Social Influence: Conformity Flashcards

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1
Q

What is conformity

A
  • Conformity: when behaviour of individual/small group is influenced by larger/dominant group.
  • 3 types of conformity:
    -> internalisation
    -> compliance
    -> Identification
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2
Q

What is internalisation

A
  • going along with the majority and believing in their views.
    -> accepted and internalised views and behaviours, they are your own too.
  • may happen if in an unfamiliar situation -> don’t know the correct ways to behave
    -> may look to others for info of how to behave.
    -> This influence is called informational social influence (ISI).
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3
Q

What is compliance

A
  • compliance -> going along with the majority, even if you don’t share their views.
    -> you do this to appear ‘normal’ -> deviating may lead to exclusion or rejection from the group.
    -> influence is called normative social influence (NSI).
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4
Q

What is identification

A
  • Conforming to what’s expected of you to fulfil a social role.
    -> changing you behaviour to fit a role in society (e.g. a nurse) or imitating behaviour of role model.
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5
Q

Explain the features of Sherif’s experiment on ISI

A
  • Method: a lab experiment with repeated measures design. Used the illusion of an auto kinetic effect, where a stationery spot of light, viewed in a dark room appears to move.
    -> ppts falsely told the light would move.
    -> estimate how far it moved.
  • Results: alone, ppts develop their own estimates (personal norms) which varies.
    -> once in a group, estimates tend to converge and became more alike.
    -> when retested alone, estimates more like group estimates than their original guesses.
  • Conclusion: Ppts developed a group norm (group estimate).
    -> ppts use info from others to form own estimates -> ISI.
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6
Q

Evaluate Sherif’s experiment on ISI

A

(+) A lab experiment -> strict control of variables -> possible to estimate cause and effect.
-> can be replicated.
(+) repeated measures design -> participant variables were kept constant.
(-) lacks ecological validity -> artificial situation.
(-) limited sample size -> ppts were male -> unable to generalise.
(-) ethics -> deception, ppts told light was moving when it didn’t.

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7
Q

Explain the features of Asch’s experiment on the effects of NSI

A
  • Method: a lab experiment with independent groups.
    -> ppts matched line lengths (1, 2, or 3) with standard line.
  • Each group only had one real participant -> others were confederates.
  • Each participant went last or second to last so heard the other’s answers before giving theirs.
  • Results: In control groups, ppt gave the wrong answer 0.7% of the time. In critical trials, participants conformed 37% of the time.
    -> 75% conformed at least once.
  • Conclusion: Despite the task being easy -> ppts conformed due to NSI.
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8
Q

Evaluate Asch’s experiment on the effects of NSI

A

(+) lab experiment -> high control -> minimises extraneous variables.
-> easy to replicate.
(-) Artificial situation -> lacks ecological validity.
-> may have been less likely to conform if the answer had real life consequences.
(-) ethics -> participants were deceived and embarrassed when found true nature of the study.

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9
Q

What were the situational factors in the different variations of Asch’s experiment

A
  • group size
  • unanimity / social support
  • task difficulty
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10
Q

Explain how groups size was a situational variables in Asch’s variations

A
  • Only 2 confederates -> ppts conformed on only 14% of critical trials.
  • 3 confederates -> conformity rose to 32% -> little change to conformity rates after -> no matter how large the majority was.
  • small majorities were easier to resist than larger ones.
    -> but influence does not keep increasing with the size of the majority.
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11
Q

Explain how unanmity and social support are a situational factors in Asch’s variations

A
  • Rather than confederates forming a unanimous majority -> one of the confederates agreed with the ppt.
    -> having a fellow dissenter, broke the unanimity of group.
    -> Easier to resist pressure to conform.
    -> conformity fell to 5.5%.
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12
Q

Explain how task difficult is a situational factor in Asch’s variations

A
  • when line lengths became more similar -> conformity levels increased.
    -> more likely to conform if less confidence.
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13
Q

Explain how confidence and expertise is a factor in conformity (Asch)

A
  • When Asch debriefed ppts, found a common factor of confidence in those who hadn’t conformed.
    -> with confidence, they were able to resist group pressure.
  • Perrin and Spencer: replicated Asch study with engineering students as ppt.
    -> conformity was lower.
    -> had confidence in their skills.
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14
Q

Explain how gender may not be a factor in conformity (Eagly and Carli)

A
  • Until the mid 70s, there was a common view that females conform more than males.
  • Eagly + Carli: meta-analysis of conformity.
    -> found sex differences but these differences were inconsistent.
    -> clearest difference they found was in Asch-like studies where there was group pressure from an audience.
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15
Q

Explain how gender may be a factor in conformity (Eagly)

A
  • Argued men + women’s different social roles explain difference in conformity.
    -> women focused on group harmony -> more likely to agree.
  • Independence was a valued male attribute -> maintaining their own opinion under pressure fits the perceived male social role.
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16
Q

What are social roles

A
  • behaviours society expects from you.
    -> E.g. women with a baby expected to look after and love their child.
    -> these are behaviours that fulfil the social role of a ‘mother’.
  • when we accept a role -> we ‘internalise’ them to shape our behaviour.
17
Q

Explain the features of Zimbardo’s SPE

A
  • Method: male students randomly assigned to role of prisoner or guard and behaviours were observed.
  • Prisoners ‘arrested’ and given uniforms and numbers.
    -> guards also wore uniforms and sunglasses.
  • Results: Initially guards try asserting their authority and prisoners resist by sticking together.
  • Prisoners became more passive + obedient -> while guards invent harsher punishments.
  • Experiment abandoned -> participants became distressed.
  • Zimbardo also became ‘corrupted’ by role of superintendent.
  • Conclusion: social roles were adopted to quickly -> claims this shows that social roles can influence our behaviour.
    -> seemingly well-balanced people became more aggressive.
18
Q

Evaluate Zimbardo’s SPE

A

(+) controlled observation -> good control of variables.
(-) artificial environment and only male college students -> can’t be generalised to real-life -> eco validity.
(-) ethics -> ppts became very distressed.
(-) observer bias -> Zimbardo was superintendent -> admitted to personally becoming involved.
(-) Zimbardo’s conclusion doesn’t explain why only some participants acted according to their assigned roles.

19
Q

Explain Orlando’s experiment of the Mock Psychiatric Ward

A
  • Similar to the SPE on social roles.
  • set up mock psychiatric ward -> 29 members of a hospital volunteer to be ‘patients’ -> another 22 staff were involved but asked to carry out normal roles.
  • Soon ‘patients’ start behaving like real patients -> difficult to distinguish between real and fake.
    -> signs of depression and withdrawal -> 6 tried to escape.
  • Mock patients reported they felt anxious + despairing.
    -> felt they lost their identity.
    (+) study led to increased effort by staff to respect patients.
20
Q

Explain Reicher + Haslam’s BBC prison study

A
  • Method: Controlled observation in mock prison.
    -> ppts randomly assigned to 2 groups: 5 guards, 10 prisoners.
  • One of the prisoners would become a guard after 3 days.
  • Results: Guards failed to identify with their role -> felt uncomfortable with the inequality of the situation.
  • after 1 prisoner was promoted -> prisoners became much stronger group.
  • System collapsed due to the unwillingness of guards and strength of the prisoner group.
  • Conclusion: ppts didn’t fit their expected social roles, suggests these roles are flexible.
21
Q

evaluate Reicher + Haslam’s BBC prison study

A

(-) criticism for being made for TV -> many including Zimbardo argued elements were staged and ppts played up to the cameras.
(-) artificial situation.
(+) good ethics -> ethics committee, were not deceived, informed consent.