4.1.1 social influence

Question 1

what is conformity

Answer 1

yeilding to group pressure.
occurs when an indiviuals behaviour and/or beliefs are influenced by a larger group of people, which is why conformity is known as majority influence

Question 2

what is compliance

Answer 2

an individual adjusts their behaviour and opinions to those of a group to be accepted or avoid disproval.
includes public but not private acceptance of the majority’s behaviour and attitudes
weak and temporary

Question 3

what is identification

Answer 3

individuals adjust their behaviour and opinion to that of the group as membership of the group is desirable.
stronger form of conformity where there’s private and public acceptance.
is not maintained when individuals leave the group

Question 4

what is internalisation

Answer 4

true conformity
individuals genuinely adjust their behaviours and opinions to the rest of the group
involves individuals being exposed to the belief systems and having to decide what they believe in.
if the groups beliefs are seen as correct, it will lead to public and private acceptance.
isnt dependent on the presence of the group for maintenance

Question 5

what is informational social influence as an explanation for conformity

Answer 5

humans have aa basic need to feel confident their ideas and beliefs are correct so they feel in charge of their lives
when individuals are uncertain about things, they look at the behaviour and opinions of others which helps them shape their own thoughts and behaviours
tend to believe the opinions adopted

Question 6

what did Jenness’’ experiment consist of?

Answer 6

estimate the number of jellybeans in a jar (unknown)

1. made individual private estimates
2. then discussed the estimates either in a large group or in smaller ones. found estimates differed
3. after discussion, group estimates were made
4. then made own individual estimate

Question 7

what did Jenness’ experiment found

Answer 7

typicality of opinion was increased- 2nd estimate tended to move towards the group estimate
the average change of opinion was generally among females

Question 8

what did Abrams et al. (1990) say about ISI?

Answer 8

we are only influenced by other’s opinions in ambiguous situations where we see ourself as sharing characteristics with them
so are less likely to internalised the opinion of a stranger

Question 9

what is normative social influence

Answer 9

indiviudals wants others to like and respect them and not reject and ridicule them
need to be accepted by others

Question 10

what was Asch’s (1955) experiment on NSI?

Answer 10

everyone was confederates but 1
had to compare a line to another and say what lines were the same length
confederates said the wrong answer

Question 11

what was Asch’s variations?

Answer 11

difficulty increased
majority increased
1 or more confederates gave correct answer (presence of allies)

Question 12

what was Asch’s (1955) findings?

Answer 12

37% conformed
63.2% didnt conform
people did change their answer to fit in

Question 13

what are variables affecting conformity?

Answer 13

situational variables 
i.e. 
size of group 
unanimity 
task difficulty

Question 14

what are situational variables

Answer 14

qualities of an environment that influences the levels of conformity- which have an influence over the degree to which people conform

Question 15

what does size of group have to do with conformity?

Answer 15

research indicates that conformity rates increases as the size of a majority influence increases but there is a point where the size of the majority no longer increase conformity

Question 16

what did Asch (1956) find about the size of the group and conformity

Answer 16

with 1 real participant and 1 confederate conformity was low, rising to 13% with 2 confederates and 32% with 3. 
adding anymore (up to 15) had no effect

Question 17

what did Bond and Smith (1996) find about size of a group and conformity

Answer 17

performed a meta-analysis of 133 Asch style studies from 17 countries and found conformity peaks with about 4/5 confederates

Question 18

what does unanimity have to do with conformity

Answer 18

conformity rates have been found to decline when majority influence isn’t unanimous
important factor though would seem to be the reduction of in the majority’s agreement, rather than an individual being given support for their opinions, as conformity drops if a rebel goes against the majority who dont support the viewpoint

Question 19

what does Asch (1956) find about unanimity and conformity

Answer 19

if there was 1 confederate who went against the other confederates, conformity dropped from around 32% to 5.5% but if the ‘rebel’ went against the confederates and the real ps, conformity still dropped to 9%

Question 20

what does task difficulty have to do with conformity

Answer 20

greater conformity rates are seen when task difficulty increases, as the right answer becomes less obvious
means that individuals will look to others more for guidance as to what the correct response is, suggesting that the ISI is the dominant force

Question 21

what does Asch (1956) find about task difficulty and conformity

Answer 21

increased task difficulty by making the comparison lines similar to each other, finding that when he did so participants were more likely to conform to wrong answers, thus demonstrating the effect of task difficulty on conformity

Question 22

what is conformity to social roles

Answer 22

the parts individuals play as members of a social group, which meet the expectations of that situation
indiviudals learn to behave by looking at the social roles other people play in such situations and then conforming to them
involves identification

Question 23

what were Zimbardo’s hypothesis in regards to prison systems

Answer 23

dispositional where the degradation of prisons was due to the nature of people found in the system
situational where the degradation as a product of the ‘prison soil’ in that the conditions were to blame

Question 24

what was Zimbardo’s sample

Answer 24

average people with no criminal history or violence
randomly allocated prisoners and guards
from a newspaper ad
uni students

Question 25

what was the process of zimbardo’s experiment

Answer 25

75 male uni students responded to an AD for volunteers paying 15 a day.
basement of Stanford uni was converted to a mock prison and the experience was made as realistic as possible. with prisoners being actually arrested
9 prisoners were placed 3 to a cell and a regular routine of shifts, meal times ect. was established as well as visiting times, a parole and disciplinary board and a prisoner chaplain

Question 26

what was done to decrease humanisation in zimbarodo’s experiment

Answer 26

prisoners:

• wore numbered smocks
• nylon stocking caps ( imitate shaved heads)
• wore a chain around the ankle
  guards:
• wore khaki uniforms
• reflective sunglasses ( avoid eye-contact)
• issued with keys, truncheons and handcuffs

Question 27

what did zimbardo find?

Answer 27

all settled into a routine. after an initial rebellion, dehumanisation was increased with the guards become more sadistic (taunting and giving meaningless activities)
prisoners became increasingly submissive and unquestioning
some sided with the guards if rebellion occurred
after 36 hours, a prisoner was released after fits of crying and rage. 3 more developed similar symptoms
was stopped after 6 days instead of 14

Question 28

what is obedience

Answer 28

complying with the demands of an authority figure

Question 29

what was Milgrams hypothesis

Answer 29

Germans are different ( with their obedience during the war)
to see if individuals would obey the orders of an authority figure that incurred negative consequences and went against moral code.

Question 30

what was Milgram’s sample?

Answer 30

40 Americans (20-50 years old) responded to a newspaper article about a study on memory

Question 31

what was Milgrams experiment

Question 32

what is the agentic state as an explanation for obedience?

Answer 32

devised via Milgram (1974)
the way an individual may obey an order, perhaps to do something they may see as wrong because the individual hands over the responsibility for the outcome of the action to the authority figure.
sees themself as acting as an agent for the authority figure and therefore doesn’t feel responsible

Question 33

what is the legitimacy of authority as an explanation for obedience

Answer 33

accept the power and status of authority figures to give orders; are seen as in charge
the degree to which individuals are seen as justified in having power over others

Question 34

what did Milgram (1963) find in terms of legitimacy of authority

Answer 34

reported that some participants in his study ignored the learners apparent distress, showing little sign of harm themself, but instead focused on following the procedure

Question 35

what is the external explanation in regards to siutuational variables affecting obedience?

Answer 35

situational variables form an external explanation of obedience where features of an environment are seen as affecting obedience levels

Question 36

what does proximity have to do with obedience?

Answer 36

involves how aware individuals are of the consequences of their actions in obeying authority figures.
when the physical distance between the teacher and learner in Milgram’s study was made closer, participants were less able to distance themselves and so obedience levels were lower

Question 37

what does location have to do with obedience

Answer 37

the location of an environment can be relevant to the amount of percieved legitimate authority a person giving orders is seen to have. in location that add to it will have higher obedience levels

Question 38

what does uniform have to do with obedience

Answer 38

the wearing of a uniform can give a perception of added legitimacy to authority figures when delivering ordersm thus increasing obedience

Question 39

what is the authoritarian personality?

Answer 39

a dispositional explanation for obedience
description of a person who holds rigid beliefs, is intolerant of ambiguity, submissive to authority and hostile to those of lower status or members of an out-group

Question 40

what is social support as an explanation to resistance to social influence

Answer 40

the perception of assistance and solidarity available from others

Question 41

what is locus of control as an explanation to resistance to social influence

Answer 41

the extent to which individuals believe that they can control events in their lives
internal LoC- the belief that things happen as a result of an individuals life choices and decisions
external LoC- the belief that things happen as a result of fate, luck or other uncontrollable external forces.
those with internal LoC are more resistant to social pressure