Social influence Ao1 Only

Question 1

What are the 3 types of conformity, and can you explain them?

Answer 1

1) Internalisation = genuinely accepting groups norms publicly and privately.

2) Identification = publicly changing opinions though we may not agree with all views in private.

3) Compliance = “going along with others” in public. A superficial/ temporary agreements that ceases without group pressure.

Question 2

What are the two explanations for conformity?

Answer 2

1) Informational Social Influence (ISI)
- A desire to be right = cognitive.
- Occurs in ambiguous or new situations.
- Leads to internalisation.

2) Normative Social Influence (NSI)
- Seek social approval and not look foolish = emotional.
- Occurs in familiar and familiar situations.

Question 3

Explain Asch’s (1951) procedure and what is was about.

Answer 3

• Variables affecting conformity.
• 123 American male students.
• Each ‘tested’ with 6-8 confederates.
• Identified length of a standard line from three other choices.
• Confederates gave wrong answers together most of the time

Question 4

What were Asch’s (1951) findings?

Answer 4

• Naive participants gave wrong answers 36.8% of the time.
• 25% never gave a wrong answer.
• 75% conformed at least once.
• Most said they conformed to avoid rejection (NSI).

Question 5

What were the 3 variables affecting conformity?

Answer 5

• Group size
• Unanimity
• Task difficulty.

Question 6

How did Asch change the variables affecting conformity?

Answer 6

1) Group size varied between 1-15 confederates.

2) Confederate introduced who was always dissenting but did not always give the correct answer.

3) Changing task difficulty; line lengths similar.

Question 7

Give the findings of Asch’s (1955) study?

Answer 7

1) Group size - conformity peaked at 3 confederates, 32%.

2) Unanimity - dissenting confederate reduced conformity as the naïve participant could behave independently.

3) Task difficulty - conformity increased increased when the task was more difficult.

Question 8

Describe Zimbardo’s SPE procedure?

Answer 8

• Mock prison set up in Stanford Uni.
• 24 emotionally stable students were randomly assigned roles.
• Prisoners arrested in their homes and given numbers (de-individualisation).
• Guards were told they had complete power over prisoners.
• Both groups encouraged to conform through use of uniform.

Question 9

What were the findings and conclusions of Zimbardo’s study?

Answer 9

Findings:
- Guards identified with role and became increasingly aggressive.
- Prisoners rebelled but became subdued and passive after harsh retaliation from guards.
- Ended early, 6 days not the intended 14.
- Three prisoners released early (psych distress) and one placed in the hole.

Conclusions:
- Shows the power of social roles, guards brutal, prisoners submissive.
- Other volunteers easily conformed, prison chaplain.

Question 10

What was the procedure for Milgram (1963) study?

Answer 10

• 40 American men volunteered for “memory tests”.
• Participant = teacher, Confederates = learner and experimenter.
• Given an electric shock every time a wrong answer was given.
• Shocks went from 15V to 450V.
• Different prods were given by the experimenter.

Question 11

What were the findings of Milgram’s (1963) study?

Answer 11

• No one stopped below 300V
• 12.5% stopped at 300V
• 65% went to 450V
• Participants showed signs of great tension (qualitative).
• Psychology students predicted no more than 3% would go to 450V.
• Participants debriefed to assure them that their behaviour was normal and 84% glad to have taken part.

Question 12

What were the conclusions of the Milgram’s study?

Answer 12

We obey legitimate authority blindly.

Question 13

What are the 3 explanations for obedience based on situational variables, and what results back this up?

Answer 13

1) Proximity - Obedience decreased if the proximity of the teacher and experimenter increased.
- Same room = 40% to 450V
- Telephone instructions = 20.5% to 450V
Also decreased when proximity of teacher and leaner decreased, cannot psychologically distance themselves.
- 65% fell to 40% when in same room.

2) Location - Changed to a run-down building.
- Obedience fell to 47.5%

3) Uniform - Lab coated experimenter replaced by “ordinary member of public” in regular clothes.
- Obedience fell to 20%.

Question 14

What are the two situational explanations for obedience?

Answer 14

1) Agentic state
2) Legitimacy of authority

Question 15

Describe the agentic state

Answer 15

Becoming “agent” of authority, loosing responsibility by acting on behalf.

• Autonomous state when you are free to act on your own conscience.
• Agentic shift = autonomous > agentic
• Binding factors reduce moral stain and avoid damaging effects of obedience.

Question 16

What is legitimacy of authority?

Answer 16

• Obeying people at the top of a social hierarchy, agreed by society for smooth functioning.
• Hand over control to trusted authority, learned in childhood.
• Leaders can use legitimate authority destructively.

Question 17

What is the authoritarian personality?

Answer 17

Adorno et al.’s dispositional explanation for obedience:

• High obedience is a psychological disorder.
• Extreme respect for (and submissiveness to) authority with contempt for “inferiors”.
• AP forms in childhood through harsh parenting and conditional love.
• Childs hostility towards parents is displaced onto weaker others.

Question 18

What was the procedure of Adorno et al.’s Authoritarian personality study?

Answer 18

• 2000 middle class Americans.
• Investigating unconscious attitudes to other racial groups using F-scale (potential for Fascism scale).

Question 19

What were the findings of Adorno’s study?

Answer 19

• High F-scale scorers showed deference to people higher up in society and were conscious of own status.
• Identified with “strong” people.
• Fixed cognitive style and prejudiced attitudes.

Question 20

Give two explanations for resistance to social influence.

Answer 20

1) Social support
2) Locus of control

Question 21

How does social support lead to resistance of social influence?

Answer 21

Resisting conformity:
- Conformity reduced by dissenting peer, who acts as a model, shows majority is not unanimous.

Resisting obedience:
- Obedience reduces if another (dissenting partner) is seen disobeying, undermines legitimacy of authority.

Question 22

Explain Locus of control and who invented it.

Answer 22

Rotter

Internals = Place control within themselves.

Externals = Place control outside of themselves.

• There is a continuum and everyone lies somewhere on it in a non-fixed way.

Question 23

Which type of LOC is likely to show greater resistance to social influence

Answer 23

Internal

• They take personal responsibility for their own action.
• More self-confident so don’t feel the need for social approval (ISI conformity less likely).

Question 24

What is minority influence, how does it change beliefs and what three factors are needed for change.

Answer 24

One person or a small group of people influences the beliefs and behaviours of the majority.

Internalisation is how beliefs are changed and there are three processes:

1) Consistency:
Always doing the same thing.
- Synchronic and Diachronic

2) Commitment:
Helping to gain attention through extreme activities.
- Augmentation principle

3) Flexibility:
Showing willingness to listen to others.
- Balance

Question 25

Explain Consistency

Answer 25

Consistency:
Always doing the same thing.
- Synchronic consistency = people in the minority are all saying the same thing.
- Diachronic consistency = they’ve been saying the same thing for a while.

Question 26

Explain Commitment

Answer 26

Commitment:
Helping to gain attention through extreme activities.
- Augmentation principle =
Majority pay more attention when minority take risks and makes them rethink their view.

Question 27

Explain Flexibility

Answer 27

Flexibility:
Showing willingness to listen to others.
- Consistency and flexibility should be balanced to not appear rigid.

Question 28

What are the two words for when the minority view becomes the majority view; explain it.

Answer 28

Snowball effect:
- Individuals think deeply (deeper processing) and convert.
- Over time more people are converted and minority change to majority.
- The more this happens the faster the rate of conversion and social change and social cryptomnesia has occurred.

Question 29

Explain research done into minority influence

Answer 29

Moscovici et al.

Blue-green slides study

6 in a group, two are confederates. One condition, confederates agree about the colour, in the other they are inconsistent.

• 8.42% conformed to consistent minority
• 1.25% conformed to inconsistent minority

Question 30

Describe lessons learned from minority influence

Answer 30

e.g. Civil Rights.
1) Civil right marches drew attention to segregation.
2) Minority marched but they were consistent.
3) Deeper thinking followed of the unjustness of it all.
4) Augmentation principle - freedom riders were mixed racial groups who got on buses in the south to challenge separate seating.
5) Snowball effect
6) Social cryptomnesia

Question 31

Describe lessons from conformity research

Answer 31

• Dissenters make social change more likely.
• Gov and health campaigns exploit conformity by appealing to NSI.

Question 32

Describe lessons from obedience research

Answer 32

• Disobedient models make change more likely.
• Gradual commitment leads to ‘drift’ into a new kind of behaviour.