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Social Psychology Flashcards

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1
Q

Compliance

A
  • publicly, but not privately going along with majority influence to avoid ridicule
  • weak/temporary as only shown in group
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2
Q

Internalisation

A
  • public and private acceptance of majority influence, through adoption of the majority groups belief system
  • stronger, permanent form of conformity as it is maintained outside groups presence
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3
Q

Identification

A
  • public and private acceptance of majority influence in order to gain group acceptance
  • stronger form of conformity but still temporary- doesn’t always agree with group
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4
Q

Conformity

A

Yielding to group pressure known as ‘majority influence’. Is the result of an indirect order

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5
Q

Explanations for conformity (2)

A
  • informational social influence (ISI): agree with the majority because we believe it is correct. Cognitive process (we think about it)
  • normative social influence (NSI): agree with the majority to gain social approval. Emotional process
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6
Q

Real life application of conformity

A

Schulz (2008) found they were able to change the behaviour of hotel guests by using printed messages encouraging them to save energy. The messages that suggested others guests were using fewer towels were most successful

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7
Q

Sherif (1935) conformity and the autokinetic affect

A
  • bright dot was shown in a dark room and participants were told the experimenter would move it And had to guess how far it moved
  • participants in a group converged opinions whereas individually they gave their own personal estimates
  • this happened as other people’s opinions were used as information
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8
Q

Evaluation of sherif (bright dot)

A

+ lab experiment so strict control variables
+ replicable
+ repeated measures
- not realistic
- male sample-non generalisable
- artificial situation-lacks ecological validity

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9
Q

Asch (1951, 1955)

A
  • 123 American male undergraduates were tested individually with a group of six and eight confederates
  • Participants were shown two cards at a time. One had a ‘standard white line’ and the other had three ‘comparison lines’. One line was correct, two were significantly disproportional
  • when confederates began to give wrong answers participants gave the wrong answer 36.8% of the time. Overall, 25% of the participants did not conform on any trials- 75% confirmed at least once
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10
Q

Additions to aschs study

A
  • group size: more confederates leads to higher conformity however influence does not keep increasing with size of majority
  • unanimity/ social support: when a confederate disagreed with the others conformity dropped to 5.5% when they gave the correct answers and 9% when giving a different incorrect answer
  • task difficulty: when task was more difficult, conformity increased. Lines more similar in length
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11
Q

Issues with asch’s method

A
  • participants were all USA male undergraduates so therefore ungeneralisable
  • lacked ecological validity and real life application
  • deception as participants did not know about confederates
  • confederates meant it lacked mundane realism
  • psychological harm and higher heart rates etc
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12
Q

Support for ISI

A
  • Lucas (2006) Students were asked to give answers to mathematical problems, that were easy or more difficult. There was greater conformity to incorrect answers when they were difficult rather than when they were easier
  • people conform when they are unsure of themselves
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13
Q

Support for NSI

A
  • asch asked many of the people who gave incorrect answers why they did and many said they knew they were wrong but were afraid of the disapproval of the other participants
  • conformity rates fell to 12.5% when participants were asked to write their answers rather than speak out loud
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14
Q

ISI and NSI working together

A
  • the addition of the dissenter who disagrees with confederates may reduce power of NSI as it offers social support but also may reduce ISI as there is an alternative source of information
  • this suggests they do not work separately but together
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15
Q

Social roles

A

The parts people play as members of various social groups. E.g. parent, child, student, passenger etc. These are accompanied by expectations we and others have of what is appropriate behaviour in each role

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16
Q

Zimbardo’s prison study

A
  • 25 healthy male volunteers were taken to police station and randomly allocated prisoner or guard
  • participants were dressed and treated as prisoners did at the time
  • Found that prison guards soon changed their behaviour. Their behaviour became a threat to the inmates physical and psychological health so study lasted only 6 days instead of the 14 planned for
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17
Q

Why did soldiers conform to torture of prisoners

A
  • one soldier claimed not to have hurt anyone and was only in pictures. She said she only did it because her husband said she’d do it if she loved him
  • however George bush said this was and isolated incident and that most soldiers don’t think this
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18
Q

Evaluation of zimbardo’s study

A
  • study severely affected the participants mental health. They became subdued, depressed and anxious
  • had real life application due to what was happening at the time to prisoners of the US in Iraq
    + control was high as emotionally stable participants were chosen which increases internal validity of study as results were consistent
  • lacked realism as banuazizi and mohavedi suggested that participants were playing a role due to stereotypes. Prisoners acted as they thought they should
    + one prisoner stated the prison was real just not run by the government showing they did feel like prisoners
  • zimbardo was accused of exaggerating brutality as only 1/3 of guards did act violently suggesting personality may be a factor
  • reicher and Haslam did a repeated study and found that prisoners overran prison and acted as they did due to the group setting
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19
Q

Obedience

A

A type of social influence which causes a person to act in response to an order given by another person. The person who gives the order is normally a figure of authority who has the power to punish disobedient behaviour

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20
Q

Miligram’s obedience study

A
  • milgram had 40 male participants ‘shock’ a person in the next room
  • the machine had 15-450 volts which was labelled XXX
  • 65% administered the 450 volts
  • none stopped before 300 volts
  • found that ordinary people are very obedient and suggested that people don’t have to be evil to do evil acts just to be following orders from an authority figure
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21
Q

Internal validity

A

The degree to which the observed effect occurred due to the manipulated IV

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22
Q

Evaluation of milgrams study

A
  • low internal validity: Orne and Holland (1968) argued participants behaved the way they did because they did not believe in the set up. Perry (2013) listened to tapes of the test and found many participants stated they had doubts over the test
    + 100% of female and 54% of male participants gave a real shock to puppy’s showing their obedience despite hearing and seeing puppies
    discomfort
    + Game of death had 80% of participants giving 460 volt shock to unconscious man
  • ethical issues
  • social identity theory: participants identified with what was being studied so were ok with obeying
    + good external validity: hofling (1966) found 21/22 nurses followed unrealistic tasks given by their doctors. When nurses could discuss much lower obedience
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23
Q

Variations of milgrams study (high to low)

A
  • Female PPs
  • Victim screaming
  • Visible victim
  • Physical contact
  • Experimenter phones • Run down office
  • Disobedient confeds • Confed gives shocks
  • Teacher’s discretion
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24
Q

Proximity

A
  • This refers to the physical closeness or distance of an authority figure to the person they are giving an order to. Also refers to the physical closeness of the ‘teacher’ to the learner (victim).
  • milgrams study had a higher level of obedience when the teacher and learner were in the same room, 65% vs 40%
25
Q

Location

A
  • refers to the place where an order is issued. The relevant factor that influences obedience is the status or prestige associated with the location
  • 65% obedience at a prestigious setting and 47.5% at a rundown office
26
Q

Uniform

A
  • people in positions of authority often have a specific outfit that is symbolic of their authority. This indicates to the rest of us who is entitled to expect our obedience
  • 65% obedience when experimenter wore lab coat vs 20% when ordinary member of the public
27
Q

Bickman (1974)

A

• Tested the ecological validity of Milgram’s work by conducting an experiment in a more realistic setting.
• In this study, three males researchers gave direct requests to 153 randomly selected pedestrians in Brooklyn, New York.
• The researchers were dressed in one of three ways:
- guards uniform (similar to that of a police officer)
- milkman’s uniform
- civilian clothing (sports jacket and tie)
• When ppts were asked to do a basic task and 80% obeyed police officer whereas 40% obeyed other outfits

28
Q

Agentic state

A

A mental state where we feel no personal responsibility
for our behaviour because we believe ourselves to be acting for an
authority figure, for example, as their agent. This frees us from the
demands of our consciences and allows us to obey even a destructive
authority figure

29
Q

Legitimacy of authority

A

An explanation for obedience which suggests that we are more likely to obey people who we perceive to have authority over us. This authority is justified by the individual’s position of power within a social hierarchy

30
Q

Autonomous state

A
  • Means to be independent or free
  • Free to behave in according to their own principles and therefore feels a sense of responsibility for their own actions
31
Q

Agentic shift

A
  • the shift from autonomy (independence) to ‘agency’

- ‘sees himself as an agent for carrying out another person’s wishes’

32
Q

Evaluation of agentic state/shift etc

A
  • support for legitimate authority: Blass and Schmitt (2001) Students who were shown a video of Milgram’s experiment, blamed the experimenter, rather than the teacher. Responsibility is due to legitimate authority
  • Doctors in the concentration camps in Auschwitz – carried out vile and lethal experiments on victims. Carrying out acts of evil over extended period of time can change the way people think and feel.
  • cultural differences. Different authority is seen as legitimate in
    different places
  • real life: military is an example of complete obedience to authority. Copilots in crashes don’t question captains orders
  • doesn’t explain why some people do not obey
33
Q

Authoritarian personality

A
  • Obedient to authority
  • submissive to authority
  • inflexible with their outlooks
  • society is ‘going to the dogs’ outlook. Belief of the need for strong leaders
34
Q

The F scale

A

A scale used to measure different components that make an authoritarian personality. Participants were given questions to agree or disagree with

35
Q

Evaluation of authoritarian personality

A
  • Hyman and sheatsley found that authoritarian personalities are people who are less well educared
  • situation plays a role in a persons obedience as shown by milgrams study
  • mythological problems as it relys on self report
36
Q

Resistance to social influence

A

The ability of people to withstand the social pressure to conform to the majority or to obey authority. This ability is influenced by situational and dispositional factors

37
Q

Locus of control

A

Refers to the sense we each have about what directs
events in our lives. Internals believe they are mostly responsible for
what happens to them. Externals believe it is mainly a matter of luck
or other outside forces.

38
Q

Resisting obedience

A
  • Milgram’s variation – three individuals testing the learner with 2 confederates who resisted, the result being that only 10% continued to the full shock level.
  • if an ally raises the possibility that there are other legitimate ways of
    thinking and makes them feel more confident in resisting the
    majority.
39
Q

Wesley Autrey

A

Wesley Autry, a New York builder rescued a man from the subway tracks where he had fallen following a seizure. With 75 other people standing by watching, Wesley handed his two sons to a stranger, jumped onto the tracks and held the man down between the train tracks as a train ran over them.

40
Q

Resistance for social influence

A
  • Internal LOC are more likely to be able to resist pressures to conform or obey
  • Self-confident, more achievement-oriented, higher intelligence
41
Q

Resistance

A

Allen and Levine (1971) –conformity decreased when there was one dissenter in an Asch-type study.

42
Q

Support for LOC

A
  • 37% of internals did not continue to the highest shock level, compared to 23% of externals.
  • over the last 40 years people have became more external
43
Q

Minority influence

A

A form of social influence in which a minority of people persuade others to adopt their beliefs, attitudes or behaviours. Leads to internalisation or conversion, in which private attitudes are changed as well as public behaviours. 12 angry men

44
Q

Commitment (MI)

A
  • When a minority adopts a committed approach to its position it may become difficult to ignore.
  • Because joining a minority has a greater cost for the individual, they need to know the serious nature of the campaign or issue.
45
Q

Flexibility (MI)

A
  • Nemeth (1986) “consistency can be interpreted negatively”
  • They must negate their position with the majority – have some flexibility / compromise to make changes.
  • Balance between consistency and flexibility
46
Q

Moscovici

A
  • blue slide test

- despite the confederates being in the minority their views appeared to have influenced the participants

47
Q

Evaluation of moscovicis study

A
  • Lacked ecological validity as it was a laboratory experiment and the task were artificial
  • The participants may have felt that judging the colour of the slides was a trivial exercise and they may have acted differently if their principles were involved
  • The results cannot be generalised as only women participated
  • As there was a control group, we know that the participants were actually influenced by the minority rather than being independently unsure of the colour of the slides
  • In a similar experiment, participants were asked to write down the colour rather than saying it out loud. In this conclusion, even more people agreed with the minority, which provides more support for minority influence.
48
Q

Consistency (MI)

A
  • If the minority take a consistent approach people start to consider the issue more carefully.
  • Synchronic consistency: they’re all saying the same thing
  • Diachronic consistency: they’ve been saying the same thing for some time.
49
Q

Social influence

A

the process by which the individuals and groups change each other’s attitudes and behaviours. Includes conformity, obedience and minority influence.

50
Q

Social change

A

this occurs when whole societies, rather than just individuals, adopt new attitudes, beliefs and ways of doing things.

51
Q

The augmentation principle

A

If there are risks associated with putting forward the point of view ,
then the views are taken more seriously.

52
Q

The snowball effect

A
  • Minority view catches momentum and becomes a majority view.
  • Goes from privately acceptance to public expression.
53
Q

Social cryptonesia

A
  • People have the memory that social change occurred but cannot remember how it happened.
  • Public opinion changes gradually over time and is accepted as the norm.
54
Q

Terrorism and social change

A

• Kruglanski (2003)- The aim of terrorism is to bring about social
change when direct social force is not possible. It is usually carried out by minority groups
• Kruglanski et al. (2007) ‘fully committed: suicide bombers motivation
and quest for personal significance’

55
Q

Social impact theory

A

Social influence occurs when the combined effects of three factors are significant enough:
1. Strength – powerful, knowledgeable and consistent
2. Immediacy –physical, social or psychological closeness of
person providing influence
3. Numbers- how many people are in the group

56
Q

‘Most of us’ campaign 2000-2003

A
  • Only 20.4% had driven one hour after consuming two or more drinks
  • However 92% of respondents believed the majority of their peers engaged in drink driving.
  • Resulted in positive changes – 13.7% reduction in drink driving
57
Q

Static and dynamic norms

A

In one experiment, participants from across the United States read
two statements about eating less meat. One statement (static)
described how some Americans are currently trying to eat less meat,
while the other statement (dynamic) described how some Americans
are changing and now eat less meat.

58
Q

McVey and Stapleton (2000)-smoking

A

• 2997 smokers and 2471 ex smokers were showed either antismoking advertising, were controls or were showed an antismoking campaign and antismoking advertising
- 9.8% of smokers had stopped and 4.3% of ex smokers had relapsed.

59
Q

Evaluation of social change

A

+ Nolan (2008) investigated whether social influence processes led to a reduction in energy consumption in a community. After people found out that others saved many began to

  • minority influence is only indirectly effective
  • takes lots of time to change

Psychology (11 decks)

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