Social influence

Question 1

What study did Solomon Asch do

Answer 1

Put three lines up on a board, and asked which was the shortest to a group of people, one of which was a naive participant. The other confederates called the blatantly wrong answer to see if the participant would conform.

Question 2

What were the results of Aschs study

Answer 2

75% of participants conformed at least once
25% didn’t conform at all
36% conformed every time

Question 3

What variables did Asch implement

Answer 3

Group size
Unanimity
Task difficulty

Question 4

How did group size affect results

Answer 4

When there were 2 confederates, conformity was 13%.
When there were 3, this increased to 31%.
There was little difference beyond 3.

Question 5

How did Unanimity affect results

Answer 5

If one dissenter was entered into the study, then conformity dropped to less than a quarter of what it was when answer was unanimous.

Question 6

How did task difficulty affect results

Answer 6

When the lines were made more similar in length, conformity increased.

Question 7

What are three limitations of Asch’s study

Answer 7

Ecological validity - participants knew they were in a study. Test was unimportant and had no reason not to conform. Cannot generalise to wide population.

Culture bias - Era of McCarthyism in America, conformity encouraged and speaking out frowned upon.

Gender bias - only male students were selected for the study, reducing validity.

Question 8

What is a strength of Asch’s study

Answer 8

Lucas et al (2006)
Asked participants to solve “easy” and “hard” maths problems. Participants were given answers that were claimed to be from other participants in the study which were “correct” (they werent).
The harder the question, the more likely the participant was to mark it as correct.

Question 9

What are the three types of conformity

Answer 9

Internalisation - genuinely accepts groups beliefs, causing a private and public change in opinions and behaviour.

Identification - Identify with the group that we value publicly while disagreeing privately. Wanting to be a part of group.

Compliance - Going along with others in public but privately not agreeing. Superficial change that ends as soon as pressure leaves.

Question 10

What are the two explanations for conformity

Answer 10

Informational social influence - Believing the majority of others are more probably right so you go along with it.
Leads to internalisation.
Occurs in ambiguous situations.

Normative social influence - Following behaviour of majority.
Preference for social approval over rejection.
Leads to compliance
Occurs in unfamiliar situations

Question 11

What is a strength of ISI

Answer 11

Lucas et al
Participants conformed more to the maths question when it was more difficult.
Supports ISI as the ambiguity increased, so did the belief that the others knew better.

Question 12

What is a strength of NSI

Answer 12

Asch (1951)
Many participants gave wrong answers as they were afraid of disapproval.

Question 13

What did Zimbardo do

Answer 13

Stanford Prison Experiment

Question 14

Outline the Stanford prison experiment

Answer 14

Zimbardo et al (1973)
Set up a mock prison to investigate social roles and their effect on conformity.
21 male students randomly allocated to be either guards or prisoners.
Prisoners rebelled within 2 days, shouting and swearing at guards.
Guards retaliated with fire extinguishers and harassed prisoners.
Study stopped after 6 days.

Question 15

How were the social roles encouraged

Answer 15

Uniform - prisoners strip searched and given a uniform and number (no name), encouraging de-individuation
Guards had handcuffs and uniform, enforced rules.

Behaviour instructions - Prisoners told they could not leave but have to ask for parole
Guards told they had complete power over prisoners

Question 16

What is a strength of SPE

Answer 16

Internal validity - Participants tested and only psychologically stable ones made it through
Guards and prisoners randomly allocated

Question 17

What are two weaknesses of SPE

Answer 17

Lacks realism - Banuanzi and Mohavedi (1975) suggested parcipants were play acting as behaviour fitted into stereotypes of roles.
One guard based his role on a character from “Cool Hand Luke”.
Suggests that SPE tells us little about actual prisons and conformity.

Unethical - the experiment was hugely unethical, as participants faced severe mental distress, were refused their right to withdraw, and deceived.

Question 18

What did Milgram study

Answer 18

Obedience

Question 19

What was Milgrams experiment

Answer 19

40 American males, told they were taking part in a memory study.
Had an experimenter dressed in a lab coat, and a learner called “Mr Wallace”, which the teacher (the participant) could hear but not see.
The teacher was told to give the learner increasingly strong electric shocks every time he failed a task, increasing by 15 volts until it reached 450.
If teacher wished to stop then the experimenter would give a verbal prompt for him to continue.

Question 20

What were the results of Milgrams experiment

Answer 20

12.5% stopped at 300 volts.
65% went all the way to 450 volts.
Participants showed extreme tension, and three “had seizures”.

Question 21

What variables did Milgram alter

Answer 21

Proximity
Location
Uniform

Question 22

How did Milgram alter proximity

What affect did this have on the results

Answer 22

By placing the teacher and learner in the same room was the first iteration - decreased from 65% to 40%
The second version the teacher physically forced the learners hand onto the shock plate - decreased from 65% to 30%.

Question 23

How did Milgram alter location

What affect did this have on results and what does that show.

Answer 23

The original study was held at Yale University. This was changed to a run down building in Connecticut.
Participants going to the full 450 volts decreased from 65% to 47.5%.
Shows credibility of the building is needed for obedience.

Question 24

How did Milgram alter uniform

What affect did this have on the results

Answer 24

In most variations the experimenter wore a lab coat. In this variation he wore ordinary clothes.

Obedience fell from 65% to 20%, showing credibility of the experimenter is needed for obedience.

Question 25

Explain one strength to Milgrams study

Answer 25

Replicated experiments:
Beauvois et al:
Had contestants “shocking” an apparently unconscious man when ordered. 80% gave maximum 450 volts, and showed similar reactions to Milgram’s participants (signs of anxiety).

Sheridan and Kings (1972):
Participants gave real shocks to a puppy; 54% of males and 100% of females delivered what they thought was a fatal shock.
This suggests that obedience in Milgram’s study might be genuine.

Question 26

What is the agentic state

Answer 26

Idea proposed by Milgram to explain why the participants obeyed.
Means acting on behalf of someone else.
Believed obedience to destructive authority occurs as a person becomes an “agent”, where they feel no personal responsibility for their actions.

Question 27

What is the autonomous state

Answer 27

To be independent or free
The opposite of agentic state where you are in full control and responsibility for your actions

Question 28

What is agentic shift

Answer 28

Moving from autonomous state to agentic state.
Milgram suggested this happens when we perceive someone giving orders as a higher authority

Question 29

What is a strength of agentic state explanation

Answer 29

Research support:
Milgrams experiment supported.
Participant asked the experimenter “who is responsible if Mr Wallace is harmed?” and th experimenter answered “me”.
After this the participant went through the entire procedure without protesting.
This shows participants act easier as an agent when they believe they are not responsible for their behaviour

Question 30

What is a limitation of the agentic state explanation

Answer 30

Rank and Jacobson (1977)
Found most nurses disobeyed a doctor’s order to give patients an excessive drug dose
The doctor was an authority figure but the nurses remained autonomous and did not shift into an agentic state.
This shows that agentic shift can only explain obedience in some situations.

Question 31

What is the authoritarian personality

Answer 31

Adorno et al (1950)
Believed a certain personality type is more likely to obey than others, and that this was a psychological disorder
Called this the authoritarian personality

Question 32

What are features of the authoritarian personality

Answer 32

Extreme respect for authority
Contempt for those with inferior social status
View other groups as responsible for societal ills
Conscious of their own and others’ status
Identify with “strong” people and contemptuous of the “weak”

Question 33

How does one develop the authoritarian personality

Answer 33

Developed in childhood through harsh parenting (impossibly high standards, expectation of absolute loyalty, severe criticism)
This creates resentment and hostility in the child which cannot be expressed for fear of reprisals
The feelings are displaced onto others who are weaker - known as scapegoating

Question 34

How was the authoritarian personality tested for

Answer 34

The F-Scale survey on 2000 middle class white Americans.
Questions such as “Obedience and respect to authority are most important virtues for a child to learn” and “There is hardly anything lower than a person who does not feel great love, gratitude and respect for his parents”.

Question 35

What is a strength of the authoritarian personality as an explanation for obedience

Answer 35

Evidence that authoritarians are obedient:
Milgram and Elms (1966) interviewed 20 participants from the original shocks study who were fully obedient.
Scored significantly higher on the F-Scale than a comparison group of 20 disobedient participants.

Question 36

What is a limitation of the authoritarian personality as an explanation for obedience

Answer 36

Political bias: Christie and Jahoda (1954)
F-Scale based around measuring the tendency towards extreme right-wing ideology, which doesn’t take into account extreme left-wing authoritarianism such as Mao’s China.

Question 37

What are the two explanations for resisting social influence

Answer 37

Social support

Locus of control

Question 38

How does social support help resist conformity

Answer 38

Dissenting peer:
Pressure to conform is reduced if others don’t conform.
Asch’s research showed that someone else not following the majority frees up others to act on their own conscience, as majority is no longer unanimous.

Question 39

How does social support help resist obedience

Answer 39

Dissenting peer:
Milgram’s research showed that when a disobedient peer was placed in the situation with the participant, obedience fell from 65% to 10%.
Participant may not follow the disobedient peer but it frees them to act on own conscience, as the disobedient peer challenges the legitimacy of the authority

Question 40

What is a locus of control

Answer 40

An individuals perception on the main causes of events in their life.

Question 41

Internal vs external locus of control

Answer 41

Internals:
Believe things happen to them are largely controlled by themselves, e.g doing well in a test due to working hard.

Externals:
Believe things happen to them due to factors outside of their control, e.g failing a test is blamed on having a bad teacher

Question 42

Locus of control is a ________ with high _______ at one end and high _______ externals on the other.

Answer 42

continuum
internals
externals

Question 43

How does LOC affect resistance to social influence

Answer 43

Those with internal LOC are more likely to resist pressures to conform or obey for two reasons:
- If someone takes personal responsibility for their actions (good or bad) they are more likely to base decisions on their own belief
- People with high internal LOC are usually more confident, more achievement-oriented and more intelligent, which lead to greater resistance

Question 44

What is a weakness of LOC as an explanation for resistance

Answer 44

Contradictory research:
Twenge et al (2004)
Analysed data from American locus of control studies over 40 years.
Showed people became more independent, but also more external.
Counters LOC explanation as if resistance was linked to internal LOC, then as independence increased it would be expected people would become more internal.

Question 45

What is a strength of LOC as explanation for resistance

Answer 45

Research support:
Holland (1967)
Repeated Milgrams study but measured whether people were internals or externals.
37% of internals did not continue to highest level, while just 23% of externals resisted the orders.
Increases validity of this explanation for obedience

Question 46

One strength of dissenting peers to resist CONFORMITY

Answer 46

Albrecht et al (2006)
In programme to help pregnant adolescents stop smoking, social support was given by an older “buddy”.
These adolescents were less likely to smoke at the end of the programme than a control group without a buddy.

Question 47

One strength of dissenting peers to resist OBEDIENCE

Answer 47

Gamson et al (1982)
Groups of people asked to give evidence for an oil company to use in a smear campaign.
29 of 33 groups (88%) rebelled against orders, far higher than the 35% who resisted in Milgrams study.
Shows supporters can undermine authority’s legitimacy and reduce obedience.

Question 48

What is minority influence

Answer 48

Refers to how one person or small group influence the majority.
Different to conformity where the majority influences the minority (majority influence)

Question 49

What 3 things are needed for minority influence

Answer 49

Consistency

Commitment

Flexibility

Question 50

Importance of Commitment in minority influence

Answer 50

Show deep involvement
Gains attention through extreme demonstrations and risk.
Augmentation principle - makes majority pay attention; “wow, he must really believe in what he’s saying so I should consider his view”.

Question 51

Importance of Flexibility in minority influence

Answer 51

Show willingness to listen to others
Balancing consistency and flexibility to not seem rigid.
Nee the (1986) argued that repeating same argument consistently is seen as off putting and rigid to majority.
Minority should adapt their view and accept reasonable counter arguments.

Question 52

Importance of consistency in minority influence

Answer 52

Means minority view gains more interest
Makes others rethink their views; “maybe they have a point if they keep saying it.
Two parts:
- Synchronic consistency: people in minority all say the same thing
- Diachronic consistency: they’ve been saying same things for some time

Question 53

What are the two parts of consistency

Answer 53

Synchronic consistency - minority all say the same thing

Diachronic consistency - been saying the same things for some time

Question 54

What is the process of minority influence

Answer 54

Individuals think deeper about minority view as it is new
Snowballs - over time more people become converted and convert others.
The more this happens the faster the rate of conversion
Gradually minority view becomes majority view and societal change occurs

Question 55

Who founded minority influence

Answer 55

Moscovici et al (1969)

Question 56

What was Moscovici’s study

Answer 56

Group of six people (two confederates, four Ps)
Viewed 36 blue slides of varying intensities.
Asked to state whether they thought the slide was blue or green.

Question 57

What did Moscovici find in his study

Answer 57

In one condition, confederates answered green for every slide, and participants gave wrong answer (green) on 8% of trials.
In another condition, the confederate minority were inconsistent, saying green 24 times and blue 12 times. Participants gave wrong answer 1.25% of the time.
In control group, wrong answer was given 0.25% of time.

Question 58

What is a strength of minority influence

Answer 58

Wood et al (1994)
Meta-analysis of almost 100 similar studies
Found minorities seen as being consistent were most influential.
Confirms consistency is a major factor in social influence.

Question 59

What is a limitation of minority influence

Answer 59

Often involves artificial tasks, which are very different from real life minorities changing minds of a majority, e.g a jury with someone’s life hanging in the balance will have different stakes and behaviours compared to coloured slides.
This suggests that studies into minority influence lack external validity.

Question 60

How can minority influence cause social change (give real life example)

Answer 60

Civil rights movement in America

Question 61

What process does minority influence follow that is reflected in the RWA of minority influence

Answer 61

1) Drawing attention:
Civil rights marches draw attention to the issues like segregation by providing social proof.
2) Consistency:
People took part in marches on large scale, despite being minority of US populace, still displayed consistency.
3) Deeper processing:
Activism meant many people who accepted status quo thought deeply about injustice of it
4) Augmentation principle:
Personal risk taken by the protestors, who were often beaten, strengthened (augmented) their message.
5) Snowball effect:
Activists like MLK got attention of more and more people until attention of government and Civil Rights Act was passed.
6) Social cryptomnesia:
Social change came about but some people have no memory (cryptomnesia) of the events leading up to the change.