AO3 Flashcards
(39 cards)
One strength of types of conformity (ISI)
Research support for conformity (ISI)
Lucas et Al asked students to give answers to mathematical problems that varied in difficulty
It was found that there was greater conformity to incorrect answers when the questions were more difficult, especially for students who rated their maths ability as poor
This supports ISI as it displays how people perceive others to be correct when they are unsure.
One strength of types of conformity (NSI)
More research support for conformity (NSI)
Asch found that many participants conformed rather than give the correct answer because they were afraid of disapproval from the rest of the group
When normative pressure was removed (writing down answers instead), conformity fell to 12.5%
This supports NSI as it shows people would rather conform than face disapproval from others.
One limitation of types of conformity
NSI doesn’t affect everyone’s behaviour in the same way
It is said that some people are less concerned with being liked than others are, depending on their personality
People who care about being liked/accepted are labelled “nafilliators’ - McGee found that ‘nafilliators’ are more likely to conform Lack of generalisability as an individual’s personality and care to be liked can impact how people conform.
One strength of conformity to a majority (Asch)
Supporting evidence from other studies
Lucas et Al set up an experiment whereby he asked easy and difficult maths problems
It was found that there was greater conformity to incorrect answers when the questions were more difficult
This supports conformity to a majority as it shows that task difficulty that affects it
One limitation of conformity to a majority (Asch) - DC
Increase risk of demand characteristics
The task of identifying lines is artificial, meaning participants are more likely to be suspicious of what is being asked of them
They may therefore conform to the majority of their peers for the sake of the experiment, thinking that is what they should be doing
The presence of demand characteristics therefore reducing the accuracy of the results
One limitation of conformity to a majority (Asch) - Generalisability
Lack of generalisability
Asch only studied American, male participants
As these are unique characteristics, it tells us very little about how women, and other ethnicities may conform to a majority
It therefore having limited application and gives us little useful information about how a wide range of people may conform.
One strength of Zimbardo’s SPE (setting)
Setting was realistic to a real prison
Quantitative data collected that 90% of prisoner’s conversations were about prison life
Prisoner 416 expressed the view that it was a real prison but run by psychologists rather than the government
Showing how the prison seemed real to participants, increases internal validity
One strength of Zimbardo’s SPE (control)
Control over key variables
Zimbardo selected emotionally and physically stable participants who were then randomly allocated to the role of the guards or prisoners
As the allocated role was random, it is clear their behaviour is due to the role itself and not their personalities
The control increased the study’s internal validity meaning results are more accurate and reliable
One limitation of Zimbardo’s SPE (ethics)
A number of ethical issues
A major ethical issue arose because of Zimbardo’s dual roles in the study – one participant even addressing Zimbardo about leaving as his role as a supervisor
Zimbardo responded to him as if he were the supervisor of the prison, instead of his actual role of the researcher
This limited Zimbardo’s ability to protect his participants from psychological harm
One limitation of Zimbardo’s SPE (exaggeration)
Zimbardo exaggerated the power of roles
Fromm accused Zimbardo of exaggerating the power of the situation to influence social roles, and minimising role of dispositional factors
Only 1/3 of guards behaved in a brutal manner, another third were keen on applying the rules fairly, the rest actively trying to help and support to the prisoners
Zimbardo’s conclusion that the participants entirely conformed to social roles may be exaggerated – some participants knew right from wrong, despite the situational pressure to conform to a social role
One strength of minority influence
Research support to emphasise importance of consistency
Moscovici study showed that a consistent minority opinion had a greater effect on the majority than an inconsistent opinion
Wood et Al carried out a meta-analysis that further showed that minorities who are consistent have the greatest success of influencing the majority
This proves the importance of consistency, like Moscovici proposed
One limitation of minority influence (external validity)
Lack of external validity outside a lab experiment
Moscovici’s task was to identify the colour of a slide, which is very different to how minorities in the real world try to change majority opinion
In real-world situations, methods of minority influence (eg political campaigning) are far more important and potentially dangerous
Moscovici’s study is therefore limited in what it tells us about minority influence in real-life scenarios
One limitation of minority influence (research studies)
Research studies are limited in what they can actually tell us about real world minority influence
Martin et Al and Moscovici’s research, for example, is a lot less complicated than real life situations
Majorities tend to have power and status, minorities tend to be more committed, these features are absent from research on minority influence
One strength of role of minority influence on social change
Minority influence can inspire social change (positive impact)
Nemeth says that minority arguments cause people to engage in divergent thinking
This thinking leads to better decisions and creative solutions to social problems
This shows that minorities are valuable because they stimulate new ideas and open people’s minds
One limitation of role of minority influence on social change (slow)
Minority influence is only partly effective, and can happen very slowly
Bashir investigated why people resist social change and found that people did not want to be associated with stereotypes such as ‘tree hugger’ or ‘man haters’
This led to researchers advising minority groups to avoid behaving in ways that will reinforce stereotypes and cause the majority to resist social change
Whilst this has good real-world applications, it proposes a weakness to the idea that all minority influence is effective
One limitation of role of minority influence on social change (external validity)
Many studies in social influence have limited external validity
Nolan et Al hung messages on front doors of houses – the key message was most residents are trying to reduce energy usage
Significant decreases in energy use compared to a control group who saw messages to save energy with no reference to other people’s behaviour
Shows how conformity can lead to social change through the operation of NSI
One strength of Milgram’s study (research support)
Sheridan and King conducted a similar procedure to Milgram
They found obedience rates of 54% for males and 100% for females
Supports Milgram’s research as both studies show high obedience rates
One limitation of Milgram’s study (ethical issues)
Several ethical issues
Caused psychological and physical harm to the participants, and they were deceived as to what the experiment was actually investigating
Many participants experienced extreme stress and anxiety when they believed they were harming another person
These factors would violate ethical guidelines today
One limitation of Milgram’s study (low internal validity)
Others arguing it had low internal validity
Orne and Holland suggested that participants may have been ‘play acting’ during the experiment
Gina Perry went back and listened to recordings from Milgram’s experiment , reporting that many of them expressed doubts about the shocks being real
May not be reliable due to low internal validity
One strength of Milgram’s situational variables (research support)
Research support for uniform as a situational variable
Bickman conducted a field experiment whereby 3 confederates dress up as; a milkman, a jacket & tie, and a security guard – each one was told to give strangers orders or ask for a coin
Found that people were twice as likely to obey the person dressed as a security guard than the others as they appear to have more authority in uniform
A strength as it shows that uniform does have an effect on obedience
One strength of Milgram’s situational variables (cross-cultural)
Cross-cultural replications which support Milgram’s work
Meeus & Raajmakers set up a similar experiment where Dutch participants were told to say stressful and unkind remarks to an interviewee
90% of participants obeyed this instruction, supporting Milgram’s theory of obedience
Cross-cultural replications act as a strength as they improve external validity
One limitation of Milgram’s situational variables (offensive)
The situational variables can be seen as offensive
Mandel argues that the situational variables can give an ‘alibi’ to the participants or act as an excuse for their behaviour
Mandel believes that it is offensive to the survivors of the Holocaust to suggest the Nazi’s were ‘just following orders’
A weakness as it may suggest the participants were not just following orders, but also acting based on personal beliefs
One limitation of Milgram’s situational variables (cross-cultural)
Lack of generalisability
Cross-cultural replications have nearly all been done on western cultures
Only two non-western culture replications, being Jordan and India
A weakness as it is limited by lack of external validity
One strength of legitimacy of authority (cultural differences)
Can be used to explain cultural differences in obedience
A study found that 16% of Australians went up to the full 450V whereas it was 85% for Germans in a Milgram-type study
Shows how ‘stricter’ cultures are being raised with high levels of respect for authority, resulting in higher rates of obedience
A strength because it supports the LoA as linked to obedience rates
