Social Influence - Social Influence/Change

Question 1

In each of these studies (Asch, Milgram, Hofling, Zimbardo), how many participants resisted social influence?

Answer 1

• Asch (1951) : 24%
• Milgram (1963) : 35% (14 ppts)
• Hofling (1966) : 1 nurse
• Zimbardo (1974) : around two-thirds

Question 2

What is an external factor affecting resistance to social influence?

Answer 2

• social support
• presence of others who are also resisting the pressure to conform/obey

Question 3

What is an internal factor affecting the resistance to social influence?

Answer 3

• (internal) locus of control

Question 4

What is social support?

Answer 4

• where an individual is able to resist the pressure to conform if they have an ally (supporting their point of view)
• it allows them to build confidence and remain independent as they no longer fear being ridiculed
• they avoid NSI

Question 5

Social support research support : Conformity

Answer 5

• pressure to conform can be reduced if there are others who are not conforming
• despite not giving the correct answer, the fact that they are going against the majority allows the individual to follow their own conscience
• e.g. Asch’s variations
  
  • one correct dissenter = 5.5%
  • one incorrect dissenter = 9%
• Allen and Levine (1971):
  
  • similar to Asch’s variations/results
  • conformity rates decreased (even if dissenter said they had vision problems)
  • shows how having just one person going against the majority can lead to an individual resisting conformity

Question 6

Social support research support : Obedience

Answer 6

• pressure to obey can be reduced if another person disobeys
• e.g. Milgram’s variations
  
  • disobedient confederate = 10%
  • does not always follow their behaviour but has a will to follow/not follow based on their conscience
• Gamson et al. (1982):
  
  • researchers asked for volunteers (Michigan, USA) to take part in paid group discussion
  • they were met by consultant from MHRC (told that they were to discuss the petrol station manager’s sacking)
  • the cameraman stopped multiple times to get the ppts to argue in favour (oil company) of the sacking of the manager
  • they were asked to sign consent forms to show this film at court
• 32/33 groups rebelled during the group discussion
  
  • they established a strong group identity
  • “we don’t want to go on record… all three of us feel the same”
• 25/33 groups refused to sign the consent form
• 9 groups threatened legal action against MHRC
• shows the power of social support when resisting obedience to authority

Question 7

What are the strengths of social support?

Answer 7

• research support:
  
  • Asch’s study (conformity) = 5.5%
  • Milgram’s study (obedience) = 10%
  • both show how social support can reduce social influence
• can be applied to real life (high ecological validity):
  
  • Gamson’s study = the ppts were unaware that they were participating in a psychological study (no demand characteristics)
  • the task given was also not ‘artificial’ (i.e. based on real-life situations), having discussions about the standards of behaviour in the community

Question 8

What are the weaknesses of social support?

Answer 8

• group size:
  
  • it can only be applied to groups of under 10
  • here, one dissenter can influence resistance to conformity/obedience
  • however, in the real world, group sizes are much larger (100s), so one dissenter will not make much of a difference
  • so these studies are restricted to small group sizes (do not represent group sizes in the real world)
  • more research is required to establish effects of social support (resistance to social influence)

Question 9

What is locus of control’?

Answer 9

• proposed by Julian Rotter (1966)
• refers to a person’s perception of the degree of personal control they have over their behaviour
• Rotter’s Locus of Control Scale (questionnaire) measured this trait

Question 10

What is external locus of control?

Answer 10

• where individuals believe that their actions result largely from factors outside their control (i.e. luck or fate)

Question 11

What is internal locus of control?

Answer 11

• where individuals feel that they have a stronger sense of control over their lives
• they are active seekers of information
• rely less on the opinion of others
• more likely to resist pressure from others (resistant to social influence)

Question 12

Why do people who have an internal LOC more likely to resist pressures to conform/obey?

Answer 12

• they are able to take responsibility for their own actions/experiences (good or bad)
• they base their decisions on their own beliefs and thus resist pressures from others
• other characteristics:
  
  • self-confident
  • achievement orientated
  • higher intelligence
  • less need for social approval

Question 13

What are the strengths of locus of control?

Answer 13

• supporting evidence:
  
  • Oliner and Oliner (1988) = interviewed 2 groups of non-Jewish people who lived through Holocaust and Nazi Germany
  • 406 ppl protected/rescued Jews
  • 126 ppl did not help Jews
  • those who rescued the Jews had scores demonstrating internal LOC (they are more likely to act than leave situation to fate)
  • Holland (1967) = repeated Milgram’s experiment and measured whether the ppts were internal or external LOC
  • 37% of internals did not continue to highest shock
  • 23% of externals did not continue to highest shock
• increases validity of LOC explanation (resistance to social influence)

Question 14

What are the weaknesses of locus of control?

Answer 14

• conflicting research evidence:
  
  • Twenge (2004) = analysed data from American obedience studies (1960-2002)
  • showed that people have become more resistant to obedience, but also more external LOC
  • challenges the link between internal LOC and being resistant to social influence (especially obedience)
• also questions how this is being measured
  
  • Rotter’s questionnaire was devised in 1967 (society had very different viewpoints/WWII had taken place just 22 years before)
  • questions whether it is relevant in today’s world, hence it lacks temporal validity

Question 15

What is minority influence?

Answer 15

• where individuals are motivated to reject established majority group norms
• achieved through conversion (majorities gradually won over by minority viewpoint)
• conversion can be seen as a type of internalisation as the new behaviour is accepted both publicly and privately
• it’s associated with internalisation as the minority disagrees with the majority and goes against them

Question 16

What are the behavioural characteristics of minority influence?

Answer 16

• consistency:
  
  • MI will be more persuasive if their views are consistent (unchanging), show confidence, appear unbiased
  • others will reassess situation and consider issue more carefully
• commitment:
  
  • important as it suggests certainty, confidence, and courage
  • greater commitment may persuade the majority to take them seriously
  • augmentation principle explains how minorities can change the majority viewpoint if they do something risky (shows commitment)
  • this will lead to majority showing more interest
• flexibility:
  
  • Mugny (1982) suggests this is more effective (at changing majority opinion) than rigidity of arguments
  • minorities are generally powerless compared to majority so therefore they have to negotiate instead of enforcing their position
  • however, the minority must not be too flexible (weak/inconsistent) or too rigid (dogmatic)

Question 17

How does consistency affect minority influence ?

Answer 17

• Moscovici (1969):
  
  • he wanted to see if a consistent minority could influence the majority to give an incorrect answer
  • 172 female ppts (groups of 6 with 2 confederates)
  • shown 36 slides and 2 conditions (1. all 36 were green, 2. 24 were green and 12 were blue)
  • consistent = real ppts agreed on 8.2% trials
  • inconsistent = real ppts agreed on 1.25% of trials
  • so consistency is 6.95% more effective than an inconsistent minority
• Wood et al. (1994):
  
  • carried out meta analysis of 97 studies of minority influence
  • those who were perceived as being especially consistent were particularly influential

Question 18

How does commitment affect minority influence?

Answer 18

• Xie et al. (2011):
  
  • discovered ‘tipping point’ where the number of people (minority) is sufficient to change majority opinion
  • found that 10% of minority population is needed to influence the majority

Question 19

How does flexibility affect minority influence?

Answer 19

• Nemeth (1986):
  
  • believed that flexibility is a more effective trait than consistency
  • ppts (groups of 4 with 1 confederate) had to agree on the amount of compensation they would give to a ski-lift accident victim
  • 2 conditions (1. minority asked for lower rate of compensation and refused to change position, 2. compromised by offering slightly higher rate)
  • inflexible = minority had little to no effect on majority
  • flexible = majority members were more likely to also compromise/change their view
  • questions the idea of consistency (a balance between the two is the most successful strategy)

Question 20

What are the strengths of minority influence?

Answer 20

• (real value of) research:
  
  • Nemeth (2010) argues that the minority group opens the mind and allows people to consider more options, make better decisions, be more creative
  • researchers can then understand the means/processes for social change (linked to minority influence)
• research evidence:
  
  • change in minority position involves deeper processing of ideas
  • Martin et al. (2003) gave ppts a message supporting a particular viewpoint and measured their support
  • one group heard minority group agree with initial view
  • other group heard majority group agree
  • the ppts were then giving a conflicting viewpoint and attitudes were measured again
  • they were less willing to change their opinions if they listened to the minority than the majority
• shows how MI has a more enduring effect and allows views to be more deeply processed

Question 21

What are the weaknesses of minority influence?

Answer 21

• lack of realism/ecological validity:
  
  • many tasks given to ppts (e.g. Moscovici’s study) cannot be seen as very ‘real to life’
  • so we should be cautious when analysing the results of these studies as they may not represent MI in the real world
  • Nemeth (2010) argued that it is difficult to convince people of the value of the dissent
  • although they may accept the minority view on the surface, they may become irritated by it due to the lack of harmony (hence the attempt to belittle the view)

Question 22

What is social change?

Answer 22

• when a whole society changes and adopts new beliefs/ways of behaving (becomes the norm)
• it is commonly the result of minority influence

Question 23

Examples of social change:

Answer 23

• attitudes towards homosexuality
• women’s right to vote
• immigration
• anti-slavery
• acceptance of mental disabilities

Question 24

What are the stages required for a minority group to create social change?

Answer 24

• drawing attention to the issue
• consistency of position
• deeper processing
• the augmentation principle (willing to suffer for their views)
• the snowball effect (spreads more widely until minority become majority)
• social cryptoamnesia (majority do not recall how the social change happened)

Question 25

How does conformity research (Asch) show social change?

Answer 25

• a variation with one dissenter dropped conformity rates
• shows how this has the potential to lead to social change
• environmental/health campaigns use processes like NSI (e.g. ‘others do it too’)
• social change is encouraged by drawing attention to what the majority are doing

Question 26

How does obedience research (Milgram) show social change?

Answer 26

• one disobedient person decreased the obedience rates dramatically
• Zimbardo (2007) suggested how obedience can create social change through gradual commitment
• so social change can take place if one disobedient person can take the correct decision and others can follow

Question 27

How does minority influence research (Moscovici) show social change?

Answer 27

• demonstrated needs to be committed, flexible, and consistent to start social change
• conversion is possible if the source is consistent and passionate
• over time, people will switch from the majority to the minority (forming the new majority)

Question 28

What are the strengths of social influence processes in social change?

Answer 28

• research evidence:
  
  • Nolan (2008) investigated whether social influence led to a reduction in energy consumption
  • every week for a month he hung messages on front doors in San Diego saying most residents were trying to reduce energy use
  • control group’s message did not mention other residents
  • group that mentioned other residents decreased energy usage
  • conformity can lead to social change through NSI

Question 29

What are the weaknesses of social influence processes in social change?

Answer 29

• effects of MI is likely to be indirect/delayed (Nemeth (1986)):
  
  • indirect = majority are only influenced on matters at hand, not the central issues
  • delayed = effects may not be seen for some time
  • can be seen as limitation of using MI as its effects are fragile and limited
  • therefore making it difficult to test/measure in a scientific setting
• barriers to social change:
  
  • Bashir (2013) found that ppts were less likely to behave in environmentally friendly ways as they did not want to be associated with environmentalists (‘tree huggers’)
  • social change can only take place if the minority are not associated with negative or extremist stereotypes