social influence essay plans

Question 1

NSI - strength (A)

Answer 1

N - Asch (1951) provides research support for NSI

A - in his line experiment, he found that in an ambiguous situation many participants went along with the wrong answer just because other people did. Some said they changed their answers in order to avoid rejection from the group

E- shows compliance occured as participants conformed to ‘fit in’
supporting the idea that people conform to not be rejected]

C-C - Asch’s study had low ecological validity = trivial task, artificial setting so limits the usefulness as a supporting study of NSI

Question 2

NSI - weakness

Answer 2

N - individual differences may play a role, NSI doesn’t affect behaviour in the same way for everyone

A - for example, Perrin and Spencer conducted an Asch style experiment using engineering students in the uk. Only one conforming response out of 400 trials. Student felt more confident due to experiences so felt less pressure to conform

E- not all people feel the need to fit in with a group majority, thus challenging NSI

Question 3

NSI - strength (RL)

Answer 3

N - real-life applications which demonstrates that NSI occurs beyond the artificial lab setting

A - Schultz gathered data from hotels regarding towel reusage. He found that guests who received a message reduced their need for fresh towels by 25%

E - guests conformed in order to fit in with the perceived group, thus supporting NSI

Question 4

ISI - strength

Answer 4

N - Jenness provides research support

A - participants asked to make independent judgements about number of beans in a jar and then discuss their estimates in a group. Second estimates moved closer to the group estimate as people

E - internalisation of group beliefs will occur in ambiguous situations as participants believed group estimates were more likely to be correct

C-C - low ecological validity = limits usefulness

Question 5

ISI - strength

Answer 5

N - further research support from Lucas who asked students to give answers to mathematical problems

A - greater conformity to incorrect answers when they were difficult rather than easy ones. Most true for participants who rated their math skills as poor

E -people conform in situations where they feel they don’t know the answer, we look to others as we assume they know better

Question 6

ISI - weakness

Answer 6

N - individual differences may play a role which means ISI doesn’t affect everyone’s behaviour the same way

A - Asch found that students were less conformist (28%) than others (37%) suggesting the desire to be right underlies conformity for some more than other

E - difference could be due to a historical bias from comparing research conducted in a different era where rapid social changes have emerged and norms have changed

Question 7

Asch - weakness

Answer 7

N - low ecological validity

A - task of identifying line lengths was unlike anything anyone would experience in their daily lives and artificial lab

E - results can’t be generalised as not representative of real life ,limits usefulness

C-C - high control over extraneous variables, control number of confederates, increases internal validity

Question 8

Asch - weakness (eth)

Answer 8

N - unethical, breaks deception lack of informed consent and protection of participants
A - participants didn’t know they were being tricked, didn’t know others were confederates, reported feeling stressed afterwards
E - damages psychology’s reputation, discourages people from participating in psychology research
C-C - if told true nature of study, may have shown demand characteristics

Question 9

Asch - weakness (PV)

Answer 9

N - lacks population validity as we are unable to conclude whether other populations would demonstrate the same level of conformity
A - sample of 123 American, male undergrad students so cant generalise the results
E - weakness as we cant generalise to women, non-americans and non- undergraduate students.

Question 10

Jenness - weakness (EV)

Answer 10

N - low ecological validity
A - task of identifying number of beans in a jar was trivial, artificial lab
E - may not help us to understand conformity in real life, can’t generalise results
C-C - high control over extraneous variables, confident that the IV is causing the DV , increasing the internal validity

Question 11

Jenness - weakness (eth)

Answer 11

N - unethical = breaks lack of informed consent, protection of participants
A - didn’t know study was to test conformity so couldn’t give full informed consent. Participants reported feeling embarrassed for conforming
E - damages reputation of psychology
C-C- may have shown demand characteristics

Question 12

jenness - weakness (PV)

Answer 12

N - lacks population validity
A - Jenness used a sample of 101 psychology students.
E - unable to generalise to other populations, such as non-psychology students

Question 13

weakness of Zimbardo (dis)

Answer 13

N - role of dispositional influences. Zimbardo accused of exaggerating the power of the situation, minimising the role of personality factors.
A - only about a1/3 of guards behaved in a brutal manner. Some actively tried to help + support the prisoners, sympathising with them and offering privileges.
E - Zimbardo’s conclusion may be overstated. Only some conformed which may have been down to personality factors

Question 14

weakness of Zimbardo (eth)

Answer 14

N - unethical, breaks protection of participant guideline
A - prisoners were victims of guards brutal and aggressive treatment, suffering physical and psychological harm. Guards were exposed to a situation in which enhanced aggressive behaviour, causing harm to them too. Prisoners became depressed and anxious and the study had to end after 6 days rather than the intended 14.
E - damages reputation of psychology, discouraging others from participating.

Question 15

weakness of Zimbardo (PV)

Answer 15

N - lacks population validity. Unable to conclude whether other populations would demonstrate the same level of conformity.
A - Zimbardo used an androcentric sample of American college students, in which volunteered to participate.
E - must be cautious when generalising the results to other populations to females, non-Americans and non-college students. Some cultures or a particular gender may be more conformist

Question 16

OBEDIENCE - milgram strength

Answer 16

N - conducted in highly controlled conditions in a lab at Yale uni in which there was high control over situational extraneous variables
A - same standardised prods were used with all participants and the same experimenter and learner were used. Also able to control the standardised responses
E - increases the internal validity. Can be confident that obedience was due to the situation and not other factors
C-C- controlled nature means low ecological validity. Lab bears little resemblance to real life situations and the task was unrealistic. Results cant be generalised

Question 17

Milgram - weakness (POP)

Answer 17

N - protection of participants broken
A - even though shocks were fake, harm may have resulted from the stress of carrying out the experimenters orders or giving lethal shocks. Participants showed extreme signs of tension such as nervous laughter, trembling and stuttering which is evidence that they were psychologically distressed.
E - possible long term psych effects of learning they had been giving lethal shocks and feeling stupid when they learnt the true nature of the experiment in which they were deceived.
C-C- debriefing used to protect participants from long term psych harm. Careful debriefing session held after each experiment. Obedient participants were reassured that their behaviour was the norm. Milgram can be credited for setting standards of debriefing.

Question 18

Milgram weakness (DC)

Answer 18

N- participants may have shown demand characteristics due to the study taking part in a controlled, artificial lab
A- participants may have been ‘going along with the act’ when they ‘shocked’ the learner. They argued that participants did not believe that they were giving shocks and that they weren’t really distressed.
E- questions whether results are accurate and internally valid
C-C- Milgram held post-experimental interviews and questionnaires to support his belief that participants thought they were administrating real shocks. Also, cited evidence from films that clearly showed participants undergoing extreme stress.

Question 19

Milgram - ETHICAL EVALUATION (pop)

Answer 19

N - protection of participants broken
A - even though shocks were fake, harm may have resulted from the stress of carrying out the experimenters orders or giving lethal shocks. Participants showed extreme signs of tension such as nervous laughter, trembling and stuttering which is evidence that they were psychologically distressed.
E - possible long term psych effects of learning they had been giving lethal shocks and feeling stupid when they learnt the true nature of the experiment in which they were deceived.
C-C- debriefing used to protect participants from long term psych harm. Careful debriefing session held after each experiment. Obedient participants were reassured that their behaviour was the norm. Milgram can be credited for setting standards of debriefing.

Question 20

Milgram - ETHICAL (IC and D)

Answer 20

N- broke informed consent and deception guidelines
A- participants didn’t know true nature of experiment as they were led to believe the study was investigating the effects of punishment on learning and memory rather than obedience. Therefore couldn’t give informed consent. Also deceived about the ‘learner’ who was infact a confederate and the electric shocks were fake.
E - could have long lasting damage to participants. Breaking guidelines damages reputation of psychology which could discourage from participating
C-C- deception essential to avoid demand characteristics, participants wouldn’t have behaved naturally causing invalid results if they knew it was to test authority