Social Influence AO3

Question 1

Strengths of NSI/ISI as explanations for conformity.

Answer 1

• Research support for ISI shows people are more likely to conform in difficult/unfamiliar situations which makes ISI valid explanation for ambiguous/difficult situations.
• Asch’s research supports both. Ppts gave clearly wrong answers either because they feared ridicule or they genuinely believed they were correct. Increases validity.

Question 2

Weakness of ISI/NSI as explanations for conformity

Answer 2

Research shows varying affects of NSI. Naffiliators have greater need to be in relationship with others. NSI not always crucial for conformity as some people don’t care about fitting in.

Question 3

Strength of Asch’s Research

Answer 3

Lab exp so all variables controlled so we can see group pressure is why people conformed. Establishes cause and effect.

Question 4

Weakness of Asch’s Research

Answer 4

• Asch’s research is a child of it’s time as it took place in 1950s America which was an especially conformist time. Only valid for that time period and Asch effect is not consistent across situations and time periods.
• Limited ppt sample of 123 american male undergraduates so findings can’t be applied to females and people of other ages/nationalities. Lacks population validity.

Question 5

Strength of Zimbardo’s research into social roles

Answer 5

No deception took place as ppts were told what roles they would be playing beforehand and where the exp was taking place. Prisoners had full informed consent so study is more ethical.

Question 6

Weaknesses of Zimbardo’s research into social roles.

Answer 6

• Study was lab exp. Fake, artificial and simulated prison held in basement of Stanford Uni. Lacks ecological validity due to unrealistic environment so can’t be applied to real prisons.

Question 7

Strength of Milgram’s study into obedience

Answer 7

Lab exp so high level of control and control of extraneous variables. Allows cause and effect to be established.

Question 8

Weaknesses of Milgram’s study into obedience

Answer 8

• Unrepresentative sample of ppts who were all males, aged 20-50 and from the same area. Not applicable to females, other age groups/nationalities. Lacks population validity.
• Unethical due to deception. Ppts told it was a memory test. Right to withdraw also removed as they were payed beforehand. Undermines value of research and reduces reproducibility.

Question 9

Strength of Milgram’s Situational Variables

Answer 9

Systematically altered on variable at a time while rest of procedure and variables kept consistent for over 1000 ppts. Cause and effect established.

Question 10

Strengths of Legitimacy of Authority and Agentic State

Answer 10

• Research support by Milgram as ppts were willing to go up to high voltage when experimenter gave prods which reinforced experimenter’s perceived authority. Increases validity.
• Real life applications. Soldiers in Abu Gharib prison were willing to dehumanise prisoners because commanders told them to do so. Shows agentic shift and increases external validity.

Question 11

Weakness of Legitimacy of Authority and Agentic Shift

Answer 11

There are other explanations such as authoritarian personalities which is supported by Adorno who found authoritarian personalities are common in situations of prejudice against minority groups. Wider reasons need to be considered.

Question 12

Weakness of Dispositional Explanation

Answer 12

• Unrepresentative sample of ppts who were all middle class white american so results not applicable to other social classes and nationalities.
• Flawed methodology of questionnaires as all items were worded in same direction so they may just have acquiescence bias. Makes research less valid and reliable.
• Other explanations such as agentic shift shown in Abu Gharib prison study. Wider reasons need to be considered.

Question 13

Strength of Social Support and Locus of Control as resistance explanations

Answer 13

Research support for LOC by repeat of Milgram’s study where ppts were determined to either be external of internal. 37% did not go highest shock level compared to 23% of externals. Increases validity.

Question 14

Weaknesses of Social Support and Locus of Control as resistance explanations

Answer 14

• Milgram’s research support is flawed due to limited sample of 40 american males aged 20-50. Not applicable to females, other ages/nationalities.
• LOC is measured in methodologically flawed way. People can lie in questionnaires to give socially desirable answers which makes research less likely to be valid reflection of population.

Question 15

Strength of Research into Minority Influence

Answer 15

Lab exp so high level of control and control of extraneous variables. Allows a cause and effect to be established.

Question 16

Weaknesses of Research into Minority Influence

Answer 16

• Poor ppt sample of all females so not applicable to men. Lacks population validity
• Ethical issue of deception due to presence of confederates so possible lack of informed consent.

Question 17

Strengths of Social Change Processes

Answer 17

• Real life examples such as Rosa Parks who was willing to get arrested, showing augmentation. Boycott of buses lasted 381 days, showing consistency. Shows importance and relevance of social change processes in real life.
• Research support by Mascovici shows importance of consistency. Consistent group - 8.42% of trials resulted in agreement with minority compared to 1.25% in inconsistent group. Increases validity of consistency.

Question 18

Weakness of Social Change Processes

Answer 18

Only indirectly effective as they happen very slowly and can be argued as being indirect and delayed. Majority influenced by matters relating to issue not the issue itself. Effects of social change are fragile and role in social influence is limited.