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Psychology > Social influence- obedience > Flashcards

Social influence- obedience Flashcards

1
Q

What is obedience?

A

Behaviour adopted differs to that of authority figure

Prescription for action is explicit

Occurs within a hierarchy –> person above has position of power

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2
Q

What does disposition mean?

A

Temperament or personality

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3
Q

What is the authoritarian personality an explanation for?

A

A dispositional explanation for obedience

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4
Q

Who proposed the idea of the authoritarian personality type (APT) ?

A

Adorno

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5
Q

What is the authoritarian personality type?

A

A collection of traits/dispositions that are developed in an individual as a result of strict/rigid parenting

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6
Q

Why does strict/rigid parenting cause the APT?

A

Teaches a child to obey authority blindly and respect hierarchies

Individual in question was not able to express hostility towards their parents

Person would displace this aggression/hostility onto safer targets
e.g. ethnic minorities

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7
Q

What is an individual with the APT likely to behave like?

A

Blindly obey authority

Expect others to obey without question

Negative towards those below them

Obedient to those of higher status

See own group as superior

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8
Q

What are the explanations for obedience?

A

Authoritarian Personality

Agentic State

Legitimacy of authority

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9
Q

What is the autonomous state?

A

When people direct their own actions

Take responsibility for results of their actions

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10
Q

What is the agentic state?

A

When people allow others to direct their actions

Pass off responsibility for consequences to person giving orders

Act as agents for another person’s will

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11
Q

What happens when people obey in an agentic state?

A

Unthinkingly carry out orders due to diffusion of responsibility

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12
Q

What 2 things must be in place for someone to enter the agentic state?

A

Person giving orders must be perceived to be qualified to direct others’ behaviour –> seen as legitimate, people make judgements about authority figure’s legitimacy based on evidence

Person being ordered about must believe that authority will accept responsibility for actions

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13
Q

What is legitimacy of authority?

A

Focuses on context/setting and status of authority figure

Someone is obeyed as they are thought to have the right to give the order

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14
Q

What must the people obeying orders believe about the authority in legitimacy of authority?

A

Believe they have the power to administer sanctions for disobeying

That authority figure holds more knowledge and expertise

Qualified to give orders in particular context

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15
Q

Why does obedience due to legitimacy of authority occur?

A

When people are socialised to follow orders given by legitimate authority figure due to them having a higher status

Make judgements about someones legitimacy based on evidence available in setting

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16
Q

What are situational factors that affect obedience?

A

Uniform

Location

Proximity

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17
Q

What are explanations of resistance to social influence (resisting conformity and obedience)?

A

Social support

Locus of Control

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18
Q

What is social support?

A

When defiance/non-conformity is more likely if others are seen to resist influence (majority group or authority figure)

Seeing other disobey/not conform gives observer confidence to also resist

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19
Q

Why does social support work in conformity situations?

A

Less normative influence as less painful to be rejected if not alone and with a group

Breaks unanimity

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20
Q

Why does social support work in obedience situations?

A

Other disobedient role models challenge legitimacy of authority

If authority figure were truly legitimate then others would not disobey

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21
Q

Who discovered locus of control?

A

Rotter

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22
Q

What is locus of control?

A

Extent to which people perceive themselves as being in control of their own lives

Continuum, scale

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23
Q

What is expected of individuals with high internal LOC?

A

Believe they can affect outcomes of situations

Things happen as a result of their own effort, choices and decisions

Confident, happy, independent

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23
Q

What is expected of individuals with high internal LOC?

A

Believe they can affect outcomes of situations

Things happen as a result of their own effort, choices and decisions

Confident, happy, independent W

24
Q

What is expected of individuals with high external LOC?

A

Believe things turn out a certain way regardless of actions

Things happen as a result of luck, fate and other uncontrollable forces

25
Q

How is LOC measured?

A

Via a questionnaire

P’s choose between paired statements

26
Q

How does being internal LOC lead to resistance?

A

Makes indivduals more resistant to social influence

People see themselves in control of a situation

More likely to perceive themselves as having a free choice

Less likely to conform or obey

27
Q

Why will internals conform less than externals?

A

Rely less on opinions of others

Less informational social influence as rely on own information

Less normative as do not care what others think

28
Q

Why will internals obey less than externals?

A

Will remain in autonomous state

Will not become agentic as will not give responsibility to others

29
Q

What is minority influence?

A

When people conform to the behaviour of the minority rather than the majority

Normative influence does not have an effect as minority is not large enough to create pressure to fit in

30
Q

What is necessary for minority influence to occur?

A

Internalisation via informational social influence

Must take on the beliefs of the minority

31
Q

What does minority influence bring about in society?

A

Social change

Minorities can kick start societal changes

32
Q

Who proposed the Conversion Theory?

A

Moscovici

33
Q

What is the basis of the conversion theory?

A

Based on the assumption that minority influence works to convert people via internalisation

Certain behaviour styles required in individual/minority group for success in enacting social change

34
Q

What does the Conversion Theory suggest are the 3 clear attributes for successful social change from a minority group?

A

Consistency

Commitment

Flexibility

35
Q

What are the extra attributes that a minority may possess for social change?

A

Persuasiveness

Confidence

Relevance

36
Q

What are the extra attributes that a minority may possess for social change?

A

Persuasiveness

Confidence

Relevance

37
Q

What is commitment?

A

Minorities can exert influenec by showing dedication

Willing to make sacrifices if necessary

Gives minority’s message credibility as people unlikely to suffer for a cause which is not worthwhile

38
Q

What are some examples of how commitment can be demonstrated?

A

Imprisonment

Death for cause

Hunger strikes

39
Q

What is a real life example of a minority influence who embodies commitment?

A

Nelson Mandela

Suffragettes/Emily Davison –> hunger strikes, death, emprisoned for cause

40
Q

What is consistency?

A

Where a person/minority group maintains a consistent position over time or there is agreement among members of minority group

41
Q

What is a real life example of a minority influence who embodies consistency?

A

Greta Thunberg

Nelson Mandela –> imprisoned for 24years but did not change his views

42
Q

What is flexibility?

A

Opposite of adopting a rigid position which could lead to perception of minority as being narrow minded

43
Q

What are some examples of how flexibility can be demonstrated?

A

Core goal remains but willing to compromise and meet halfway

44
Q

What is a real life example of a minority influence who embodies flexibility?

A

Green Party

Greta Thunberg

45
Q

How is minority influence linked to social change/influence?

A

Social change occurs when minority view challenges the majority view and is then eventually accepted by the majority

45
Q

How is minority influence linked to social change/influence?

A

Social change occurs when minority view challenges the majority view and is then eventually accepted by the majority

46
Q

What are some alternative explanations of minority influence?

A

Social cryptoamnesia

The Snowball effect

Social impact theory

47
Q

What is social cryptoamnesia?

A

When people know that change occurred but do not remember how it happened

E.g. changing attitudes in relation to recycling and ‘green issues’

48
Q

What is the snowball effect?

A

Minority influence initially has a relatively small effect

This then spreads more widely as more and more people consider the issues being promoted

E.g. Martin Luther King, gradual attention of US government changed, laws eventually change

49
Q

What is social impact theory?

A

States that there are 3 factors which combine in different ways to result in social influence of any kind : strength, immediacy and number

50
Q

What does strength refer to?

A

Power or status, how important an influencing group is

51
Q

What is immediacy?

A

Have to feel physically, socially or psychologically close/relevant

52
Q

What does number refer to?

A

How many members a group has can increase influence

53
Q

How does social impact theory link to minority influnece?

A

For minority influence:
strength and immediacy must be high as number will be low

For minority to bring about social change they must be of high status or power and must be socially, physically and/or psychologically relevant

54
Q

How does social change link to obedience?

A

Laws can help speed up promotion of social change

Members of society that have not been convinced by conformity processes have no choice but to accept social change

Have to obey legitimate authority e.g. police, government

55
Q

What are explanations of obedience as a process of social change?

A

Society follows orders of authority figures, legitimacy of their authority

People change in response to laws –> socialised into hierarchy

56
Q

What is required for people to obey and for social change to occur?

A

Right to give the order –> through election or position

Power to administer sanctions for disobeying

More knowledge and expertise –> qualified to give orders in particular context

57
Q

How does normative social influence work as a process of social change?

A

Normative influence can be exploited to create social change

Suggests majority wants change/have already changed

Other people start to conform as do not want to stand out or be rejected

E.g. protests

Psychology (13 decks)

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