Social Psychology Flashcards
Informational Social Influence
Ppl conform to be right - unsure what to do so follow the group & conform - Sherif
E.g., fire at Woolworths 1979 10 died - waited to pay so couldn’t get out - no one wanted to break the schema
Normative Social Influence
Ppl conform to be liked & want to fit in & be socially accepted
E.g., when ppl smoke - Asch
Compliance
Change behaviour not mind - know = wrong
Asch
Internalisation
Change behaviour & mind - believe = right
Sherif
Identification
Change behaviour & mind for a time but can change back
Zimbardo
Asch
Aim: to investigate if ppl would conform even if knew answer = wrong
Sample: 7 male ptps - all but 1 = confederates
Looked at 2 cards showed 3 different length lines had to say which = same, all confeds said wrong answer 12/18 times
32% conformed in critical trial is, 74% conformed at least once, 26% never conformed
Said thought they were wrong
Asch Evaluation
All male students = limited sample = not gen
Time carried out may have affected - 1951 ppl tended to conform US = v conserv
Sherif (1935)
Auto kinetic effect = visual illusion
Aim: will ppl conform on ambiguous task
Asked how far a dot of light moved asked in group then alone v.v
If asked alone 1st would change answer to group when in group and if asked in group first would keep group answer when alone
Unsure so go with group
Sherif (1935) Evaluation
Low ecological validity - doesn’t reflect everyday life or normal behaviour
Unanimity
Original Asch study had unanimity all caonfeds gave wrong answer & 1/3 of ptps conformed decreased when not unanimous and further when = rebel social supported = 5.5%
Group Size
Research indicates as group size increases conformity increases to a point then no further
Asch (1956) 1 Ptp & 1 confed = low / none 1&2 = 13% 1&3 = 32% after 3 no affect
Task difficulty
= greater conformity as inc ppl look for guidance & leads to informational social influence
Zimbardo Description
Aim: investigate how readily ppl would conform to new roles by observing how quickly they conformed to prisoner / guard roles
Procedure: well adjusted male volunteers = payed $15 per day 2 week prison sim = randomly allocated to roles police “arrested” 9 prisoners taken to basement prison given clothes and number 3 guards on duty
Zimbardo Findings
Guards harassed & humiliated p’s conformed to roles & study = stopped after 6 days
P’s rebelled after 2 days - stopped w/ fire extinguishers
Some = depressed & anxious 1 had to leave after 1 day
Zimbardo Conclusion
Conformed behav = best explained by situational factors (NSI) rather than personality factors - situation of the prison environment = NB factor in creating guards brutal behav
Ppl will conform to social roles of they are highly stereotyped - shapes attitude & behav
Zimbardo Evaluation
Broke informed consent & deception - didn’t inform would be arrested / how bad would be - didn’t think of arrest until just b4 - gave inc eco val & didn’t know how bad would be
Broke right to withdraw - tole b4 & after but didn’t reinforce during pris asked to leave others mocked and decided to stay so assumed couldn’t leave
Protection from harm - physical = banned - not emotional = humiliated, made to do harsh exercise, broke sleep schedule
Didn’t know how bad would be, = fully debriefed & followed up for 1 yr - psycho sound
Legitimate Authority
The degree to which individuals are viewed as having justified power over others
Ppl are socialised to accept power & status of authority figures
E.g., army officers are seen as having legitimate authority to issue orders
Milgram (1963) noted that some ptps ignored the distress & focused on doing their duty
Agentic State
Individual obeys authority figure - seen as responsible for consequences = deindividuation & obey orders against their moral code - when asked who responsible in Milgram told = researcher - continued
Autonomous State - seen as personally responsible
Agency theory sees ppl as socialised to obey - keeps soc stable obedience occurs in hierarchical social systems - ppl = agents for authority figures
Authoritarian Personality
Per type chara by belief in absolute obedience, submis to authority & dom of minorities - certain personality types = assoc
Adorno (1950) held by highly obedient, insecure individuals - formed in childhood by strict parents - couldn’t show hostility to parents so show it to ppl who can’t harm them - doesn’t account for those w/o strict parents
Tend to follow orders w/o question & have rigid beliefs & are intolerant of change - concerned w/ status = conformist
Measured on F Scale - but can = easily manipulated - limits effectiveness of theory = high correlation between AP & anti-sem & ethnocentrism - well educated score higher
Proximity
Distance from consequences if = greater distance = less awareness of consequences = easier to obey
Milgram (obedience = 62.5% to 40% (same room) to 30% (hand on play))