Social Influence- Obedience

Question 1

What is Social Influence?

Answer 1

-Need to have a means to influence
-influence agent or social group
-How are we influenced – e.g. ,fear, feel
dissonance, reciprocity, scarcity, empathy with others, context, social roles….

Question 2

What is Obedience?

Answer 2

Acting in accord with a direct order (Myers, 2005)
Behaviour change produced by the commands of authority (Hogg & Vaughan, 2005)

Question 3

What is Milgram’s def of Obedience?

Answer 3

-people as agents transfer personal responsibility to the person giving the orders / commands
-Obedience experiments = passive obedience in the face of authority

Question 4

Some Re-evaluations of Milgram’s Work?

Answer 4

• More akin to persuasive rhetoric than blatant authority (Gibson, 2013)
• Across experimental conditions - defiance was more common than obedience (Haslam, Loughnan & Perry, 2015)

Question 5

What is Legitimate Authority?

Answer 5

Legitimate authority - product of influence and formation of norms within the group

Question 6

What is the Three process theory of persuasion, authority, and coercion
(Turner, 2005)

Answer 6

• Group agrees (custom, experience, formal decision) > follow person / or position (authority) > express collective will & provides a time efficient way to gain right course of action

Question 7

What is a Command?

Answer 7

COMMAND CONSISTED OF – A DEFINITION OF ACTION & THE IMPERATIVE THE ACTION BE EXECUTED

Question 8

Describe OBEDIENCE AS A FORM OF SOCIAL INFLUENCE?

Answer 8

-Gibson (2019)-questions and asks whether obedience involves more diffuse processes of authority rather than just a direct command
- “The submission to the requirements of an authority” e.g. everyday use,

Question 9

What is Conformity?

Answer 9

• Change in the thinking, feeling, or acting following pressure, real or imaginary, exercised by the group
• Kelman (1958) – 3 levels: compliance, identification, internalization

Question 10

WHAT DOES ASCH’S STUDY REVEAL? (Independence vs Conformity)

Answer 10

• clear and unambiguous conditions
• Two-thirds – independent or correct (63.2%) / one third yielding ones
• Individuals reacted differently to opposition to the majority
• 25% always independent
• 5 % always went along with erring majority

Question 11

Why were some people independent?

Answer 11

Independence of strength – answered independently but didn’t mind being different.
Independence without confidence – voiced strong doubts but remained independent.

Question 12

Why were some people yielding?

Answer 12

• Yielding – at the perceptual level
• Yielding at the level of judgement – quite readily assumed they were wrong
• Yielding at the level of action – conflict or the fear of it led to giving in

Question 13

Asch’s Experiment Praises and Criticisms?

Answer 13

Praises: Standardized procedure – can be replicated (increases reliability- stable and consistent results)
- Experiment in lab, where there were control over extraneous variables
Criticisms: Need to be cautious when generalizing
- Lacks mundane realism and ecological validity
- Trivial task

Question 14

When does Conformity increase?

Answer 14

• Person is incompetent or insecure
• 3-5 rather than 1 or 2 – Gerard, 1968
• Task is more difficult – Sheriff, 1963
• Public response – others observe your behaviour – Asch, 1952