Social influence- JK Flashcards
1
Q
What is social influence?
A
The process by which an individual’s attitudes, beliefs or behaviours are modified by the actions imagined or implied presence of others
2
Q
What is conformity & 2 examples of it?
A
The tendency to change our behaviour and/or beliefs/attitudes in response to the influence of others e.g. queueing, clothing
3
Q
What is compliance?
A
Conforming publicly with the views/ behaviours of others but privately disagreeing
4
Q
What is identification?
A
Adopting the views of a group publicly & privately as they identify with the group & feel a sense of group membership- temporary & not maintained when leaving the group
5
Q
What is internalisation?
A
Conversion- true changes of private views to match those of the group, new attitudes/behaviours become independent of the group- long term/ permanent type of conformity
6
Q
What is normative social influence?
A
Desire to be liked, for approval of others & to be accepted occurring in non-ambiguous situations- results in compliance only
7
Q
What is information social influence?
A
Desire to be right, look to others for info on how to behave/act, occurring in ambiguous situations resulting in identification or internalisation
8
Q
What is obedience?
A
Where an individual complies with a direct order from a figure with perceived authority- acting in a way they wouldn’t have without the order
9
Q
What was the aim of Asch’s study (1950’s)?
A
To see if individuals would conform to a majority when presented with an non-ambiguous task
10
Q
What was Asch’s (1950’s) sample?
A
123 male students, asked to participate in a visual perception task
11
Q
What was Asch’s (1950’s) procedure?
A
1 naïve participant placed in group of 7-9 confederates, shown a standard line and asked to say aloud the matching line- obvious answer. Confederates gave incorrect answer unanimously on 12 of 18 “critical trials”- 6 short line, 6 long line. Naïve participant asked last or 2nd last- repeated 123 times for each participant
12
Q
What were Asch’s (1950’s) findings?
A
26% of participants never conformed- 100% correct answer
74% of participants conformed at least once
Of those that conformed, they conformed for 37% of the critical trials
Error rate of 0.7% with no group
5% conformed on every trial
13
Q
What did Asch (1950’s) find in his debriefing interviews?
A
Most knew they were wrong but didn’t want to be a minority
Some didn’t want to upset the experimenter
Some doubted themselves & their perceptions, believing the group to be right & didn’t think they’d given the wrong answers
14
Q
What can be concluded from Asch’s (1950’s) study?
A
Even when the response is obvious, strong group pressure creates conformity especially when unanimous. Individuals conform for different reasons ( normative- avoid rejection, informational- doubt own judgement)
15
Q
What does social influence involve?
A
Conformity, obedience & minority influence
16
Q
What are 5 criticisms of Asch’s (1950’s) study?
A
1) Low external validity- Generalisation
2) Low temporal validity- Still valid now?
3) Low ecological validity- Real world application
4) Low population validity- Only male, all students
5) Low internal validity- measuring intended thing?
17
Q
What is an ethical issue about Asch (1950’s) study?
A
Deceived participants- didn’t tell them the true aim of the investigation (lied)
18
Q
Why can Asch’s (1950’s) research be defended in terms of ethics?
A
Study wouldn’t have worked without deception & participants were debriefed after the experiment
19
Q
What are 3 strengths of Asch’s (1950’s) study?
A
1) Lab experiment- control over confounding and extraneous variables
2) Establish cause and effect-shows group pressure
3) Other participants were strangers so disapproval may have had an impact
20
Q
What 4 variables can affect conformity?
A
1) Group size
2) Unanimity
3) Task difficulty
4) Public or private answer
21
Q
What did Asch find about group size affecting conformity?
A
Conformity increased when confederates increased between 1-3, then didn’t make much difference afterwards- too large groups (e.g. 15) led to lower conformity levels due to increased suspicion
22
Q
What other research support the findings that group size affects conformity?
A
Bond (2005) meta-analysis & Latane & Wolf (1981) found increasing group size increases conformity in decreasing amounts
23
Q
How can Bond (2005) explain public or private answers as affecting conformity?
A
Found that when private answers were given, there was a small negative relationship between conformity and group size
24
Q
How does unanimity affect conformity?
A
Conformity is most likely to occur when the confederates are unanimous in their answers
25
What did Asch (1950s) find about a dissenter affecting conformity?
When a confederate disagrees with the majority judgement, conformity decreased from 37% to 5.5%
26
What did Asch (1950's) conclude about a dissenter affecting conformity?
The presence of a dissenter leads to a reduction in conformity for two reasons
27
What were the 2 reasons Asch suggested a dissenter decreased conformity?
1) The dissenter provides useful information about the correct response
2) The dissenter reduces the need for group social approval
28
What did Asch also find about a dissenter decreasing conformity?
The dissenter could give another incorrect answer, but would be just as effective in reducing conformity than an accurate confederate as they broke the unanimity & need for social approval
29
What does Asch think is the most important variable that affects conformity?
Unanimity
30
What did Asch (1950's) find about task difficulty affecting conformity?
If a task is difficult, conformity increases
31
What other 2 studies were there into task difficulty affecting group size?
Lucas et al (2006) found a greater level of conformity when the maths problems were harder
Perrin & Spencer found conformity is less likely if the task is familiar (engineers didn't conform)
32
What is a difficulty when assessing the effect of task difficulty on conformity?
Task difficulty depends on the skills and abilities of the participants as well as the task itself.
33
What research supports normative social influence & how?
Asch (1950's) as the participants desired approval and acceptance in the non-ambiguous task
34
What research supports informational social influence & how?
Sherif (1935) as it was an ambiguous task & the participants looked to others as a guide to act & desired to be right
35
Why was it important to ensure participants of Zimbardo's study were mentally stable?
Controlled confounding variable of the behaviour being due to a predisposition to it
36
How were the participants allocated roles in Zimbardo's study?
Randomly
37
Why did Zimbardo arranged for the prisoners to be arrested?
Realism- mindset of a prisoner
38
Why did the guards wear uniform and reflector sunglasses?
No eye contact- deindividuation
39
What are 4 strengths of Zimbardo's study?
1) High ecological validity
2) Low researcher bias
3) Debriefing sessions afterwards
4) Experimental realism
40
How does Zimbardo's study have high ecological validity?
Findings can be generalised & were supported by an outside observer with a history of imprisonment
41
How does Zimbardo's study have low researcher bias?
Random allocation of guards & prisoners
42
How did Zimbardo's study have experimental realism?
Realistic- e.g.) prisoners asked for parole rather than to be let out
43
What are 3 limitations of Zimbardo's study?
1) Unethical
2) Behaviour may be due to stereotyped expectations of role
3) Conformity to roles wasn't automatic- individual differences
44
In what 2 ways was Zimbardo's study unethical?
1) Didn't acquire fully informed consent- surprise arrest
2) Harm to participants
45
What harm to participants was done in Zimbardo's study?
Severe emotional disturbance, rage, anxiety & depression
46
When did Zimbardo's study end, and when was it meant to end?
After 6 days, 2 weeks
47
What was Zimbardo's aim?
Investigate whether the brutality reported in prisons was due to the dispositional hypothesis or the situational hypothesis
48
What was the dispositional hypothesis?
Brutality was due to sadistic personalities of the guards
49
What was the situational hypothesis?
Brutality was due to with the power structure in the prison environment
50
What was Zimbardo's procedure?
24 (mentally-stable) out of 75 male volunteers randomly allocated as a prisoner or guard
Paid $15 a day
Mock prison observed by hidden cameras
Local police arrested prisoners- took to station then blindfolded to prison
Prisoners confined in cell & referred to as a number only
Guards wore military uniforms & reflector sunglasses
51
What were Zimbardo's findings from the prisoners?
Rebelled initially but were shut down by fire extinguishers
Became submissive & subdued
Some released early due to extreme reactions (1 less than 36hrs) e.g. anxiety, depression & rage
52
What were Zimbardo's findings of the guards?
Force, harassment & aggression increased steadily
Study stopped after 6 days due to guards' zeal & harassment
Individual differences in the guards' behaviour- 1/3 tyrannical, one worst & some nice
53
What did Zimbardo conclude from his study?
Participants conformed due to the situation not individual personalities- demonstrating conformity by identification
Some findings explained as a result of deindividuation due to experiment encouraging deindividuation
54
What 4 ways was Zimbardo's study ethical?
1) Debriefed afterwards
2) No deception
3) Protected some from harm (ended early & only mentally stable)
4) Informed consent form
55
What 3 ways was Zimbardo's study unethical?
1) Effects of study- mental problems (rage, depression)
2) Failure to protect participants from harm
3) No informed consent for arrest
56
What was the aim of Milgram's study?
To find out whether ordinary Americans would obey an unjust order from an authority figure to inflict pain on another. To discover what factors in a situation lead people to obey
57
What was Milgram's procedure?
40 male volunteers paid £4.50 told the study concerned the role of punishment in learning
Teachers weren't actually giving shocks on a piece of equipment with a range of voltage levels
Learner (confederate) got some right then gave wrong answers and faked pain after shock
Researcher encouraged teacher to continue & study ended when reached max volts (450) or teacher refused
Participants debriefed afterwards
58
What were Milgram's findings during the study?
65% of participants gave shocks up to 450 volts
100% gave at least 300 volts
12.5% stopped at 300 volts
59
What were Milgram's findings in interviews after the study?
74% learned something importance as a result of being involved
84% were glad they participated
Only 1 person regretted participating
60
What were Milgram's conclusions?
People will obey an authority figure, despite it causing harm.
Unquestioning obedience not present- conflict present
Strong tendency to obey despite against our better judgement
61
What are 4 criticisms of Milgram's study?
1) Unethical- deception
2) Unethical- distress experienced (seizures)
3) Population validity- all male in original study
4) Removed right to withdraw- pressured to continue
62
How can Milgram's study be criticised for having a lack of internal validity?
Orne & Holland- suggested a lack of experimental realism & presence of demand characteristics- argued participants couldn't believe the experiment
63
What 3 ways can Milgram's study be defended against having a lack of internal validity?
1) Real aim disguised
2) Participants didn't obey unquestioningly (conflicted)
3) High levels of stress experienced (true belief)
64
How can Milgram's study be criticised for having a lack of external validity?
Lack of ecological validity- lab study, artificial setting, mundane realism, can't generalise (Yale Uni students)
65
What 2 ways can Milgram's study be defended against having a lack of external validity?
1) Replicated in an alternative setting with same results
2) Field experiments demonstrated high obedience levels in natural setting where harm could be done (Hofling's nurses 1966)
66
In what 3 ways can Milgram's study be criticised in terms of ethics?
1) Deception- aim, 'learner' confederate & fake shocks
2) Lack of informed consent
3) Failure to protect participants from harm- high stress, 3 seizures, low self-esteem
67
How did Milgram fail to protect participants from harm?
High stress levels, 3 seizures and low self-esteem due to experiment & then did others (hard to justify)
68
How can Milgram's study be defended in terms of ethics?
1) Would have lacked experimental realism & have demand characteristics if not for deception
2) Debriefed after study & presumptive consent gained
3) No long-term emotional harm & only 1 person regretted taking part
69
What 3 situational variables have been identified to influence levels of obedience?
1) Proximity
2) Location
3) Uniform
70
What has been found about proximity influencing obedience?
Teacher & leaner in same room= 40%
Teacher presses learner's hand on shock plate= 30%
Remote authority (order by phone)= 21%
71
What has been found about location influencing obedience?
Original= 65%
Run down office location= 48%
Decrease due to legitimate authority
72
How can proximity as a situational influence on obedience be evaluated?
Mandel (1998)- Mass killing of Jews Poland 1942 despite close proximity
Hofling et al- high obedience despite orders on phone
73
What are the 4 explanations of obedience?
1) Situational variables
2) Agentic state
3) Legitimate authority
4) Authoritarian personality
74
What is the dispositional explanation of obedience?
Authoritarian personality
75
What are the non-dispositional explanation of obedience?
1) Situational variables
2) Legitimate authority
3) Agentic state
76
What is legitimacy of authority as an explanation of obedience?
Refers to the degree of social power held by the person who gives the order/instruction
77
What research study supports legitimacy of authority as an explanation of obedience?
Hofling et al (1966)- "Doctor" ordered nurse by phone to give too much Astrofen, and would be breaking 3 rules if they did it (21 out of 22 complied unhesitatingly)
78
What is the agentic state as an explanation of obedience?
Individuals operate at 2 levels in social situations:
1) Autonomous state
2) Agentic state
79
What is the autonomous state?
Where the individual is aware of the consequences of their actions & choose voluntarily to behave in particular ways- accepting responsibility for their behaviour
80
What is the agentic shift?
The switch of operating as an autonomous individual to acting as an agent for another person (an authority figure)
81
When is the agentic shift more likely to happen?
When there is the perception of legitimate authority
82
What is the agentic state?
Where the individual sees themselves as an agent of another & carries out their orders without accepting personal responsibility for their actions- see the person giving the orders as responsible
83
What evidence is there for the agentic state?
Milgram- many participants asked whether the experimenter would take responsibility, when he said yes they continued to obey
However some questioned whether they were in the agentic state or not as there was clear conflict & stress
84
What is the the dispositional explanation of obedience?
Explanations that emphasise behaviour being caused by an individuals own personal characteristics rather than situational influences within the environment
85
What is the authoritarian personality?
Adorno et al (1950)- Higher likelihood to be obedient & prejudiced
86
What 4 characteristics does someone with an authoritarian personality have?
1) Rigid beliefs in conventional values
2) Intolerance of ambiguity
3) Strict adherence to social rules
4) General hostility towards other groups
87
What can be used to measure the authoritarian personality?
The F scale
88
What 2 pieces of research can support the authoritarian personality?
1) Elms & Milgram (1966) follow up with participants from Milgram original study- did F scale & MMPI test. Found obedient participants scored higher for authoritarian personality
2) Milgram found higher F scale gave stronger shocks than lower scores when ordered to by authority figure
89
What is a criticism of the authoritarian personality?
2/3 of the participants in Milgram's experiments were fully obedient but far fewer than that would have an authoritarian personality
90
What is resistance to social influence?
Resisting pressures to conform (non-conformity) and resisting pressures to obey (disobedience)
91
What is social support?
A factor found to encourage resistance to social influence
92
What evidence is there for resisting social influence?
1) Asch- presence of a dissenter reduces conformity from 37% to 5.5%
2) Allen & Levine (1969)- timing of social support, when the participant receives support is important in resisting pressure to conform
93
What are locus of control?
Refers to an individual differences in people's beliefs & expectations about what controls events in their lives- the extent to which they perceive personal control over their behaviour, events & future
94
What is an internal locus of control?
What happens to them is a consequence of internal factors, their own ability, effort & personal decisions. They control events in their life.
95
What is an external locus of control?
The belief that what happens to them is controlled by external factors (actions of others, luck or fate) and are uncontrollable- less likely to take responsibility for actions
96
Is someone with an internal locus of control more or less likely to resist to social influence than someone with an external locus of control?
More likely to resist social influence
97
What 2 pieces of research evidence is there to support locus of control?
1) Avtgis (1998)- Meta-analysis found those who scored higher on external locus of control were more easily persuaded & likely to conform (correlation=0.37)
2) Elms & Milgram (1974)- Investigated disobedient participants from Milgram OG study- found they had a high internal locus of control & higher social responsibility
98
What can be said about evidence to support locus of control?
Mixed so can't draw conclusions
99
What are 3 evaluation points about research into locus of control?
1) Mostly artificial studies- low ecological validity but high control
2) Correlational- hard to establish cause & effect
3) Oliner & Oliner= natural experiment so had high ecological validity
100
What is minority influence?
People rejecting the established norm of the majority group members & generally move to the position of the minority- changing their attitudes & behaviour in line with minority group members
101
What occurs due to minority influence?
Conversion & internalisation of the minority's views
102
Why does conversion occur in minority influence?
Exposure to a different viewpoint creates conflict (cognitive conflict)
103
What 3 factors are helpful to bring about conversion to the minority viewpoint?
1) Consistency
2) Commitment
3) Flexibility
104
What is consistency in terms of bringing about conversion to the minority viewpoint?
Stability in the expressed position over time and agreement between different members of the minority
105
What is commitment in terms of bringing about conversion to the minority viewpoint and how is it shown?
Degree of dedication to a particular cause- suggests certainty, confidence & courage in face of a hostile majority
Commitment shown when dedication has a cost or inconvenience to the individual (e.g. time, money etc.)
106
What is flexibility in terms of bringing about conversion to the minority viewpoint?
A willingness to compromise when expressing a position.
More effective at changing majority opinion than rigid arguments
107
When is flexibility most effective at bringing about conversion to the minority viewpoint?
When compromise isn't done straight away (which shows weakness)
108
What was Moscovici et al (1969)'s procedure?
2 groups has 4 naïve participants & 2 confederates- shown a series of blue slides that varied in intensity. 3 conditions ((in)consistent, control)
Control group had 6 naïve participants
109
What happened in the consistent condition of Moscovici's (1969) study?
The 2 confederates repeatedly called the blue slides green on every trial
110
What happened in the inconsistent condition of Moscovici's (1969) study?
The 2 confederates called the blue slides green on 2/3 of the trials, other 1/3 called slides blue
111
What happened in the control condition of Moscovici's (1969) study?
No confederates so no one said green- all blue
112
What were Moscovici's (1969) findings?
Consistent- 8% influence
Inconsistent- <1% influence
Control- no influence
113
What did Moscovici do after his first (blue vs green slides) study?
Participants were asked individually to sort 16 discs into blue or green- 3 were unambiguously blue, 3 unambiguously green, 10 were ambiguous.
114
What did Moscovici find in his second study?
Individuals from the inconsistent or consistent set their thresholds of blue or green at different points- consistent group people judged more to be green than inconsistent group people
115
Who's research supported flexibility as a factor of bringing about conversion to the minority viewpoint?
Nemeth & Brilmayer jury situation (1987)
116
What was Nemeth & Brilmayer's (1987) procedure?
Simulated jury situation- discuss compensation to be paid.
Confederate puts forward alternative view
117
What were Nemeth & Brilmayer's (1987) findings?
If the confederate refused to change his position, it had no effect on jury members
If the confederate compromised & showed degree of shift towards majority there was influence evident when they shifted LATE in negotiations (flexibility) no influence if shifted early (caved in)
118
What is a strength of Nemeth & Brilmayer's (1987) study?
High ecological validity
119
What are 3 evaluation points of the factors that bring about conversion to the minority viewpoint?
1) Nemeth & Brilmayer research
2) Real value of minority influence
3) Do we really process the minority's message more?
120
Explain the real value of minority influence as an evaluation point of the factors that bring about conversion to the minority viewpoint
Nemeth (2010) argued dissent opens the mind, and when exposed to a minority position, people consider more options & make better decisions
121
Explain "do we really process the minority's message more" as an evaluation point of the factors that bring about conversion to the minority viewpoint
Mackie (1987) argues the views of the minority don't lead to greater processing, but it is the majority that are more likely to create better message processing
122
What is social change?
When a society as a whole adopts a new belief or way of behaving which then becomes widely accepted as the 'norm' involving: 1) Social progress and 2) Social revolution
123
What are 2 examples of social change?
1) Suffragettes- woman's right to vote
2) No slavery
124
What are the 5 stages involved in conversion via minority influence?
1) Drawing attention
2) Cognitive conflict
3) Consistency of position
4) The augmentation principle
5) The snowball effect
125
Explain drawing attention as the 1st stage of conversion via minority influence
The minority drawing the majority's attention to an issue
126
Explain cognitive conflict as the 2nd stage of conversion via minority influence
Minority creates a conflict between what majority members believe and position of minority, meaning the majority thinks more deeply about the issues being challenged
127
Explain consistency of position as the 3rd stage of conversion via minority influence
Minorities are more influential in bringing about social change when they express their arguments consistently
128
Explain the augmentation principle as the 4th stage of conversion via minority influence
If a minority is willing to suffer for their views they're seen as more committed & so taken more seriously by others
129
Explain the snowball effect as the 5th stage of conversion via minority influence
Minority influence initially has a small effect but it spreads more widely until reaching a 'tipping point' at which it leads to wide-scale social change
130
What is the misperception?
Gap between perceived and actual norm
131
What are social norms interventions?
Start by identifying widespread misperception relating to a specified risky behaviour in a target population
132
What are 3 evaluation points of social change?
1) Social change through minority influence may be gradual
2) Being perceived as deviant limits the influence of minorities
3) Limitations of the social norms approach
133
Explain social change through minority influence may be gradual as an evaluation point of social change
May take a long time to create social change- strong tendency to conform to majority
134
Explain being perceived as deviant limits the influence of minorities as an evaluation point of social change
Minority is seen as deviant by majority so the majority may avoid aligning themselves with the minority
