 37% of internals didn’t continue to the highest shock level but only 23% of externals didn’t continue
What is the contradictory research for LOC as a reason for resistance to social influence? AO3
Twenge et al (2004) did a longitudinal study which found that people are becoming more external but also resisting social influence more which isn’t consistent with the LOC explanation
What is the limited role of LOC in resisting social influence? AO3
Rotter (1982) mentioned that LOC only comes into play in new situations because if we have previous experiences with a situation we would do what we did previously despite our LOC
What is the evidence for consistency in minority influence? AO3
Moscovici’s study of the blue and green slides (1969) shows that a consistent minority has the greatest effect on the majority
What is the research support for the depth of thought in minority influence? AO3
Martin et al (2003) found that when a group had listened to a minority’s view they were less likely to change their view than a group that had listened to a majority group suggesting that the minority’s view had been deeply processed
What are the artificial tasks in minority influence research? AO3
Moscovici’s research involved coloured slides which wouldn’t have a detrimental consequence and doesn’t link to real life. Therefore, this research lacks external validity
What is the reseacrh support for internalisation in minority influence research? AO3
In Moscovici’s research, when the participants wrote down their responses, the majority were influenced by the minority but didn’t want to publicly admit this
What are the limited real life applications for minority research? AO3
Real life social influence situations are more complicated than what is used in research and in reality majorities usually have more power than minorities
What is the research support for normative influences in social change? AO3
Nolan et al (2008) hung messages on doors that stated that people are reducing their energy usage while a control group had messages that told them to reduce their energy usage. The first group reduced their usage due to NSI
How is minority influence only indirectly effective in social change? AO3
Minority influence is delayed and usually indirect therefore the influence of the minority is very limited and doesn’t really explain social change
What is the role of deeper processing in social change? AO3
It may be that the majority influence causes more deeper processing as it allows us to wonder why we differ from the rest. This casts doubt on the idea of minority influence and Moscovici’s research
What are the barriers to social change? AO3
Individual differences may be a barrier to social change. For instance, people may not reduce their energy usage because they don’t want to be associated with being an environmentalist
What are the methodological issues in terms of research into social influence? AO3
Asch, Milgram and Moscovici all have methodological issues, such as artificial tasks, and therefore cause problems when using their findings.
What is the political bias evaluation of the authoritarian personality? AO3
The F-scale is biased towards right winged fascism but left winged fascism has similar ideas towards authority so the F-scale doesn’t cover the whole political spectrum
