Social Influence Flashcards
(31 cards)
Situational Factors Affecting Obedience - Proximity
The teacher and the learner were in the same room. Obedience dropped from 65% to 40%
In a different varaition the researcher gave the teacher instructions via phone, obedience dropped to 20.5%
Situational factors affecting obedience - touch proxemity
The teacher had to force the learners hard onto the electroshock plate. Obedience rate dropped to 30%
Situational factors affecting obedience- Location
Run down buliding instead of Yale - obedience fell to 47.5%
Situational factors affecting obedience - Uniform
Everyday clothes rather than a lab coat - obedience levels fell to 20%
Evaluation of Milgram’s Variations - Bickman
Pedestrians in New York were ordered by three men: milkman, civilian or guard
The participants were most likely to obey the guard, at 80%, than the milkman or civilian at only 40%
It was a field experiment
Effect of culture on obedience levels
Milgram’s experiment had been replicated in many countries. the obedience rate found in Australia was only 16% compared to 65% in the Usa for the same experiment
Effect of culture on obedience levels
Milgram’s experiment had been replicated in many countries. the obedience rate found in Australia was only 16% compared to 65% in the Usa for the same experiment
Hoffling - Obedient nurses
22 nurses recieved calls from a confederate pretending to he a doctor
They were instructed to give double the dosage of a made up drug (astrofen) and the doctor said he would sign it off later
21 out of 22 nurses complied
Rank and Jacobsen - Not so obedient nurses
Replicated Hoffling’s experiment but were told to administer a known drug, valium, at 3 times the dosage.
They were allowed to consult with other nurses prior and only 2 out of 18 complied.
Define Agentic Shift
The state where we give up our free will to focus on the orders of someone or something else
What is the autonomous state
Free thinking and able to make our own decisions
What is moral strain
The unpleasant feeling that we experience when we are pressurised to obey orders and commit an immoral act
What is moral strain
The unpleasant feeling that we experience when we are pressurised to obey orders and commit an immoral act
What is an authoritarian personality
When somebody is more likely to obey an authority figure
Caused by harsh/strict parenting
Adorno
Aim - find out unconscious views about prejudice through a questionnaire
Findings - People high on the F scale were more likely to categorise people into stereotypical categories
Conclusion - people with an authoritarian personality are more obedient to authority figures
Evaluation for authoritarian personality/F scale
Purely a correlation. Why is this an issue?
Lack of cause and effect, there may also be third variables such as lack of education
Evaluation for authoritarian personality
Limited explanation - millions of individuals in germany at the time displayed obedient and anti Semitic behaviour. Highly unlikely that they all had an authoritarian personality
What would be a more realistic explanation
Fear or falling for propaganda
How can social desirability bias be used to evaluate the F scale?
Lowers internal validity
People may change their answers in order to seem like a better person or out of fear of judgement
How can political bias be used to evaluate the F scale
Leans towards an extreme right wing ideology when authoritarian personality can also be seen on the extreme left eg Putin
Resistance to social influence - what makes people act independently
Social support
Non conforming role models
Too little or too many participants
Easier task
Giving answers in private
Allen and Levine
Conformity decreased even if the non conformer wore thick glasses and said he struggled with his vision
This highlights having any form of social support makes you more confident in your ability
Milgram - disobedient role model
The real participant was paired with two disobedient role models, who refused to continue
Obedience decreased from 65 to 10%
Locus of control
An individual’s perception about the underlying main causes of events in their life
External - blame others
Internal - blame themself
Explanations of conformity - NSI
People are conforming because they want to be liked
