social influence-conformity Flashcards

1
Q

Asch’s line study aims

A

measure the extent that people conformed to the opinion of others, even when other’s answers were completely wrong

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2
Q

what were Asch’s findings?

A
  • naive participants conformed 36.8% of the time
    -high level of conformity when situation unambiguous
    -individual differences 25% never gave wrong answer
    -75% conformed at least once
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3
Q

variables investigated by Asch

A

-group size
-unanimity
-task difficulty

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4
Q

procedure for investigating group size Asch

A

varied no. of confederates in each group so group size between 2-16

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5
Q

findings of investigating group size Asch

A

-two confederates, conformity to wrong answer was 13.6% when three confederates conformity rose to 31.8%
-above three confederates conformity rate levelled off. more than three made little difference

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6
Q

what’s Asch’s explanation for the role of group size in obedience?

A

people very sensitive to opinion of others as one confederate enough to sway opinion

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7
Q

what’s the procedure for investigating unanimity (Asch)?

A

dissenting confederate who sometimes correct answer sometimes wrong but always disagreed with majority

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8
Q

findings for investigating unanimity Asch

A

-conformity reduced on average to less than a quarter of the level it was when majority was unanimous
-conformity reduced if dissenter gave right or wrong answer

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9
Q

what role does the dissenting peer play for role of unanimity (Asch)?

A

having a dissenter enable the naive participant to behave more independently

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10
Q

what’s the procedure for task difficulty (Asch)?

A

-line-judging task harder as stimulus line and comparison lines more similar in length
-difficult to see the differences between lines

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11
Q

findings for task difficulty Asch

A

conformity increased

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12
Q

explanation of obedience in task difficulty (Asch)?

A

-situation more ambiguous so more likely to look for guidance and to assume they are right and we are wrong
-ISI plays a greater role when task gets harder

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13
Q

ao3 asch task artificial

A

-p’s knew they were in a study, demand characteristics
-task was trivial so no reason not to conform
-Fike (2014) argued ‘Asch’s groups were not very groupy’ (not like real-life groups)
-findings do not generalise to everyday life

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14
Q

ao3 little application

A

-only American men were tested
-Neto (1995) suggested women might be more conformist possible bc more concerned about social relationships
-also US an individualist culture and studies in collectivist cultures (i.e. China) found higher conformity rates (Bond and Smith 1996)
-Asch’s findings tell us little about conformity in some and people from some cultures.

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15
Q

ao3 empirical evidence

A

-Lucas et al. (2006) asked p’s to solve ‘easy’ and ‘hard’ maths problems
-p’s were given answers that (falsely) claimed to be from three other students
-p’s conformed more often when the problems were harder
-Asch was correct that task difficulty is one variable affecting conformity

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16
Q

what was Asch’s line study’s procedure?

A

-shown two cards on one was a ‘standard line’ on other were three comparison lines
-one of the lines same length other two were clearly different
-each member of group stated which line matched the standard

17
Q

how many and who were the participants in Asch’s study?

A

123 american males

18
Q

in what size groups and in what order were p’s tested in Asch’s study?

A

individually, or sitting last/ next-to-last in groups of 6-8 confederates

19
Q

internalisation definition

A

-think group is right
publicly changing behaviour to fit in with the group and agreeing with them privately too (internalise the behaviour)

20
Q

how permanent is internalisation?

A

usually permanent, persists in the absence of group members as attitude has become how the person thinks (internalised)

21
Q

identification definition

A

-value the group
conforming to expectations of a social role but our private views remain the same. only while in the presence of the group

22
Q

compliance definition

A

-temporary agreement
publicly changing behaviour to fit in and private views disagree with behaviour of the group

23
Q

conformity definition

A

change in behaviour or opinions as a result of real or imagined pressure. it is a group influence

24
Q

informational social influence

A

-desire to be right
-based on the need to be right
-often uncertain about what behaviour was right or wrong
-look to what others are doing and conform
-both publicly conform and privately agree- known as a conversion. permanent

25
Q

normative social influence

A

-desire to behave like others, not look foolish, do the norm
-based on need to be accepted
-belonging to the the group could be rewarding, or not belonging could lead to punishment
-publicly conform but privately disagree and keep their old attitudes

26
Q

where’s NSI most likely?

A

-mostly likely in unfamiliar situations and with people you know
-don’t know the norms so look to others about how to behave
-with strangers as don’t want to be rejected or friends as want social approval
-nsi leads to compliance

27
Q

where’s ISI most likely

A

-in situations that are ambiguous
-when not clear what is right
-may happen when decisions have to be made quickly when we assume the group is likely to be right

28
Q

ao3 of NSI: supportive empirical evidence

A

-asch (1951) found many p’s conformed rather than give correct answer as afraid of disapproval
-when p’s wrote down answers conformity fell to 12.5%
-shows conformity desire to not be rejected by group for disagreeing

29
Q

ao3 of ISI: supportive empirical evidence

A

-Lucas et al. (2006) found p’s conformed more to incorrect answers when maths problems were difficult
-for hard problems the situation was ambiguous so relied on the answers given
-supports ISI and as results are what it would predict

30
Q

ao3 of NSI: individual differences

A

-some people concerned about being liked- nAffiliators who have a strong need for ‘affiliation’
-McGhee and Teen (1967) found students who were nAffiliators were more likely to conform
-shows NSI underlies conformity for some people more than others

31
Q

two process theory

A

Deutsch and Gerard (1955)
-brought NSI and ISI together
-argued people conform because of two basic human needs: the need to be liked (ISI) and the need to be right (NSI)

32
Q

Zimbardo (1973) SPE: procedure

A

-mock prison in basement of psychology department at stanford uni investigate effect of social roles on conformity
-21 male student volunteers w/ psychological testing to determine they’re ‘emotionally stable’
-randomly allocated to guard or prisoner
-prisoners strip-searched
-prisoners given a number
-uniforms to encourage de-individuation
-prisoners told couldn’t leave as would have to ask for parole
-guards were told they had complete power over prisoners

33
Q

Zimbardo (1973) SPE: findings

A

-guards played their role enthusiastically and treated prisoners harshly
-prisoners rebelled within two days ripped uniforms shouted and swore at guards
-guards retaliated with fire extinguishers and harassed the prisoners
-after rebellion was put down prisoners became anxious and depressed
-three prisoners were released early as they showed signs of psychological disturbance
-one prisoner went on hunger strike guards attempted to force feed him and punished him by putting him in ‘the hole’

34
Q

Zimbardo SPE how long did it last?

A

6 days instead of planned 14

35
Q

Zimbardo (1973) SPE: conclusion

A

social roles powerful influences on behaviour- most conformed strongly to their role
-guards became brutal, prisoners became submissive

36
Q

ao3 of Zimbardo SPE: highly controlled

A

-emotionally-stable participants were recruited and randomly allocated the roles of guard or prisoner
-roles by chance so behaviour was due to the role itself and not their personality
-control increases the internal validity so more confident in conclusions drawn

37
Q

ao3 of Zimbardo SPE: lacked mundane realism

A

-Banuazizi and Mohavedi (1975) suggested p’s were play-acting and their performances reflected stereotypes
-one guard based his character on film Cool Hand Luke
-prisoners rioted as they what they through real ones did
-so SPE tells us little about conformity to social roles in actual prisons

38
Q

counterpoint to mundane realism in Zimbadro (SPE)

A

-p’s behaved as if prison was real, 90% of conversations ab prison life, prisoner 416 believed it was a prison run by psychologists
-suggests SPE replicated roles of guard and prisoner just as in a real prison, increasing internal validity

39
Q

ao3 of SPE: Zimbardo exaggerated the power of roles

A

-Fromm (1973) argued power of social roles to influence behaviour exaggerated
-only a third of guards behaved brutally. another third applied rules fairly and other third supported the prisoners giving them cigarettes and other privileges
-SPE overstates the view that guards were conforming to a brutal role and minimised dispositional influences (e.g. personality)