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Psychology Edexcel A Level > Social Psychology > Flashcards

Social Psychology Flashcards

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1
Q

What is conformity?

A

A type of social influence where individuals change their attitudes, beliefs or behaviour in order to go along with the majority as a result of real or imagined group pressure

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2
Q

What are the 4 types of confomity?

A
  • Compliance
  • Internalisation
  • Identification
  • Ingratiation
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3
Q

What is compliance in terms of conformity?

A

This is a type of conformity when we go along with other people’s behaviour or attitudes but we don’t believe these are correct.
-In the case of compliance there is a difference between our public & private opinion as it has not become internalised and does not reflect our true values and beliefs.

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4
Q

What is internalisation in terms of conformity?

A

Conformity which becomes in-built and starts to genuinely reflect a person’s true values and beliefs; we take on the views of others both publicly and privately. -This might occur as a result of being given information about something which is enough to convince us it is the right thing to do.

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5
Q

What is identification in terms of conformity?

A

This occurs when an individual accepts influence because they want to establish/maintain a satisfying self-defining relationship to another person/group. It is similar to compliance.

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6
Q

What is ingratiation in terms of conformity?

A

This is when a person conforms to impress or gain favour/acceptance from other people. It is similar to normative conformity, but is motivated by the need for social rewards rather than the threat of rejection.

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7
Q

What are the 3 explanations of conformity?

A
  • Informational Conformity
  • Normative Conformity
  • Social Impact theory
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8
Q

What is informational conformity?

A

This when we are unsure about the situation we’re in and we look to others for information about how we should act.

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9
Q

What 2 studies show informational conformity?

A
  • Jenness(1932)

- Sherif(1935)

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10
Q

Give one result of Jenness.

A

Almost all participants changed their individual guesses to be closer to the group estimate.

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11
Q

Give one result of Sherif.

A

Sherif found the person who had previously come up with a different estimate changed their minds in line with the others so that a group norm was soon established.

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12
Q

Give one conclusion of Sherif.

A

When people are in an ambiguous situation they will look to others for guidance and conform to a group norm. This is known as informational conformity

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13
Q

What study demonstrates normative conformity?

A

Asch’s aim was to see if participants would yield to majority social influence and give incorrect answers in a situation when the correct answers were always obvious.

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14
Q

How many participants were involved in Asch?

A

7 male students

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15
Q

How many participants were confederates?

A

All participants, except 1 were confederates of the experimenter.

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16
Q

How many times did the confedarates give unanimous wrong answers?

A

The confederates gave unanimous wrong answers on 12 of the 18 trials.

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17
Q

What are the 12 trials known as?

A

Critical trials.

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18
Q

How many naïve participants did Asch use,in total, in the first study.

A

50 male college students

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19
Q

Give 3 results of Asch .

A
  • Less than 1% of people gave the wrong answer when tested alone as a control condition
  • 75% of the participants conformed by giving the wrong answer at least once during the critical trials
  • 37% of the participants conformed by giving the wrong answer during every critical trial
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20
Q

How did increasing the size of the group affect conformity?

A

The bigger the group, the more likely it
becomes that people will conform
(but only up to a certain point)

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21
Q

Give one conclusion from increasing the size of the group.

A

Increasing the size of the majority beyond three did not increase the levels of conformity.
This might be because people suspect
collusion if the majority rises beyond three or four.

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22
Q

How did the difficulty of the task affect conformity?

A

The more difficult the task, the more likely it becomes that people will conform

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23
Q

Give one conclusion from increasing the difficulty of the task.

A

When we are uncertain, it seems we look to others for confirmation. The more difficult the task, the greater the conformity.

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24
Q

How did lack of group unanimity affect conformity?

A

When at least one other person in the

group does not conform, people are much less likely to conform

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25
Q

How did answering in private affect conformity?

A

When people are in a room on their own, they are much less likely to conform

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26
Q

Evaluate Asch(G)

A

The participants in Asch (1952) were male college students. This sample of participants may not be representative of the wider population. That means the
results may not generalise to other groups such as females and older people.

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27
Q

Evaluate Asch(R)

A

There were good controls in the Asch studies, such as the specified number of confederates, the detailed instructions the confederate were given about how to respond in each trial, and the standardised comparison, lines for each trial. This means that the studies could be replicated to test the reliability of the results.

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28
Q

Evaluate Asch(V)

A

INTERNAL: The participants were paid by the researcher. This means they may have felt pressured into giving what they thought to be the response required of them by the researcher. This is known as
demand characteristics and it affects the internal validity of the results

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29
Q

Evaluate Asch(V)

A

EXTERNAL: It is not usual to be asked about the appearance of lines in a group situation. This means that the task validity was low, so the results may not
reflect real-life instances of conformity

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30
Q

Evaluate Asch(E)

A

The participants were deceived about the real aim of the study. This, in turn, meant that they were unable to give
fully informed consent to take part in the study

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31
Q

Give one strength of Asch.

A

Further support from Jenness. He asked participants to guess the number of beans in a jar. After being given the chance to discuss their estimates with other individuals it was found their estimates converged to the group norm. This suggests there is wider academic support for the idea that people look to others to gain

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32
Q

Give 2 aims of Yi Huang et Al.

A
  • To investigate if conformity to a majority view is temporary or long lasting in rating the attractiveness of faces
  • To examine if the conformity reflects private acceptance (internalisation) which should be longer lasting or just compliance which only persists in the presence of the majority group
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33
Q

How many participants were used in study 1 of Yi Huang?

A

17 Chinese students (5 men and 12 women) average age 22, all with good vision

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34
Q

What materials were used in study 1 of Yi Huang?

A

280 photographs of young Chinese women

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35
Q

Give 2 procedure points of Yi Huang.

A
  • Participants were informed they were taking part in a study on human perception of facial attractiveness. They then viewed each face for 2 seconds and had to rate, on a scale of 1-8, how attractive they thought the face
  • They were then shown the rating given by 200 other students who were the same gender as them (the majority group)
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36
Q

Give 2 procedure points of Yi Huang.

A
  • This rating was made up to ensure that 75% of the time it was significantly different to the rating given by the participant
  • After 3 months participants returned to complete a second testing session. They were presented with the same faces again in order to rate them in the same way but they were not reminded of the majority group rating
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37
Q

Describe the procedure of study 2 in Yi Huang.

A
  • 51 participants split into three different groups: 1-day, 3-day or 7-day condition
  • They performed the study again and shortened the delay, having the participants re-rate the photographs 1 day later, 3 days later and 7 days later.
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38
Q

Evaluate Yi Huang(G)

A

Research has low generalistaion. Only used Chinese people, neglecting other races. Used 22 year olds, neglecting other age brackets.

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39
Q

Evaluate Yi Huang(R)

A

Low realiability because the findings are not consistent. Also, repetition of the experiment, despite standardised procedures, would not produce similar results.

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40
Q

Evaluate Yi Huang(A)

A

The experiment is useful to society because it helps researchers understabd conformity.

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41
Q

Evaluate Yi Huang(V)

A

Low internal validity because of individual’s differences.

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42
Q

Evualuate Yi Huang(V)

A

The task validity is low. This is because it is not usual to rate Chinese women . -Also, ecological validity is low because people would not be expected to rate Chinese women based on appearance in a real life instance.

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43
Q

Evaluate Yi Huang(E)

A

Experiment had ethical issues because they decieved participants on the real aim of the experiment.

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44
Q

What is social impact theory?

A

This theory states that the likelihood that a person will be influenced by others in a group depends on three things: strength,immediacy and number

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45
Q

Describe strength in terms of social impact theory.

A

How important the people in the group are to you

-If you’re with people who are popular and you want to be friends with them, you’re more likely to be influenced by them

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46
Q

Describe immediacy in terms of social impact theory.

A

How close the group are to you (physically and time)
-Physically. being asked to do something by someone who is in the room with you
has more effect that being asked to do something over the phone by someone in another room
-Time; being asked to do something by text has less effect than being asked over the phone where you have to respond immediately

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47
Q

Describe number in terms of social impact theory.

A

How many people there are in the group

  • You’re more likely to conform to a majority group of 8 people than 2
  • However, as you increase the numbers, each new person has less and less effect
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48
Q

Describe Berkowitz et al as evidence for the social impact theory

A

Berkowitz et al (1969) conducted a field experiment where a confederate stood in a public space with lots of passers-by and looked up at the sixth floor of a building. The experimenters then calculated the percentage of bystanders who also looked up.

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49
Q

Give the reults of Berkowitz et al.

A

Results: When there was one confederate looking up 42% of people looked up, however when there was 15 confederates looking up 86% of people looked up. With each additional confederate, however, the impact got smaller

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50
Q

Does Berkowitz support/refute social impact theory?

A

This provides supporting evidence for number in social impact theory.

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51
Q

Describe Asch as evidence for the social impact theory

A

One of Asch’s variations was making participants answer in private. When participants were allowed to answer in private, conformity decreased this because they were answering based off their own judgement and no one else’s info.

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52
Q

Does Asch support/refute social impact theory?

A

This study supports social impact theory in terms of immediacy

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53
Q

What is minority influence?

A

Minority influence works to convert people, to change their personal beliefs, rather than just gain compliance. Changing personal beliefs is called internalisation or conversion

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54
Q

What 4 key processes do minority groups need to successfully influence the majority?

A
  • Consistency
  • Flexibility
  • Commitment
  • Confidence
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55
Q

Describe consistency in terms of minority influence.

A

Synchronic Consistency~ all members agree and back each other up
Diachronic Consistency - the minority group keep saying the same things for some time

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56
Q

Describe flexibility in terms of minority influence.

A

The minority group need to balance this consistency with some flexibility, to avoid seeming too rigid and uncompromising

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57
Q

Describe commitment in terms of minority influence.

A

The minority group must be prepared to take risks to stand up for their cause

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58
Q

Describe confidence in terms of minority influence

A

The minority group must appear confident that their claims are justified

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59
Q

Give 4 other important factors that affect whether a minority group will successfullly influence the majority.

A
  • Identification
  • Deep Thinking
  • Snowball Effect
  • Cognitive Dissonance
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60
Q

Describe identification in terms minority influence?

A

People tend to identity with people they see similar to themselves.
If the majority identifies with the minority, then they are more likely to take the views of the minority seriously and change their own views in line with the minority

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61
Q

Describe deep thinking in terms of minority influence.

A

If the minority can get the majority to discuss and debate the arguments that the minority are putting forward, influence is likely to be stronger

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62
Q

Describe the Snowball Effect in terms of minority influence.

A

The majority may start with just a few people agreeing with the minority. Over time more majority group members become ‘converted’ to the minority because they believe it is becoming more acceptable, and is gaining popularity
The more this happens, the faster the rate of conversion

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63
Q

Describe cognitive dissonance in terms of minority influence

A

When we behave in ways that are contrary to our beliefs, we are in a state of cognitive dissonance - basically we feel like we are hypocrites and we don’t like it

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64
Q

Give 2 aims of Moscovice et al

A

To demonstrate whether a minority can influence a majority group of naive participants
To determine the importance of minority group consistency when influencing the majority group

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65
Q

Describe the participants used in Moscovici

A
  • All participants were female (because he thought they would be more interested in colour!)
  • The participants were pre-tested to check for color blindness
  • Altogether there were 32 groups of 6
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66
Q

What research method was used in Moscovici?

A

Lab experiment

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67
Q

What is the independant variable of Moscovici?

A
  • IV:Participants were randomly allocated to either consistent, inconsistent, or control condition
  • Each condition involved 6 participants being present at the same time
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68
Q

What was the majority in Moscovici?

A

4 naïve participants

-These are the women being tested who do not know the aim of the study

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69
Q

What was the minority in Moscovici?

A

2 confederates

These are women working for Moscovici -they know what the study is about and have been given instructions on how to act

70
Q

Give one point from the procedure of Moscovici.

A

Participants were asked to describe the colour of 36 slides, all of which were blue but which varied in brightness due to different filters

71
Q

Describe the consistent condition of Moscovici.

A

The 2 confederates described all 36 slides as green

72
Q

Describe the inconsistent condition of Moscovici

A

The 2 confederates described 24 of the 36 slides as green and the remaining 12 slides as blue.

73
Q

Describe the control condition of Moscovici.

A

No confederates

74
Q

What was the dependant variable of Moscovici?

A

DV: minority influence was measured by the % of naive participants who yielded the confederates by calling the blue slide green.

75
Q

Evaluate Moscovici(G)

A

Moscovici only used women in his sample. This means that the results may
lack generalisability because this study may not reflect the way that minority
influence happens when males are involved

76
Q

Evaluate Moscovici(R)

A

The standardised procedure, such as the same number of confederates and the same slides in each condition, means that this study could be replicated to test the reliability of Moscovici’s results

77
Q

Evaluate Moscovici(A)

A

Understanding the need for consistency to influence a majority group could help a minority group bring about change for social justice, such as rights for ethnic minority groups

78
Q

Evaluate Moscovici(V)

A

INTERNAL: The participants were randomly allocated to each condition. This eliminates researcher bias, meaning that Moscovici could not influence the results by choosing the women he thought most likely to be persuaded into the consistent condition. This increases the internal validity of the study

79
Q

Evaluate Moscovici(V)

A

Deciding on the colour of a slide in a group of strangers is not a task people
are often given in real-life. This low task validity means that the results may not reflect the way minority influence happens in real life, such as with ethnic
minority groups fighting for justice

80
Q

Evaluate Moscovici(E)

A

The naive participants were not told the real aim of the study. This means that they were unable to give fully informed consent to take part.

81
Q

Give 5 factors affecting conformity and minority influence(SF).

A
  • Size of the group
  • Lack of Unanimity/social support
  • Difficulty of task
  • Privacy
  • Flexibilty
82
Q

How does size of the group affect conformity?

A

The larger the group, the more pressure there is to conform.

83
Q

Give reasearch evidence for size of group as a situational factor.

A

Asch found that 1 other person resulted in 3% conformity, 2 others 13%, 6 others 37%

84
Q

How does lack of unanimity affect conformity?

A

When atleast one person in the group does not conform, people are much less likely to conform

85
Q

Give research evidence for lack of unanimity as a situational factor.

A

Asch found that the presence of just one confederate that goes against the majority can reduce conformity from 32% to 5%

86
Q

How does the difficulty of the task affect conformity?

A

The more difficult the task, the more likely it becomes that people will conform.

87
Q

Give research evidence for difficulty of task as a situational factor.

A

In Asch’s study, when the comparison lines were made more similar in length, it was harder to judge the correct answer and conformity increased

88
Q

How does privacy affect conformity?

A

When people are in a room on their own, they are much less likely to conform

89
Q

Give research evidence for privacy as a situational factor.

A

When participants in Asch’s study were allowed to answer in private, conformity decreased. This is because the rest of the group does not know their responses.

90
Q

How does flexibility affect conformity?

A

The minority group needs to balance the consistency with some flexibility to avoid seeming too rigid and uncompromising

91
Q

Give research evidence for flexibility as a situational factor.

A
  • Nemeth (1986) used a simulated jury situation where group members had to discuss how much compensation to pay someone who had been in a ski lift accident.
  • When a confederate (acting as a consistent minority) argued for a low amount and refused to change his mind, he had no effect on the majority.
  • However when he compromised a little and moved to offering slightly more, the majority changed their opinion to a lower amount
92
Q

What are 3 individual differences affecting conformity and minority influence?

A
  • Personlaity
  • Gender
  • Culture
93
Q

Describe Locus of Control in terms of personality

A
  • Locus of control (LOC) was identified as a personality dimension by Rotter (1966)
  • People with high Internal LOC believe they can affect the outcomes of situations (they’re in control)
  • People with high External LOC believe things turn out a certain way regardless of their actions (they’re not in control)
94
Q

Describe internal locus of control.

A
  • Behaviour is guided by his/her personal decisions and effort
  • Less influenced by others
  • Report being happier, more independent and more confident
95
Q

Describe external locus of control.

A
  • Behaviour is guided by fate, luck, or other external circumstances
  • Easily influenced by others
  • Frequently feel hopeless or powerless in the face of difficult situations
96
Q

Describe Moghaddam as supporting evidence for Personality.

A

Moghaddam (1998) found that the Japanese people have higher levels of external locus of control than Americans and Japanese people conform more. This shows that there is an interaction between locus of control and culture - both of which affect conformity.

97
Q

Describe Spector as evidence for Personality.

A

Spector (1983) tested 157 students with Rotter’s locus of control scale

  • Students with high internal locus pf control were less likely to conform BUT only in situations of normative social influence
  • Locus of control did not affect informational social influence
  • This suggests that locus of control does affect students’ desire to fit in /but does not affect their need to look to others in order to act in the correct way/n a new situation
98
Q

Describe LOC as evidence for Personality.

A

LOC is assessed using questionnaire scales,these may not be suited for purpose in examining social behaviour as they do not measure the participants actual behaviour, only their personal opinions of how they might behave which is open to social desirability
bias and may not be valid.

99
Q

How does gender affect conformity and MI?

A

If you identify with a minority group, and feel like you have something in common with them, then you are more likely to be influenced by them

100
Q

Describe Mori and Arai as supporting evidence for Gender.

A

Mori and Arai (2010) used filter glasses similar to those used for watching 3-D movies, so that participants could view the same display and yet see different things. This meant they could run a replication of Ash’s experiment without the need for confederates. Female Japanese participants closely matched Asch’s original findings. However, the male Japanese participants did not conform to the majority view. This shows that there is an interaction between culture and gender - both of
which affect conformity

101
Q

Describe Yi Huang as evidence for Gender.

A

Y Huang Et Al. (2014)-Conformity lasted for up to 3 days when a majority view of the same gender was given to participants. This did not last in the long term.
Gender does not affect long-term conformity.

102
Q

Describe Maass et Al as evidence for Gender.

A

Mass et Al 1982 found that when gay people campaigned for gay rights in the UK people were more accepting of listening to a straight person than a gay person as they identified with the straight person more.
Although this research is not about gender, it shows that identification is an important factor.

103
Q

What are the 2 types of cultures?

A
  • Individualistic

- Collectivistic

104
Q

Describe individualistic cultures.

A

People should be self-reliant, assertive, independent and competitive. Self-expression is valued

105
Q

Describe collectivistic cultures.

A

People should be self-sacrificing, dependable, and work as a team. Being helpful to others is valued.

106
Q

How would you expect these cultural differences to affect whether someone is likely to conform?

A

Individualistic cultures are less likely to conform than collectivistic cultures.

107
Q

Describe Bond & Smith as evidence for Culture

A

Bond and Smith (1996) found the following levels of conformity on Asch-like tasks:

  • Collectivist: on average 37%
  • Individualistic: on average 25%
108
Q

Describe Moghaddam as evidence for Culture.

A

Moghaddam (1998) found that the Japanese people conform more than Americans. Japanese people also have higher levels of external locus of control than Americans.This shows that there is an interaction between locus of control and culture-both of which affect conformity.

109
Q

Describe Mori and Arai as evidence for Culture.

A

Mori and Arai (2010) used filter glasses similar to those used for watching 3-D movies so that participants could view the same display and yet see different things. This meant they could run a replication of Asch’s experiment without the need for confederates. Female Japanese participants closely matched Asch’s original findings. However, the male Japanese participants did not conform to the majority view. This shows that there is an interaction between culture and gender - both of which affect conformity

110
Q

What is obedience?

A

A form of social influence where a person follows a direct order from somebody in a position of power.

111
Q

What is destructive obedience?

A

Carrying out an immoral act because you have been ordered to do so.

112
Q

Give the aim of Milgram.

A

Milgram wanted to examine whether people would obey orders from an authority figure even against their conscience

113
Q

Give the first two points of Milgram’s procedure.

A
  • Milgram advertised in a newspaper for male participants to take part in a study of memory at Yale University
  • The participant and a confederate drew lots to find out who would be ‘learner and teacher. It was fixed so that the participant was always the teacher
114
Q

Give the next 2 points of Milgram’s procedure.

A
  • The participant was told to read out pairs of words for the learner to remember. If the learner got one wrong the participant had to give them an electric shock, and had to increase the voltage each time
  • The participant did not know that the whole set-up was false and they were not giving real shocks
115
Q

Give the last two points of Milgram’s procedure.

A
  • The confederate gave set responses to the shocks, eg at 330 volts he gave an “intense and prolonged agonised scream’ then shouted repeatedly shouted “let me out of here’
  • If the participant asked to stop the researcher replied with one of a group of pre-set prods
116
Q

Evaluate Milgram’s ethical issues(deception).

A
  • They avoid demand characteristics

- The participants actually believed they were a shocking a real person and were unaware the learner was a confederate

117
Q

Evaluate Milgram’s ethical issues(informed consent).

A
  • Participants were fully aware of the experiment and even got paid for it.
  • Volunteer sampling
  • They did not know the actual aim of the experiment.
  • Demand characteristics may have affected the internal validity of results
118
Q

Evaluate Milgram’s ethical issues(protection of participants).

A
  • Once the participants were debriefed, their stress levels decreased
  • Participants were exposed to extremely stressful situations that may potentially cause psychological harm.
119
Q

Evaluate Milgram’s ethical issues(right to withdraw).

A
  • Milgram argued that they are justified to study obedience so orders were necessary.
  • The experimenter gave four verbal prods which mostly discouraged withdrawal from the experiment.
120
Q

Evaluate Milgram’s ethical issues(debriefing).

A

-The participants were debriefed fully after the experiment and also followed up after a period to ensure that they came to no harm

121
Q

Evaluate Milgram(G).

A

The participants in Milgram’s study were all male. The study does not represent wider population.

122
Q

Evaluate Milgram(R)

A

Uses standardised procedures throughout so can be replicated in a variety of cultures to produce similar results.

123
Q

Evaluate Milgram(A)

A

Milgram’s findings can be applied to other austrosities such as the holocaust.

124
Q

Evaluate Milgram(V)

A

INTERNAL:Good controls- standardised reactions from the ‘learner’ means that the level of resistance was not an extrenous variable. This increases internal validity of the study.

125
Q

Evaluate Milgram(V)

A

EXTERNAL:Task validity- he tested obedience in a laboratory, which is very different to real-life situations of obedience.
-Lacked population validity because Milgram used male volunteers only.

126
Q

Give 2 aims of Burger.

A
  • To partially replicate Milgram’s original 1983 study into obedience in an ethical way to see if the findings would be similar in 2006
  • To investigate factors affecting obedience, Including disobedient allies (modelled refusal condition), gender and personality factors
127
Q

Describe participants used in Burger

A

Participants: 70 adults gathered by volunteer sample. 20-80 years old, 29 men and 41 women. Participants were screened to ensure there psychologically ‘normal’

128
Q

Give one procedure point of Burger.

A

The personality of the participants was assessed in terms of empathy level and desire for control

129
Q

What were the 4 alterations made to Milgram’s procedure?

A

-Participants were told of their right to withdraw three times during the study to make it more ethical than Milgram’s original study.
-The (real) sample shock given to the participant was only 15v, rather than Milgram’s 45v
-The experiment was stopped if the participant went to continue past 150V which is the first time they hear a protest from the learner to avoid exposing them to intense stress.
-In the ‘modelled refusal’ condition Burger only used one disobedient confederate (Milgram used two
disobedient confederates in his modelled refusal variation)

130
Q

Describe the rest of Burger’s procedure.

A

-In the base condition the participant was alone when responding to the orders
-In the modelled refusal condition the participant was exposed to a disobedient model who did not shock
the ‘learner’ past 90v.

131
Q

What factors affect obedience?

A
  • Personality
  • Gender
  • Culture
  • The situation
132
Q

What two section of personality affect obedience?

A
  • LOC

- Authoritarian Personality

133
Q

Describe Blass as evidence of LOC for Personality

A

Blass (1991) reviewed many studies of LOC and independent behavior, and concluded that there is no clear link between the two as some studies supported a link while others found no link. There is, however some evidence that participants with an internal LOC are more able to resist pressures to obey than those with an external LOC.

134
Q

Describe Blass(1991) as evidence of LOC for personality

A

However Blass (1991) reanalysed Holland’s data and found, using modern statistical analysis techniques, that people with an internal LOC were slightly more likely to resist obeying than those with an external LOC. Participants with an internal LOC were especially resistant to obedience if they suspected they were being coerced or manipulated by the experimenter.

135
Q

Describe Holland as evidence of LOC for Personality

A

Holland (1967) used Milgram’s electric shock procedure to investigate the link between LOC and obedience, but found no relationship between LOC and obedience rates.

136
Q

Describe people who are high in authoritarian personality.

A
  • Hostile to those they see as inferior in status
  • Obedient to people they see as having high status
  • Fairly rigid in their opinions and beliefs
137
Q

Descibe Adorno’s F-scale as evidence of AP for Personality

A

This idea has been criticised as the questions in Adorno’ F-scale force extreme responses and over exaggerate certain aspects of personality

138
Q

Describe Hyman & Sheatsley as evidence of AP for Personality.

A

Hyman and Sheatsley (1954) found that lower educational level/was probably a better explanation of high F-scale scores than an authoritarian personality

139
Q

Give another piece of evidence of AP for Personality.

A

The idea of personality causing obedience is not supported by Milgram’s findings that a wide range of ‘normal’ people would all obey an order to harm another due to situational factors, not dispositional (personality) ones

140
Q

Describe Milgram as evidence for Gender.

A

Milgram (1963) found that men and women were equally obedient in his
electric shock experiment, although he only conducted one study using a
relatively small sample of 40 female participants. Female participants did
however report higher levels of stress and tension than male participants,
perhaps because women are generally more empathetic than men.

141
Q

Describe Blass as evidence for Gender.

A

Review of Blass (1991) of 9 studies using Milgram’s electric shock procedure on male and female participants found that only one study reported a significant difference btn men and women in levels of obedience; an Australian study with 40% obedience in men and just 16% in women.

142
Q

Describe Smith & Bond as evidence for Culture

A

Smith & Bond (1998) found that people who belong to individualistic cultures, are more likely to behave independently than those from collectivist cultures. In collectivist cultures, group decision making is highly valued, but in individualistic cultures people are more concerned with their independent success than the well-being of their community.

143
Q

What are 5 situational factors that affect obedience?

A
  • Legitimacy of the Authority Figure
  • Legitimacy of the Context
  • Proximity of the order-giver
  • Gradual commitment
  • Buffers
144
Q

Describe the legitimacy of the authority figure as a situational factor.

A

If we believe a person has the right to tell us what to do because of their position in the system, then we will obey.

145
Q

Describe the legitimacy of the context as a situational factor.

A

If the environment is seen as prestigious, we may be more likely to go along with what happens within it

146
Q

Describe proximity of the order-giver as a situational factor.

A

Orders given over the phone affect obedience

147
Q

Describe gradual commitment as a situational factor

A

Also known as Foot-in-the-door effect… once people comply with a trivial,seemingly harmless request, they find it more difficult to refuse to carry
out more serious, escalating requests.

148
Q

Describe buffers as a situational factor

A

Any aspect of a situation that protects people from having to confront the
consequences of their actions.

149
Q

Provide evidence for legitimacy of the authority figure.

A

Researcher vs. ‘ordinary man’ led to drop from 65% to 20%

150
Q

Provide evidence for legitimacy of context.

A

Variation took place in a less credible location so participants may been skeptical. Obedience dropped to 47.5%

151
Q

Evaluate situational factors as an explanation of conformity.

A
  • Milgram’s studies clearly support the idea that situational factors are the main reason why people follow orders
  • However, we have also seen that Milgram’s study has been criticised for lacking task and ecological validity
152
Q

Give supporting evidence for legitimacy of authority figure.

A

Bickman carried out a field study where an experimenter approached passers-by on a street and asked them to carry out small, inconvenient tasks. The experimenter was dressed either in a
milkman’s uniform, a guard’s uniform or a jacket and tie. Bickman found that PPs were twice as likely to obey the orders when the experimenter was dressed in a guard’s uniform.

153
Q

Give supporting evidence for proximity of authority figure

A

Hofling et al (1966) conducted a study of
obedience in a natural setting.
The participants were 22 nurses who were unaware that a study was taking place.
21/22 nurses attempted to give the medication. When 22 other nurses were asked what they would do, 21 of them said they would not give the meds if it was them.

154
Q

What are the 2 states of behaviour when in a social situation?

A
  • The autonomous state

- The agentic state

155
Q

What is the autonomous state?

A

People direct their own actions, and they take responsibility for the results of those actions

156
Q

What is the agentic state?

A

People allow others to direct their actions, and the pass off the responsibility for the consequences to the person giving the orders.

157
Q

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

A
  • The person giving the orders is perceived as being qualified to direct other people’s behaviour. That is, they must be seen as a legitimate authority figure.
  • The person being ordered about is able to believe that the authority will accept responsibility for what happens.
158
Q

What is moral strain?

A

That is, they do carry out the actions they are ordered to, but they show obvious signs that they’re not happy about performing these actions.

159
Q

Describe Milgram as supporting evidence for agency theory.

A
  • Milgram orginal vs ordinary man variation.

- Shows participants in an agentic state since they were mainly obeying a legitimate authority figure.

160
Q

Describe moral strain as supporting evidence for agency theory.

A
  • Evidence of moral strain in Milgram (body launguage, excessive sweating, histrical laughing)
  • Evidence of people in an agentic state where they had difficulty performing the task, due to psychological conflict.
161
Q

Describe Burger as refuting evidence for agency theory.

A
  • Burger replication to show that the the findings are reliable
  • Participants not in a complete autonomous state and the agentic state
162
Q

Evaluate Agency Theory in terms of application.

A
  • Military training to avoid war crimes

- Prevention of repeating atrocities like the holocaust

163
Q

What is an alternative for Agency Theory?

A

Social Power Theory

164
Q

What is social power?

A

Social power is the potential of one person or group to be able to influence others in some way (change their behaviour, opinions and/or values)

165
Q

What are 6 sources of social power?

A
  • Reward
  • Coercion
  • Legitimate
  • Referent
  • Expert
  • Informational
166
Q

Describe reward in terms of social power.

A

-The ability to reward. As more actual rewards are given, the reward power will increase.
-Requires the target’s behaviour to be
monitored
-Increases the attraction of the Agent

167
Q

Describe coercion in terms of social power.

A

-The ability to punish.
-Requires the target’s behaviour to be
monitored
-Attempts to use power outside of its
range will reduce the power
-Decreases the attraction of the agent

168
Q

Describe legitimate in terms of social power.

A
  • An acknowledged right to influence us.
  • Usually it is the ‘office’ power rather than the person
  • e.g Election,appointment
169
Q

Describe referent in terms of social power.

A

-A feeling of ‘oneness’ with a source of influence and a desire to be like them.
-Usually has the broadest range of
influence

170
Q

Describe expert in terms of social power.

A

-The extent of knowledge attributed to an agent within a given area.
-Sometimes has the narrowest range of
influence because only people in a certain field of research will be influenced
-Halo effect
-Sleeper affect

171
Q

Describe informational in terms of social power.

A

-Providing info about why someone should change.
-If an Agent successfully changes
someone’s mind through new information this ‘socially independent change’ continues without any further need for them

Psychology Edexcel A Level (4 decks)

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