Module 1- Social Influence conformity

Question 1

What is social Psychology?

Answer 1

• looks at relationships between people and how people affect each other behaviour

Question 2

What is Conformity?

Answer 2

• form of social influence
• person changes behaviour, attitude or beliefs to fit into a group
• occurs due to pressure from majority (real or imagined)

Question 3

What is Compliance?

Answer 3

• type of conformity
• person changes beliefs, attitudes and behaviours to fit into a group
• only lasts when group is present and does not affect behaviour in private
• superficial and temporary

Question 4

What is Internalisation?

Answer 4

• type of conformity
• individuals adjust behaviour to fit in with a group publicly and privately
• individual evaluates own behaviours and thoughts and decides majority is right
• deeper and permanent than compliance

Question 5

What is Identification?

Answer 5

• individual accepts social influence because they want to be part of/associated with a group or role model
• Feel more connected to the group or person

Question 6

What is Normative Social influence?

Answer 6

• Due to need for social approval, we avoid behaviour that might make others reject or ridicule us.
• Can lead us to copy behaviour of others to ‘fit in’.
• Studies show people like similar ppl -> conformity can be effective strategy to ensure we fit in with a group.
• Likely to lead to compliance

Question 7

What is Informational Social Influence?

Answer 7

• conforming due to need to be right and have accurate perception of reality
• Individuals may make objective tests against reality, but if can’t then rely on opinions on others to check if they are right
• more likely in ambiguous situations
• likely to lead to internalisation

Question 8

Who developed the explanations for conformity and when?

Answer 8

Deustch and Gerrard 1955

Question 9

Evaluation of normative and informational social influence (strengths)

Answer 9

+ Asch 1951:
- asked participants to say which of three test lines was same as standard line, in group with confederates who purposely gave wrong answer even tho correct was obvious
- 33% of trials = participants conformed and gave wrong answer , 1% chance of mistake.
—> conformed due to normative social influence, after test claimed knew correct answer but afraid of embarrassment

+ Jenness 1932:

• asked to estimate amount of beans in jar- participants did individual first and then as group
• found that in group, participants reported estimates of roughly same value despite reporting different estimates as individuals
• example of informational social influence- actually uncertain and genuinely influenced by group

+ Sherif 1935:

• used auto kinetic effect to investigate conformity (light projected in screen in dark room appears to move)
• asked how far light moved individually varied, but in groups of 3 estimate became similar (2 people who had similar and one different, that one then had similar to group)
• informational social influence- ambiguous, persons who’s estimate was different to other two conformed to view of other two

Question 10

Evaluation of normative and informational social influence (Weaknesses)

Answer 10

• suggested 3rd explanation not included in this theory- ingratiational conformity- group influence doesn’t affect decision to conform, motivated by need to impress/ gain favour, not fear of rejection
• dispositional factors impact if a person conforms : internal locus of control= less likely to conform compared to external, normative /informational social influence cannot explain this

Question 11

What was the procedure for Aschs test?

Answer 11

• 1 naive participant and a group of several confederates who have been told to say the wrong answer
• decide which one of three ‘test lines’ was the same length as ‘standard line’, without discussing , then say out loud
• obvious answer, but confederates told to give wrong answer on 12/18 trials
• participant gave answer last

Question 12

What did Aschs test investigate?

Answer 12

Variables affecting conformity

Question 13

What were Aschs Findings (stats)

Answer 13

chance of genuine mistake =1%
33% of responses were wrong
75% conformed at least once
5% conformed every time
25% did not conform at all

-conformed to avoid disapproval but continued to trust their own judgement (normative social influence + compliance)

Question 14

What variables affected Aschs experiment?

Answer 14

-Group Size = bigger group means more likely to conform, easy to resist influence of 2 people 1 confederate= 3% conformity rate
2 confederates= 13%
3 confederates = 32%

• Task Difficulty= made test lines more similar in length, more difficult means more likely to conform as ambiguous and look to others (informational social influence)
• Unanimity= more unanimity means more likely to conform- if one confederate says the right answer they are less likely to conform

Question 15

Evaluation of Asch (Weaknesses)

Answer 15

• May lack temporal validity- 80 years ago, post war attitudes =more conformist than now
• Task is artificial (unlikely to occur irl), conformity more likely in social context with people we know, lacks mundane realism and ecological validity
• Study is gender and culturally biased, only reps white american males, but has since been replicated with different samples and proven to be reliable
• Asch used a volunteer sample- no population validity and would not represent wider population, cannot be generalised
• ethical issues - deception, lack of informed consent, possible psychological harm, but necessary to prevent demand characteristics and increase validity

Question 16

Define social roles

Answer 16

the behaviors expected of an individual who occupies a social position or status. people often conform to the social role assigned to them

Question 17

What did Zimbardos experiment investigate?

Answer 17

Whether conformity to social roles would alter a persons behavior

Question 18

What was the procedure for Zimbardos experiment?

Answer 18

stimulated prison created> 24 psychologically stable young male volunteers randomly assigned prisoner or guard> guards had complete control over prisoners and able to do anything to maintain order apart from physical violence

Question 19

What were Zimbardos findings?

Answer 19

• 2nd day prisoners rebelled, guards stripped them and took away their beds
• forced leaders into solitary confinement
• guards became increasingly aggressive and cruel
• prisoners became passive and depressed
• guards became so aggressive, study ended after 6 days (meant to last 2 weeks) due to prisoners signs of psychological distress and harm

Question 20

Evaluation of Zimbardos Experiment (weaknesses)

Answer 20

• unethical- psychological harm, 5 prisoners released early due to extreme crying, rage, BUT Zimbardo did not expect guards to behave like this harm could not have been anticipated
• validity of findings questioned- zimbardo took on role of prison warden and lost his objectivity
• sample was unrepresentative- all young white male students (gender bias, cultural bias), cannot be generalised to women and other cultures
• demand characteristics decreases validity - guards may have acted aggressive as that’s what they thought was expected of them
• individual differences- dispositional factors (some were more aggressive than others (important in determining to what extent participants will conform to social roles)