social influence content

Question 1

what are the 3 types of conformity

Answer 1

compliance

internalisation

identification

Question 2

what is compliance?

Answer 2

public not private, temporary change whilst in the group.

Question 3

what is internalisation?

Answer 3

public and private, permanent change inside or outside of the group.

Question 4

what is identification?

Answer 4

public or private - sense of wanting to belong or be like the group. E.g., conforming to the behaviour of a role model.

Question 5

what are the 2 explanations of conformity?

Answer 5

normative social influence

informational social influence

Question 6

describe normative social influence

Answer 6

to fit in or be liked

identification (belong to a group) or compliance (fit in)

tends to be with unfamiliar people

Question 7

describe informational social influence

Answer 7

assuming others have more knowledge - expertise

identification or internalisation

ambiguity and task difficulty

Question 8

outline the method of the Asch study

Answer 8

Sample: 123 pps, 6 confederates + pp = 7 group.

Procedure: pp was in the penultimate position (second to last in the group).

Shown them 3 lines to match to a comparison line.

He showed them 18 trials of the lines. 12/18 were critical trials where the confederates gave the wrong answer.

Question 9

outline the results and conclusion of the Asch study

Answer 9

Quantitative:
• 75% conformed on at least 1 trial. 25 % never conformed.
• 38.6% conformed on all the 12 critical trials.

Qualitative: When asked in the debrief why they confirmed they said they wanted to fit in and not stand out.

People conform due to NSI (need to be liked or fit in), compliance.

Question 10

what are the variables affecting conformity?

Answer 10

• group size
• task difficulty
• unanimity

Question 11

how does group size affect the rate of conformity?

Answer 11

a larger group increases the rate of conformity (3-4 is optimal size for group pressure)

less group pressure in a smaller group

Question 12

how does task difficultly affect group pressure?

Answer 12

when the lines are closer in length it’s more ambiguous, so increases conformity

ISI - more unsure of right answer

Question 13

how does disrupted unanimity affect the rate of conformity

Answer 13

presence of allies (confederate or real pps), so decreases conformity and allows pps to resist majority influence

Question 14

how does self-efficacy affect rate of conformity?

Answer 14

decreases it due to expertise

ISI - pps know which answer is correct and don’t need others for information

Question 15

outline the method of Zimbardos study on conforming to social roles

Answer 15

Sample
- 24 US male volunteers, answers
- an advert, paid $15.
- Randomly assigned prisoner or guard

Procedure
- Local police arrested pp’s at their own home.
- Taken to a mock prison in the basement of Stanford University.
- Zimbardo was prison superintendent.

Procedure: Treatment of Pps:
- Prisoners = strip searched, deloused, given numbers,
- Guards = batons, sunglasses, khaki uniform.

Question 16

outline the results for the Zimbardo study

Answer 16

Results for Guards:
- Dehumanised the prisoners (e.g., isolating them, forcing prisoners to roleplay humiliating acts)

Results for Prisoners:
- They went on hunger strike, rebelled against the guards, three had severe mental health problems and was withdrawn from the study (asking for
parole).

Conclusion:
• Guards & prisoners were DEINIDIVIDUATED (they lost their personal identity) by taking on social roles
• SITUATION changed the way they acted, become their role, not them as a person.

Question 17

outline the ethical issues of zimbardos research

Answer 17

issues
- Lack of informed consent
Did not know what the outcome of the study would be or how people may react within the study.

Lack of right to withdraw
- The nature of the study is a prison, rights are taken away.
- He did not recognize withdraw requests, e.g., for parole. Needed girlfriend/PhD student to stop study after 6 days (should be 2 weeks).

Deception
- Only deception was when arrested at home

Harm
- Prisoners on hunger strike.
- Visits to parents taken away due to harm and not wanting family members to see.
– Mental health problems (depression & anxiety).

Question 18

what are counters for the ethical issues?

Answer 18

• Zimbardo did abandon the experiment after 6 days, rather than the full 2 weeks due to harm.
• Did a debrief for all participants, was it a long term full up with therapy.
• Argued benefits to understanding of how prisons can dehumanise and how to improve our prison system and avoid mistreatment

Question 19

outline the method of Milgram’s study on obedience

Answer 19

• 40 pps US male volunteers from advert, paid $4.50 by Yale Uni.
• 2 roles: Learner (confederate) & Teacher (pp’s) – appeared randomly
  assigned but wasn’t
• Teacher asked learner questions, for every wrong answer the gave an electric shock going up to max 450v (can kill), 300V (makes someone unconscious).

-The responses from the confederate were tape recorded. When the pp’s stopped the “authority figure” in a grey lab coat gave standardised prompts (“you must continue”)

Question 20

outline the results of Milgram’s study on obedience

Answer 20

• 100% = 300V at which learner went silent, 65% = 450V
• The situation creates obedience (e.g. presence of authority figure); everyone is capable of immoral acts in the same situation. - not dispositional (e.g. person has evil personality)

Question 21

what are the 3 variables affecting obedience?

Answer 21

• location
• proximity
• uniform

Question 22

explain the results on uniform affecting obedience (Milgram and Bickman)

Answer 22

• Milgram (65% with legitimate uniform)

Bickman:confederate asked public to pick up litter dressed as a:
- guard = 82% (legitimate uniform)
- milkman = 64%; (non-legitimate uniform)
- casual = 36%; (no uniform)

Question 23

what are the results on location affecting the rate of obedience?

Answer 23

Milgram = 65% in prestigious location = Yale University

Rundown office = 47.5% non-prestigious location

Question 24

what are the results on proximity effecting the rate of obedience?

Answer 24

Proximity of Teacher to Learner : 40%

Touch proximity - (teacher hold learners’ hand to shock pad): 30%

Proximity Experimenter present (Milgram) = 65% v Experimenter Absent: 21%

Question 25

what are the three explanations of obedience?

Answer 25

agentic state

legitimacy of authority

authoritarian personality

Question 26

what is the autonomous state?

Answer 26

Where a person behaves according to their own principles and feels responsible for their actions.

Question 27

what is the agentic state?

Answer 27

An individual acts as an agent for someone else.
They assume the person giving orders is taking responsibility

Question 28

what is an agentic shift?

Answer 28

When confronted with an authority figure, there is an agentic shift. A shift from an autonomous to an agentic state due to the authority figure’s position in a social hierarchy

Question 29

what is an agentic shift?

Answer 29

When confronted with an authority figure, there is an agentic shift. A shift from an autonomous to an agentic state due to the authority figure’s position in a social hierarchy.

Question 30

what are binding factors?

Answer 30

Aspects of the situation that allow the person to ignore or minimise the damaging effect of their behaviour and thus reduce the moral strain they are
feeling.

Question 31

what is legitimacy of authority?

Answer 31

• We accept that the individual rightly
  has authority.
• We give up some of our independence to hand over control of our behaviour to those we trust to exercise their authority
  appropriately.
• We need legitimate authority figures to maintain social order.

Question 32

outline Adorno’s study

Answer 32

Adorno’s method: 2000 US middle class males from the army completed the F-scale (assessed authoritarian personality (AP)

• Rigid black & white thinking: Agree with traditional beliefs about right and wrong; Resistance to alternative views or ideas.
• Respect for authority: aggression justified toward those who do not think conventionally, or who are different; agree in strong leadership, more likely to obey orders because of their exaggerated respect for authority.
• A negative view of people in general: E.g., believing all people lie, cheat or steal if given the opportunity.
• Adorno’s findings: positive correlation between AP, prejudice and obedience.

Question 33

what causes an authoritarian personality?

Answer 33

harsh parenting: E.g., extremely strict discipline, an expectation of absolute loyalty, impossibly high standards and severe criticism of perceived failings.

These experiences create resentment and hostility in the child

Question 34

what are the 2 explanations to resistance of social influence?

Answer 34

social support (presence of allies)

locus of control (internal vs external LOC)

Question 35

describe how social support has decreased social influence

Answer 35

Reduces group pressure to conform – breaks compliance.

Presence of ally = decrease in conformity by 70%.

Asch variation (confederate that stated
correct answer = 5% conformity)

Question 36

describe how social support can decrease obedience

Answer 36

less pressure to obey due to presence of ally = decrease in obedience
(from 65% - 10%).

2 peer rebels study (2 confederates & 1 pp)
shared the task of teaching learner.
•Teacher 1 = read list of words
•Teacher 2 = told learner if answer was correct
•Teacher 3 (pp) = administered shocks
•Result = 10% - 450v.

Question 37

describe an internal locus of control (LOC)

Answer 37

• What happens is largely a consequence of their own behaviour so are MORE LIKELY to resist social influence.

A Believe that one can control much of one’s life and succeed in difficult or stressful situations.

• Are active seekers of information that is useful to them so are less likely to rely on the opinions of others.
• Tend to be more achievement orientated.

Question 38

describe someone with an external locus of control

Answer 38

• What happens is largely a consequence of external reasons so are LESS LIKELY to resist social influence.
• Tend to believe what happens to them is controlled by external factors.
• Luck and fate are seen as important factors.
• Face stressful situations with a more passive attitude.

Question 39

what are the three factors needed in minority influence?

Answer 39

consistency

commitment

flexibility

Question 40

describe what consistency is in minority influence

Answer 40

Synchronic consistency – people in minority all share same view

Diachronic consistency – Holding same view for long time.

Question 41

describe what commitment is in minority influence

Answer 41

Augmentation principle, increase of interest from Majority group.

Minority takes some risk to show commitment.

Question 42

describe what flexibility is in minority influence

Answer 42

Being able to comprise some demands to show they are willing to be lenient in order to get what they want, making them more likely to influence others.

Question 43

outline the method of the Moscovici study

Answer 43

sample:
32 groups of 6 US women.

Procedure:
- Each group 4 pps (majority) + 2 confederates (minority).
- Told study is about colour perception, shown 36 slides, asked to state the colour on the slide.

Study 1: 3 conditions
1. No pressure to conform
2. Inconsistent 24/36 slides “green”
3. Consistent 36/36 “green”
Results:
– Control: 0.25% answered green
– Inconsistent: 1.25% conformed
– Consistent: 8.42% conformed

Study 2: write answers down instead of saying aloud
Results: just as likely to conform as study 1

Conclusion:
– The minority (confederates) changed the majorities views to say ‘green’ when they were in fact ‘blue’ when the message was consistent.
– Study 2 shows that minority
conformity is internalization (as they conform that same even when the group do not know views).

Question 44

how does minority influence create a social change?

Answer 44

• Drawing Attention to Issue
• Cognitive dissonance (conflict) – deeper thinking
• Consistency of message
• The augmentation principle – minority take risks to further the cause (commitment)
• The snowball effect – small group converts others, other time becomes majority view
• Social crypto amnesia – loss of memory of the event leading to the change.