social influence Flashcards
(109 cards)
1
Q
what did zimbardo et al (1973) do?
A
- set up a mock prison in basement of psych dep at stanford
- selected 21 student male student volunteers
- randomly assigned to play role of guard/prisoner
- both encouraged to conform to social roles both through uniforms + instructions about behaviour
2
Q
what was zimbardo’s aim?
A
wanted to know why prison guards behave so brutally - whether because they have sadistic personalities or it was their social role that created such behaviour
3
Q
how were uniforms and instructions about behaviour used in the SPE?
A
- the uniforms created de-individuation meaning they would be more likely to conform to the perceived social role
- prisoners = loose smock to wear + cap to cover hair + identified with number (names never used)
- guards = own uniform reflecting status of role + wooden club, handcuffs + mirror shades
- further encouraged to identify with role with several procedures
ex: - rather than leaving study early prisoners could ‘apply for parole’
- guards encouraged by being reminded had complete power over prisoners
4
Q
what were the findings of the SPE related to social roles for guards?
A
- guards took roles with enthusiasm + treating prisoners harshly - within two days prisoners rebelled - ripped unforms - shouting + guards retaliated with fire extinguishers
- harassed prisoners constantly reminding them powerless - ex conducted freq headcounts when prisoners stand in line + call out numbers
- highlighted diffs in SRs by creating opps to enforce rules + admin punishments
- guards identified more + more closely with their role - behaviour became increasingly brutal + aggressive - some appearing to enjoy power
- when one prisoner went hunger-strike- force feed + punish by putting him in tiny dark closet
5
Q
what were the findings of the SPE related to social roles for prisoners?
A
- after rebellion put down prisoners became subdued, depressed + anxious
- one released - symptoms of psychological disturbance - two more released on fourth day
- zimbardo ended study after 6 days instead of intended 14
6
Q
what are the conclusions of the SPE related to social roles?
A
- social roles appear to have strong influence on individuals behaviour - guards became brutal + prisoners submissive
- such roles easily taken on by all ptps - even volunteers who came to perform specific functions found themselves behaving as if were in a prison rather than psych study
7
Q
how did the uniforms create deindividuation?
A
- prisoners dehumanised by wearing loose fitting smock, nylon stocking cap + referred to by number not name
- guards - wearing uniform, reflective sunglasses + bring referred to only as ‘mr. correctional officer’
8
Q
evaluation for SPE
A
- control
- real-life app
- realism
- 1/3
9
Q
what are strengths of the SPE?
A
- control - zim + colleagues had control over key variables - selection of ptps - emotionally-stable individuals chosen + randomly assigned to roles guard/prisoner - can rule out individual personality diffs as exp of findings - if guards + prisoners behaved diff + in those roles by chance - beh due to role - internal validity = high - supp roles in conf
- real-life application
10
Q
what are limitations of the SPE?
A
- lacks realism - one guard claimed based his role on brutal character from a film - shows performances were artificial
- findings of SPE tell us little about conformity to social roles in actual prisons
- exaggeration of power of social roles - only 1/3 behaved in brutal manner - most guards able to resist situational pressures to conform - zim minimised influence of dispositional factors
- ethical issues - ptps subdued, depressed + anxious + one left after 2 days - zim did not halt - failed in duty to protect their welfare
11
Q
what was Milgram (1963) aim?
A
- wanted to assess obedience levels
- see whether people would obey figure of authority when told to harm another person
12
Q
what was Milgram’s (1963) procedure?
A
- 40 male volunteers - paid $4.50
- each ptp introduced to conf upon arrival - drew lots on who would be ‘teacher’ (T) and ‘learner’ (L - called mr wallace) - lot fixed so ptp always teacher
- an ‘experimenter’ also involved who was a conf
- learner - strapped to chair + wired up with electrodes - had to remember pair of words each time made error ptp had to give electric shock via switches on ‘shock machine’
- from slight to intense to danger-severe - when teacher 300 volts L pounded on wall + no response to next q
- 315 again pounded but silent rest procedure
- when ptp refused to administer shock - experimenter gave series of prods
13
Q
what were the four standard ‘prods’ the experimenter used to get the teacher to continue?
A
prod 1 - ‘pls continue’/’please go on’
prod 2 - ‘the exp requires that you will continue’
prod 3 - ‘it is absolutely essential that you continue’
prod 4 - ‘you have no other choice, you must go on’
14
Q
what were the baseline findings of Milgram (1963)? what was the qualitative data?
A
- all ptps went up to 300v
- 65% went up to 450v - fully obedient
- 12.5% stopped at 300v
- he collected qdata including observations: ptps showed signs of extreme tension - sweating, stuttering , biting lips + three had seizures
15
Q
what did milgram do after the study?
A
all ptps in baselin - debriefed + assured beh = normal + sent follow-up questionnaire - 84% glad to have ptp
16
Q
what does germany have to do with Milgram (1963)?
A
- he wanted to know why such high prop of germany obeyed hitler’s inhumane requests
- thought possible explanation - germans diff from people from other countries - perhaps more obedient
- to determine this needed a procedure to assess how obedient people are
17
Q
what were the conclusions of Milgram (1963)?
A
- concluded german people are not ‘different’ - american ptps willing to obey even when might harm another
- suspected certain factors in situation - encouraged obedience - conducted further studies to investigate
18
Q
what is obedience?
A
form of SI where individual follows a direct order - person issuing usually figure of authority who has power to punish
19
Q
what are strengths of Milgram’s study?
A
- due to the controlled laboratory nature of exp - every ptp completed exact same procedure - can be replicated - The Game of Death-documentary - ptp believed they were contestants in a pilot episode for new game show - paid to give electric shocks to other ptps (actors) - 80% of the participants
delivered the max shock 460v to an apparently unconscious man - beh almost identical - anxiety signs - reliable - not just due to special circumstances - ptp cared for after - carried out role as a psych - same mental state - after the exp stopped- either when the experimenter used all verbal prods/max voltage reached- all ptps thoroughly de-briefed + de-hoaxed - 84% reported that they felt glad to have participated
- Milgram also kept in touch years after - make sure study left no lasting mental or physical damage
20
Q
what are weaknesses of milgram?
A
- low internal validity - ptps behaved the way they did because guessed the shocks were not real - so milgram didnt test what he intended to - Perry listened to tapes of ptps + reported many expressed doubts about shocks
- Androcentric study-data cannot be generalised to females - sample included all men
- ethics - some ptps shaking, laughing hysterically; nervously giggling, sweating heavily + one participant had a seizure
21
Q
what are the situational variables which can affect obedience as investigated by milgram (1963)?
A
- situational variables
- proximity
- location
- uniform
22
Q
what was Milgrams proximity variation like? what were the findings? explanation?
A
- teacher could hear learner but not see him in baseline
- in proximity variation - teacher + learner in same room - obedience rate dropped to 40%
- in touch proximity - dropped 30%
- remote instruction - reduced 20.5%
- decreased proximity allows people to psychologically distance themselves from consequences of actions - in baseline when seperated ptp less aware of harm so more obedient
23
Q
what was Milgrams location variation like? what were the findings? explanation?
A
- conducted in run-down office block - obedience fell to 47.5%
- prestigious uni environment gave study legitimacy + authority - ptps more obedient in location bc perceived experimenter shared this legitimacy + obedience expected
24
Q
what was Milgrams uniform variation like? what were the findings? explanation?
A
- in baseline experimenter wore grey lab coat as symbol of his authority
- in one variation experi called away at start + replaced by ordinary civilian (conf) in everyday clothes
- obedience dropped to 20%
- uniforms encourage obedience bc widely recognised as symbols of authority
- accept someone in a uniform entitled to expect obedience bc authority legitimate
- someone without - less right to expect obedience
25
name the strengths and weaknesses of migrams research into situarional variables
LIMITATIONS
- mandel
- demand characteristics
STRENGTHS
- bickman
- miranda et al
26
what is one limitation of milgram's research into situational variables when it comes to offering 'excuses'? ev
- there is discomfort surrounding his finding's supporting a situational explanation of obedience
- perspective criticised by Mandel (1998) - argues offers excuse/alibi for evil behaviour - offensive to survivors of holocaust to suggest nazis simply obeying orders
- milgram's explanation also ignores role of dispositional factors - implying nazis victims of situational factors beyond their control
27
how is support of the power of uniforms a strength of milgram's research into situational variables? ev
- bickman (1974)
- tested ecological validity of Milgram's work by conducting in more realistic setting - 3 researchers gave direct requests to random pedestrians
- in milkman uniform, guard uniform or suit+tie
- found ptps most likely to obey researcher dressed as guard 80% than milkman or civilian 40%
- supports milgram's findings for uniforms - obedience influenced by amount of authority person perceived to have
28
how is cross-cultural replication a strength of milgram's research into situational variables?
- replicated in other cultures. The findings of cross-cultural research have been generally supportive of Milgram
- Miranda et al - obedience rate 90%+ amongst Spanish students -suggests
that Milgram’s concs about obedience not limited to American males - valid across cultures + apply to females too
29
how is DC a limitation to milgram's research into situational variables?
- ptps may have been aware procedure faked
- Orne and Holland - criticised milgram og study + point out even more likely in variations bc of extra manipulation
- ex, when experi replaced by a 'member of public' - even milgram himself said situation so contrived ptps may well have worked out truth
- therefore in all studies unclear whether findings due to obedience or ptps saw through deception + responded to demand characteristics
30
what is social support?
- One way people can resist pressure to conform/obey is if have ally - someone supporting their pov
- having an ally can build confidence + allow individuals to remain independent
- These people act as models to show others that resistance to social influence is possible
- individuals who have support for their pov no longer fear being ridiculed - allowing them to avoid nsi
- more likely to disobey orders and NOT conform
31
why are we more likely to resist if there is social support?
dissenting ally raises possibility other - equally legitimate ways of thinking/responding - assessment of reality which makes more confident in decision
32
how does albrecht et al's (2006) research support social support? Evpos
- shows positive effects of SS
- evaluated an eight-week programme to help pregnant adolescents aged 14-19 resist peer pressure to smoke - social support provided by a 'buddy'
- pregnant teens less likely to not smoke if had mentor who encouraged them to resist peer pressure
- those who did not have buddy - more likely to smoke
33
how does gameson et al's (1982) research support the link between social support + resistance to obedience?
- support role of dissenting peers in resisting obedience
- ptp's told to produce evidence that would be used to help oil company run smear campaign
- higher rates of resistance compared to milgram
- argued high rates because they were in groups so could discuss
- 88% rebelled
- shows peer support linked to greater resistance
34
how does allen + levine's (1971) NOT support link between social support + resistance to conformity?
- showed social support does not always help in helping individuals resist the influence of a group
- asch type task carried out - in one instance when dissenter had obviously poor eyesight (thick glasses) resistance only 36%
35
what is locus of control? who was it proposed by?
- rotter (1966)
- how much a person believes that they have control over their own behaviour
36
what are the two types of LOC? what is the LOC continuum?
- some people have internal LOC - believe things that happen largely controlled by themselves
- some people have external LOC - believe things that happen outside of their control
- measured along a scale - people not just internal or external - LOC is a scale - individuals can vary position on it - high internal on one end and high ex on other
- low internal + external lie in-between
37
how does high internal LOC allow for resistance to social influence?
- people who have an internal LOC are more likely to be able to resist pressures to obey + conform as take personal responsibility for their actions
- another explanation is people with high internal LOC tend to be more self-confident, more achievement orientated + highly intelligent + have less need for social approval
- these personality traits lead to greater resistance to social influence
38
how does holland's (1967) research support the link between LOC + resistance to obedience? Evpos
- repeated milgram's baseline study into obedience + measured LOC in ptps
- 37% of internals resisted in comparison to 23% of externals
- increases validity of LOC explanation for resistance as those with internal LOC showed greater resistance
39
how does twenge et al's (2004) research contradict link between LOC + resistance? Evneg
- analysed data from american LOC studies conducted over a 40 year period
- data showed over time span - people became more resistant to obedience but also more external
- if resistance linked to internal would expect people to become more internal
- suggests LOC not valid explanation of how people resist social influence
40
how rotter himself (1982) critiques the links between LOC and resistance?
- points out LOC not necessarily most important factor in determining whether someone resists social influence - LOC depends on situation
- LOC only useful for novel situations when we are in familiar situations previous experiences overpower this - if you have conformed/obeyed in specific situation in past - chances are you will do so again in situation regardless of LOC
- therefore relationship can be seen as exaggerated
41
name evaluation for LOC
STRENGTHS:
- holland
LIMITATIONS
- rotter
- twenge
42
what is agentic state?
- mental state where we feel no personal responsibility for our behaviour - believe to be acting for an authority figure - as their agent
- allows to be freed from conscience + allows to obey even a destructive authority figure
43
what is the autonomous state?
- opposite of agentic state
- are free to behave according to own principles + feel sense of responsibility for own actions
44
what is the agentic shift?
- shift from autonomy to agency
- milgram suggested this occurs when a person perceives someone else as an authority figure
- authority figure greater power because have higher position in social hierarchy
- in most groups - when one person in charge others defer to legitimate authority of this person - agentic shift
45
how did ptps in milgram's study show agentic state?
- milgram observed many ptps said they wanted to stop but seemed powerless to
- remained in agentic state due to bindings factors - aspects of situation allow to minimise/ignore damaging effect of behaviour + reduce moral strain
- milgram proposed strategies - shifting responsibility to victim 'foolish to volunteer'
- deny damage doing to the victims
46
what is moral strain?
- milgram found that when we go against our morals - experience moral strain
- ptps said they felt - upset, stressed, nervous
47
what is legitimacy of authority?
- explanation for obedience - suggests more likely to obey people who perceive to have more authority over us
- authority justified by individual's power within a society
48
what is destructive authority?
- sometimes LA can be destructive - using legitimate powers for destructive purposes ordering to behave in cruel + dangerous ways
- DA obvious in milgram's study when experimenter used prods to order ptps to behave against conscience
49
what was the my lai massacre? (agentic state)
- milgrams findings have been used to explain it
- war crime at my lai during viet war
- 504 unarmed civilians killed by american soldiers - women gang-raped + people shot down as emerged from homes in surrender
- blew up buildings, burned village to ground and killed all animals
- only calley faced charges + found guilty - insisted taking orders from superiors + bore no direct responsibility - soldiers in turn said merely taking orders from calley
50
name the evaluation for agentic state
STRENGTHS
- milgram
LIMITATIONS
- limited exp
51
how is milgram's study a strength of agentic state? evpos
- supports the role of agentic state in obedience
- most ptp's resisted giving shocks at some point - often asked experimenter questions
- one was who is responsible if learner is harmed - when experimenter said it was them ptp often went through w procedure quickly no further objections
- shows once ptps perceived no longer responsible for behavior - acted more easily as ex's agent
52
how is limited explanation for studies a weakness for agentic shift? evneg
- agentic shift does not explain many findings about obedience
- does not explain findings of rank + jacobson
- 16/18 nurses disobeyed orders from doctor to administer excessive drug dose to patient
- despite doctor authority figure - almost all nurses remained autonomous
- suggests obedience can only account to some situations of obedience
53
name the evaluation for legitimacy of authority
STRENGTHS
- real-world crimes
- bickman
54
how are real-world crimes of obedience a strength of legitimacy of authority? evpos
- rank + jacobson found nurses prepared to disobey legitimate authority
- kelman + hamilton argue a real-world crime of obedience ex. My Lai - can be understood in terms of power hierarchy of US army
- COs operate within clearer hierarchy than hospital doctors + have greater power to punish
55
how is bickman a strength of legitimacy of authority? evpos
- research shows authority perceived to have has impact on obedience
- 3 researchers gave direct requests to random pedestrians
- in milkman uniform, guard uniform or suit+tie
- found ptps most likely to obey researcher dressed as guard 80% than milkman or civilian 40%
56
what is authoritarian personality?
- dispositional explanation for obedience
- adorno - shows extreme respect for authority
- view society weaker than it once was - believe need strong + powerful leaders to enforce trad values
- more likely to obey from source of authority
- show contempt for those inferior status
- everything either right/wrong - uncomfortable with uncertainty
- 'other people' (ex.ethnic group) responsible for ills of society
57
what are the origins of authoritarian personality?
- adorno et al - forms in childhood - result of harsh parenting
- typically features - strict discipline, absolute loyalty - high standards + severe criticism of failings
- fears displaced onto others perceived weaker- explains hatred to inferior - central feature to obedience to higher authority
58
what was adorno et al's procedure into authoritarian personality?
- studied more than 2000 middle-class, white americans + unconscious attitudes towards other ethnic groups
- developed several measurement scales, including F-scale (potential for fascism scale) used to measure AP
59
what were adorno et al's findings into authoritarian personality?
- people who scored high on f-scale + other measures (authoritarian leaning) - identified with 'strong people' + generally contemptous of the 'weak'
- conscious of status, showed extreme respect, deference + servility to those higher status (these traits basis of obedience)
60
what else did adorno et al find about those with authoritarian personality?
- had a certain cognitive style (way of perceiving others) - 'black and white' thinking between categories of people
- had fixed + distinctive stereotypes of other groups
- found strong positive correlation between authoritarianism + prejudice
61
name the evaluation for authoritarian personality
STRENGTHS
- milgram + elms
LIMITATIONS
- lack of internal validity
- F-scale
62
how are milgram and elms strength of authoritarian personality? what is a counterpoint to this?
- interviewed ptps who took part in first 4 milgram studies showed those that shocked to full 450v scored higher on F scale than those who refused
- supports adorno et al's view obedient people may well show similar characteristics to people who have an authoritarian personality
- when individuals subscales analysed - number of characteristics did not share with authoritarians (did not glorify fathers, punishment in childhood etc) - meaning link between AP + obedience complex - ptps so unlike authoritarians - that authoritarianism unlikely to be useful predictor of obedience
63
how is a lack of internal validity a limitation of adorno et al's research into authoritarian personality?
- original F scale questionnaire lacked internal validity - all questions written in one direction - meaning agreeing to all questions label someone as authoritarian - could be ptps with this response bias
64
what is a limitation of the F-scale political wise?
- only measures tendency towards an extreme form of right-wing ideology
- christie + jahoda argued F-scale politically-biased interpretation of authoritarian personality
- point out reality of left-wing authoritarianism
- ex both emphasise importance of complete obedience to political authority
- not comprehensive dispositional explanation that accounts for obedience to authority across whole political spectrum
65
what is social change?
- change that happens in a society and not an individual level
- minorities can change the positions of members of the majority via consistency, flexibility + commitment
66
what is the snowball effect?
- when members of majority slowly convert to minority
- but as minority grows attracts new members faster - until grows so large now the majority
67
what is social cryptomnesia?
- happens after societal change
- individuals who previously held old view refuse to admit they held the now unpopular view/resisted the new view
- do not give credit to minorities who changed society
68
what is minority influence?
- refers to situations where one person/small group influences beliefs/behaviour of other people
- distinct from conformity (majority doing influencing)
- most likely to lead to internalisation
69
what are the three main processes in minority influence?
- consistency
- commitment
- flexibility
70
what is commitment?
- minority must demonstrate commitment to their views/cause
- sometimes minorities engage in quite extreme activities to draw attention to their views
- important these extreme activities present some risk to minority - shows greater commitment
- majority group members pay even more attention - augmentation principle
71
what is consistency?
- minority must be consistent in their view - vertime increases amount of interest from other people
- can take form of agreement between people in minority group (synchronic - all saying same thing) and/or diachronic consistency - been saying same thing for some time now
- consistent minority makes other people start to rethink own views
72
what is flexibility?
- nemeth argued onsistency not only important factor in minority influence - can be off-putting
- if seen as dogmatic + rigid - minorities may not be persuasive
- members of minority need to be prepared to adapt their pov + accept reasonable + valid counterarguments
- they key is to strike a balance between consistency + flexibility
73
how does the process of change happen as done by the three processes of minority influence?
- if you hear something new - think more deeply about it - especially is source of this view consistent, committed + flexible
- this deeper processing - important in process of conversion to different minority view
- increasing numbers of people switch from majority position to minority position - become 'converted' - called 'snowball effect' - minority view has become majority + change has occurred
74
name the evaluation for social change
STRENGTHS
- moscovici
- martin et al
LIMITATIONS
- real-world application
- artificial
75
what is research evidence supporting consistency?
- moscovici et al's blue/green slide study
- ptp's shown 36 slides clearly different shades of blue + asked to state each slide out loud
- found in consistent majority had bigger effect on majority compared to inconsistent
- wood et al - meta-analysis - 100 similar studies found minorities consistent most influential
76
what is research to support deeper processing?
- martin et al - presented message supporting particular viewpoint + measured ptp's agreement
- one group heard majority agree, other heard minority group agre
- ptp's finally exposed to conflicting view + attitudes measured again
- people less willing to change if listened to minority - suggests minority message more deeply processed + more enduring effect - supporting central argument of minority influence
77
what is a counterpoint to martin et al's research into deeper processing?
- real-world social influence situations much more complicated
- majorities much more power + status - minorities very committed to causes - have to be because face very hostile opposition
- features usually absent from minority influence research - minority simply smallest in group
- limited in what tell us about real-life
78
what is a limitation of minority influence research? fake
- artificial
- ex moscovici - identifying colour of slide - research far removed from how minorities attempt to change behaviour of majorities in real life
- findings lack external validity - limiting what they tell us about minority influence in real life situations
79
what are the steps in how minority social influence creates social change?
- drawing attention
- consistency
- deeper processing
- augmentation principle
- snowball effect
- social cryptomnesia
80
how did asch show conformity to lead to social change? how is NSI used to lead to this?
- highlighted importance of dissent in unanimity variation when one conf gave correct answer throughout
- broke power of majority - encouraging others
- such dissent potential to lead to social change
- environmental + health campaigns exploit conformity processes by appealing to NSI - do this by providing info about what others are doing
- social change encouraged by drawing attention to what majority are doing
81
how do milgram and zimbardo show how obedience (or lack of) can lead to social change?
- milgram - demonstrates importance of disobedient role models
- in variation where conf teacher refuses to give shocks to learner - rate of obedience in genuine ptps plummeted
- zimbardo - suggested obedience can lead to social change through process of gradual commitment - once small instruction obeyed - becomes much more difficult to resist bigger one - people essentially 'drift' into a new kind of behaviour
82
what is research support for normative influences impact on social change?
- research has shown social influence processes based on psychological research do work
- nolan et al aimed to see if they could change people's energy-use habits
- hung messages on front doors of houses every week for a month message was most residents trying to reduce their energy uses
- as control some residents had different message that just asked them to save energy - no reference to others
- significant decreases in energy usage in first group compared to second
- shows conformity can lead to social change through NSI - valid explanation
83
what is a counterpoint to nolan's et al research on NSI being a valid influence on social change?
- some studies show people's behaviour not always changed through exposing them to social norms
- foxcroft et al reviewed social norms interventions - included 70 studies where social norms approach used to reduce student alcohol use
- researchers only found small reduction in drinking quantity + no effect on frequency - seems NSI does not always produce long-term social change
84
how is the ability to explain a strength of minority influences' affect on social change?
- psychologists can explain how minority influence brings about social change
- nemeth claims social change due to type of thinking minorities inspire - when people consider minority arguments - engage in divergent thinking - type of thinking broad rather than narrow (thinker searches for info + weighs opts)
- nemeth argues leads to better decisions + more creative solutions to social issues
- shows why dissenting minorities valuable - stimulate new ideas + open minds in a way majorities cannot
85
what is a limitation of deeper processing when it comes to social change?
- may not play a role in how minorities bring about social change
- mackie disagrees + presents evidence that it is majority influence that may create deeper processing if you do not share their views
- when you find out a majority believes something different - forced to think long and hard about their arguments + reasoning
- means central element of minority influence challenged - casting doubt on its validity as an explanation of social change
86
what was Asch's basline study + findings?
- 123 american men tested - each one in a group with other apparent ptps
- line judgement task - each trial ptps had to say (out loud) which of comp lines same length as standard line X
- test conformity in an unambiguous situation
- tested in groups 6 - 8 - one one ptp genuine
- on av - genuine ptp's agreed with confs incorrect answers 1/3 of time
- but 25% never conformed
87
what were the 3 variables tested by asch?
- group size
- unanimity
- task difficulty
88
how did asch test group size? what were the findings?
- wanted to know whether size of the group more important than agreement of group
- varied number of confederates from one-15
- found curvlinear relationship between group szie + conformity rate
- 3 confs - conformity rose to 31.8% - most people very sensitive to view of others - just few confs enough to sway opinion
89
how did asch test unanimity? what were the findings?
- wondered if presence of non-conforming person would affect naive ptp's conformity
- introduced a dissenter - one variation gave correct + other gave incorrect
- genuine ptp's conformed less often in presence of dissenter
- presence of dissenter appeared to free the naive ptp to behave more independently
- true even when disagreed with gen ptp
- non-conformity likely when cracks in unanimity seen
90
how did asch test task difficulty? what were the findings?
- wanted to know whether making task more difficult would affect degree of conformity
- increased difficulty by making stimulus line + comparison lines more similar in length - making it harder for ptp's to see difference
- found conformity increased - situation more ambiguous when task becomes harder - natural to look for others for guidance (ISI)
91
how is articificial situation a limitation of asch's study?
- task + situation artificial
- ptp's knew in a research study + may simply have gone along with what was expected (DC)
- task of identifying lines relatively trivial - no reason not to conform
- fiske argued they do not resemble groups in real-life
- do not generalise real-life situations - esp those where consequences of conformity may be important
92
how is limited application a limitation of asch's study into conformity?
- ptps were american men
- other research sugests women may be more conformist
- also US individualist culture (concerned more about themselves) - similar conformity studies conducted in collectivist cultures (china) have found conf rates higher
- findings tell us little about conformity rin women + people from some cultures
93
how is there research support from other studies for the task difficulty variation?
- lucas et al asked ptps to solve 'easy' and 'hard' maths problems
- ptp's given answers from three other students (not actually real) - ptp's conform more often when problems harder
- supports asch claim that task difficulty one variable that affects conformity
94
what are the ethical issues of asch's experiment?
- deception
- although debriefed at the end
- negative psychological effect of humiliation
-benefits of Asch’s research outweigh the ethical costs because the potential practical benefits are great and the stress caused to participants was minimal
95
what is internalisation?
- occurs when a person genuinely accepts groups norms - deepest level of conformity
- changes their public + private beliefs
- beliefs of the group become part of the individual's own belief system
- change in opinions/behaviours persists even in absence of other group members
- likely to be linked to NSI
96
what is compliance?
- publicly changing behaviour whilst maintaining a different private view
- going along with group - even if do not really agree with what they are doing
- do it to fit in
- not permanent - lasts only as long as group present
- likely to be linked to NSI
97
what is identification?
- looks to the group for guidance
- conform to opinions/behaviour of group because something about it valued
- publicly chane opinions/behaviour by group even if do not privately agree
98
what is NSI?
- group pressure leading to a desire to fit in with the group
- all about 'norms' typical behaviour for social group
- for social approval
-emotional rather than cognitive process
- may be more pronounced in stressful situations where greater need for social support
99
what is ISI?
- when a person lacks knowledge of how to behave + looks to the group for guidance
- cognitive process - to do with what you think
- leads to permanent change in opinion/behavior (internalisation)
-likely to happen in new situations/ where there is some ambiguity
- also in crisis situations where decisions have to be made quickly
100
what is research to support NSI?
- asch
- interviewed ptp's - some said conformed because felt self-conscious giving correct answer - afraid of disapproval
- when wrote answers down - conformity fell to 12.5% - because privately no normative group pressure
- supports NSI - avoid rejection
101
what is research to support ISI?
- lucas
102
how is individual differences a limitation of NSI?
- does not predict conformity in every case
- some people greatly concerned with others liking them - nAffiliators
- mcghee + teevan found students who were nAffiliators were more likely to conform
- shows NSI underlies conformity for some people more than others - individual differences which cant be explained by just NSI
103
how is hard to distinguish a limitation for NSI + ISI
- unclear whether NSI/ISI are at work in research studies
- ex asch found conformity reduced when there is one other dissenting ptp - may reduce power of NSI (because provide social support) / may reduce power of ISI (provide alternate source of info) - both possible
- hard to seperate them + probably operate together in real-life situations
104
how did perrin and spencer show the limited validity of asch's experiment?
- did a replication of Asch’s original study with British engineering students and found over 396 trials that only one student conformed
- means that Asch’s study may suffer from lack temporal validity and have limited population validity
105
how does jenness support ISI?
- Jenness used an ambiguous situation that involved a glass bottle filled with 811 white beans
- sample consisted of 101 psych students - individually estimated how many beans in glass bottle
- ptp then divide into groups of three and asked to provide group estimate through discussion - ptp provided with another opportunity individually estimate the number of beans to see if they changed their original answer
- found that nearly all participants changed their original answer
- an ambiguous situation and are likely to be the result of informational social influence
106
how are reichler and haslam a limitation to zimbardo's experiment?
- tried to recreate the Stanford Prison study in a programme for the BBC
- in this simulation prisoners became dominant over the guards and became disobedient to the guards who were unable to control their behaviour
- suggests that the results of Zimbardo’s study may be down to individual differences
- reason guards such control - may have more dominant personalities + prisoners more submissive
107
how does schlutz et al support NSI?
- found able to change behavior of hotel guests by using printed messages encouraging to save energy
- messages suggested other guests using fewer bath towels most successful
108
did sherif show ISI or NSI?
ISI
109
name the strengths and weaknesses of migrams research into situarional variables
LIMITATIONS
- mandel
- demand characteristics
STRENGTHS
- bickman
- miranda et al
