Social Influence P1

Question 1

What does it mean if someone has a high internal locus of control?

Answer 1

People with a high internal locus of control believe they are in control and take responsibility for their actions.

Question 2

What does it mean if someone has a high external locus of control?

Answer 2

People with a high external locus of control blame external forces for their own circumstances.

Question 3

What are the five different reasons for resistance to social influence?

Answer 3

1. Non-conformity
2. The presence of other who don’t conform
3. The extent to which people believe themselves to be in control of their own lives.
4. Reactance
5. Systematic processing - analysis based on critical thinking.

Question 4

What does Normative Influence mean?

Answer 4

Normative Influence means that your decision is underpinned by the need to be accepted by others.

Question 5

What does Informational Influence mean?

Answer 5

Informational Influence means that your decision is underpinned by the need to be correct.

Question 6

What is compliance

Answer 6

Compliance:

In public you go along with the behaviours and opinions of the group. It’s only temporary. It is born out of a desire to fit in.

Question 7

What is Identification?

Answer 7

Identification:
You adjust your behaviour and opinions whilst you are part of a group. Public and private acceptance, but once you leave the group the behaviours and opinions are not maintained. It is when the membership of a group is important.

Question 8

What is Internalisation?

Answer 8

Internalisation.

True conformity as you genuinely adopt the behaviours and opinions of the group. Public and private acceptance. It is long term as it is not dependant on the presence of a group.

Question 9

Is Compliance normative or informational influence?

Answer 9

Compliance is normative influence.

Question 10

Is internalisation normative or informational influence?

Answer 10

Internalisation is informational influence.

Question 11

Is identification normative or informational influence?

Answer 11

Identification is both normative and informational influence.
(Arguably more normative in my opinion.)

Question 12

What are the three situational variables that affect conformity?

Answer 12

1. Group size
2. Unanimity
3. Task difficulty

Question 13

What are the three dispositional variables?

Answer 13

Gender, expertise and culture

Question 14

What did Cooper 1979 find on Gender as a dispositional variable in conformity?

Answer 14

Copper 1979 found that females conform more than males.

Question 15

What did Eggly and Steffen 1984 find on Gender as a dispositional variable in conformity?

Answer 15

Eggly and Steffan found that females conformed more than males, however, if the answers were given privately then the conformity levels were the same.

Question 16

What effect does expertise have on conformity?

Answer 16

High levels of confidence and expertise reduce conformity. Perrin and Spencer 1988 repeated the Asch study and found much reduced conformity.

Question 17

What was the Asch study on conformity?

Answer 17

Asch showed three different lines to a room of seven people and one volunteer on the end; and asked them to identify the line that was most like the target line. The seven confederates would give an answer that was clearly wrong. The volunteer would then be asked to give their answer, to see whether they would conform or not.

Question 18

Hogg and Vaughan found that these characteristics increased the level of conformity:

Answer 18

• Low self-esteem
• High anxiety

Question 19

What are the two types of culture that may affect the levels of conformity?

Answer 19

Individualism and Collectivism

Question 20

What is individualism?

Answer 20

Individualism is when individual thoughts are encouraged. Levels of conformity are often decreased.

Question 21

What is collectivism?

Answer 21

Collectivism is when it is taught that you conform for the sake of harmony within the group.

Question 22

Individualism Evidence:

Answer 22

Berry 1966: Proved that Eskimos who live in an individualistic hunting society show less conformity than members of the Temmi tribe in Africa which needs team work in their agricultural society and is therfore more conformist.

Question 23

Collectivism Evidence:

Answer 23

Bond and Smith 1996: Discovered a tendency that collectivistic cultures had higher rates of conformity.

In a meta-study of 133 conformity studies across the world.

Question 24

What was the Zimbardo study on Conformity?

Answer 24

Zimbardo’s Stamford Prison study was an extremely controversial test to see whether people would conform to social roles.

Question 25

What were the weaknesses of Zimbardo’s prison study?

Answer 25

It lacked ecological validity.
The experiment was only tried once, and cancelled half way through.
The experiment did not take into account the temperament of individuals.
It breaks ethical guidelines.

Question 26

What were the ethical issues regarding the Stamford Prison Study?

Answer 26

Lack of fully informed consent
Protection from harm
Lack of proper debriefing

Question 27

What are the three explanations for obedience?

Answer 27

Agentic state
Legitimacy of authority
Situational variables

Question 28

What are situational variables

Answer 28

Situational variables are proximity and location.

Question 29

What does it mean if you have an authoritarian personality?

Answer 29

An authoritarian personality is someone who has extreme respect for authority and the hierarchy. They are very likely to be obedient to someone who hold authority over them.

Question 30

What was the procedure of Milgram’s experiment on Obedience?

Answer 30

In the most well-known version of Milgram’s experiment, 40 male participants were told that they were to be a ‘teacher’ in an experiment on memory and punishment. Participants were paired with a confederate and told that they would be randomly assigned to roles of “teacher” and “learner.”

The learner was located in a separate room from the teacher, but the teacher could hear the learner through the wall. If the learner answered a question wrongly, the teacher would be asked to administer an electric shock. The shocks started at a relatively mild level (15 volts) but increased in increments up to 450 volts. they were told to increase them every time the learning got it wrong.

At the mid-level shocks the learner would cry out in pain and ask to leave the study. He would then continue crying out with each shock until 350ish when he would stop responding.

Whenever participants expressed hesitation about continuing with the study, the experimenter would urge them to go on with increasingly firm instructions, ending on, “You have no other choice, you must go on.”

The study ended when participants refused to obey the experimenter’s demand, or when they gave the learner the highest level of shock on the machine (450 volts).

65% of the participants gave the learner the 450-volt shock.

Question 31

What are the 5 explanations for resistance to social influence?

Answer 31

1. Non-conformity
2. The presence of dissenters
3. High or low internal locus’
4. Reactance
5. Systematic processing

Question 32

What are the two different ways in which Non-Conformity occurs?

Answer 32

Non-conformity occurs in two ways:

Independence - you just do your own thing. Sometimes you’re in the majority, sometimes you’re not.

Anti-conformity - you never want to conform so you always do the opposite.

Question 33

What is Reactance?

Answer 33

Reactance is rebellious anger.
When an individual’s freedom of choice is restricted they may develop reactance.

Question 34

What is Systematic Processing?

Answer 34

Systematic processing means you are less likely to obey the orders if you are given time to consider the consequences of carrying out the orders.

Question 35

What are the three key factors for determining effectiveness of minority?

Answer 35

1. Consistency
2. Commitment
3. Flexibility

Question 36

What are the two consistency types?

Answer 36

1. Synchronic consistency
2. Diachronic consistency

Question 37

What is synchronic consistency?

Answer 37

Synchronic consistency is when everyone in the minority group says the same thing.
(They all agree)

Question 38

What is diachronic consistency?

Answer 38

Diachronic consistency is saying the same thing over a long period of time.

Question 39

Why is commitment important for minority influence?

Answer 39

Demonstrating commitment to a cause or view makes the majority group pay more attention.
This is particularly effective if it involves making personal sacrifices because it shows it is not acting out of self-interest.

Question 40

Why is flexibility important for minority influence?

Answer 40

Being too consistent can make the minority appear rigid, unbending and dogmatic.

Some degree of flexibility makes others more likely to consider the point of view

Question 41

Why can task difficulty affect conformity?

Answer 41

The harder a task is, the more likely a person is to conform. This is because you may believe the group is better than the self in an unfamiliar situation.

Question 42

What were the ethical issues with Milgram’s study into obedience?

Answer 42

Ethical issues:
- Deception
- Pressure to continue (interfering with the right to withdraw)

Question 43

What were the situational factors in Milgram’s study on obedience?

Answer 43

Situational factors:
The physical presence of an authority figure dramatically increased compliance.
The fact that it was at Yale made people think it was trustworthy and safe.
The selection of teacher and learner status seemed random.
Participants assumed that the experimenter was a competent expert.
The shocks were said to be painful, not dangerous.

Question 44

What is it called when you are less likely to obey because you are given more time to think about what has been asked of you?

Answer 44

Systematic processing

Question 45

Individualistic society vs ____ society

Answer 45

Individualistic society vs collectivist society