Social Influence Flashcards
(46 cards)
1.
What is internalisation in comformity
A person genuinely accepts the group norms. This results in a private as well as public change of opinion/behaviour. This change is permanent. The attitudes have become internalised (become part of the way the person thinks). Occurs even in the absence of other group members.
what is identification in conformity
We may conform to the opinions/behaviours of a group because we value something about that group. We identify with the group, so we want to be part of it. This may mean we publicly and privately change our opinions/behaviours, but only while the group is present
What is compliance in conformity
This is simply ‘going along with others’ in public, but privately not changing personal opinions/behaviours. Compliance results in only a superficial change. It also means that as soon as the group pressure stops, the behaviour or opinion stops.
What is ISI
Informational social influence - This is about who has better information often we are uncertain as to what behaviours or beliefs are right or wrong. We conform to get information as we want to avoid a state of uncertain/confusion. ISI is a cognitive process because it is to do with what you think.
What is NSI
Normative social influence - This is when we conform to be socially accepted. People do not like to appear foolish and prefer to gain social approval rather than be rejected. So NSI is an emotional rather than a cognitive process.
How does NSI lead to identification
Normative Social Influence leads to identification because an individual changes their behaviour in the short term to ‘fit in’ with their group
How does NSI lead to compliance
Normative Social Influence leads to compliance because an individual changes their behaviour in the short term to gain acceptance and avoid embarrassment
How does ISI lead to internalisation
Informational social influence leads to internalisation because private beliefs change. A new belief is accepted because an individual believes someone else has ‘better’ information than them.
What was the procedure of Aschs study to conformity
Tested conformity by showing two white cards at the same time – on one card was a ‘standard line’ and on the other were three ‘comparison lines’
· One of the three lines was the same length as the standard, and the other two lines were clearly wrong
· The participant was asked which of the three lines matched the standard
· The participants in this study were 123 American male undergraduates
· Each participant was tested individually with a group of between 6 and 8 confederates
· On the first few trails all the confederates gave the right answer, but then they started making errors. All confederates were instructed to make the same wrong answers
· Each participant took part in 18 trials, and in 12 ‘critical’ trials the confederates gave the wrong answer
What were the findings of Aschs study to conformity
The participant gave the wrong answer 36.8% of the time · Overall 25% of the participants did not conform on any trials, meaning 75% conformed at least once ·
The term Asch effect has been used to describe this result – the extent to which participants conform even when the situation is unambiguous · When participants were interviewed afterwards most said they conformed to avoid rejection (NSI)
How did group size affect Aschs study
Group size: Asch found that with 3 confederates conformity to the wrong answer rose to 31.8%. but the addition of further confederates after that made little difference. So a small majority is not sufficient for influence to be exerted, but there is no need for a majority of more than three
How did unanimity affect Aschs study
Unanimity: he introduced a confederate who disagreed with the others – sometimes he gave the right answer and sometimes he gave the wrong one. The presence of a dissenting confederate reduced conformity. The figure was on average 25% conformity. The participant was able to behave more independently
How did task difficulty affect Aschs study
Task difficulty: He made the stimulus line and comparison lines more similar in length. Conformity increased in these conditions. This suggests that ISI becomes more important when the task is harder
Explain lack of temporal validity as a weakness to Aschs study
P: One weakness of Asch’s study is that it lacks temporal validity.
E: For example, Perrin and Spencer (1980) repeated Asch’s original study with engineering students in the UK. Only one student conformed in a total of 396 trials.
E: This is an issue because it may be that in the 1950s (when Asch conducted his research) it was more conformist time in America, and so conforming made sense to establish social norms. However, nowadays we live a much less conformist society where we are more readily encouraged to be independent and individual.
L: As a result this questions the credibility of Asch’s research and it’s applicability to the modern day.
Explain lack of ecological validity as a weakness to Aschs study
P: Another weakness of Asch’s study is that it lacks ecological validity.
E: For example, Asch’s research was conducted in an artificial setting, whereby not only were participants aware that they were being studied and may have shown demand characteristics, the groups they were in and the task they were doing was not that in nature of an everyday task.
E: This is an issue because the findings do not generalise to everyday situations, especially when the consequences of conformity might be more important, and when we interact with other people in groups in a much more direct way.
L Therefore as a result, the validity of Asch’s research is compromised, and the overall credibility is reduced.
Explain gender bias as a weakness of Aschs study
P: A final issue with Asch’s research is that it is gender bias E: For example, in Asch’s study only men were used (not women).
E: This is an issue because the findings of Asch’s study cannot be generalised to women. It is widely believed that women may respond to conformity differently to men, and that they might be more conformist as they are more concerned about social relationships (and being accepted) than men are.
L: As a result, the credibility of Asch’s research into conformity is weakened.
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What is situational behaviour
Behaviour that can occur due to the features of the situation
What is dispositional behaviour
behaviour traits that remain stable overtime
What was the aim of zimbardos study
to investigate how individuals would conform to social roles they were given
What is the procedure of Zimbardos study
They advertised for students willing to volunteer and selected those deemed ‘emotionally stable’ after extensive psychological testing.
· The students were randomly assigned the roles of guards or prisoners. The ‘prisoners’ were arrested in their homes by the local police and then delivered to the ‘prison’.
· They were blindfolded, strip-searched, deloused and issued a uniform and a number.
· The social roles of guards and prisoners were strictly divided. Theprisoners’ daily routines were heavily regulated. There were 16 rules they had to follow, which were enforced by guards who worked in shifts (3 at a time).
· The prisoners’ names were never used, only their numbers.
· The guards had their own uniform, complete with wooden club, handcuffs, keys and mirror shades. They were told they had complete power over the prisoners, for instance even deciding when they could go to the toilet.
What are the findings of Zimbardos
After a slow start to the simulation, the guards took up their roles with enthusiasm.
Their behaviour became such a threat to the prisoners’ psychological and physical health that the study was stopped after 6 days instead of the intended 14
· Within 2 days, the prisoners had rebelled against the harsh treatment from the guards by ripping their uniforms, shouting and swearing but the guards retaliated with fire extinguishers ·
The guards played the prisoners off against each other (‘divide-and-rule’ tactics). They harassed prisoners constantly e.g. conducting frequent headcounts, sometimes in the middle of the night ·
The guards also highlighted the difference in social roles by creating plenty of opportunities to enforce the rules and punish the smallest of misdemeanours ·
After their rebellion was put down, the prisoners became depressed, subdued and anxious · 1 prisoner was released on day 1 for showing signs of psychological disturbance · 2 more were released on the 4th day ·
One prisoner went on hunger strike, but he was put in ‘the hole’ (a tiny dark closet) and was shunned rather than celebrated by the other prisoners ·
The guards began to identify with their role, and grew ever more brutal and aggressive, seemingly enjoying the power they had over the prisoners
What was the conclusion of Zimbardos study
The simulation revealed the power of the situation to influence people’s behaviour. Guards, prisoners and researchers all conformed to their roles within the prison. These roles were very easily taken on by the participants – even volunteers who came in to perform certain functions (e.g. the ‘prison chaplain’) found themselves behaving as if they were in prison rather than in a psychological study
Explain internal validity as a strength of Zimbardos study
P: One strength of Zimbardo’s research is that it has high internal validity.
E: For example, Zimbardo had high control over several variables, including the selection of participants. Zimbardo was able to screen for emotionally stable individuals and randomly assign them to the roles of guards and prisoners.
E: This is a strength because this method ruled out individual personality differences. If guards and prisoners behaved very differently, but were in those roles by chance, their behaviour must have been due to the pressures of the situation, and nothing else.
L: As a result, the internal validity of Zimbardo’s research into conformity is increased, which increases the credibility of the research overall.
Explain lack of mundane realism as a weakness of Zimbardos study
P: One issue with Zimbardo’s SPE is that it lacked mundane realism.
E: For example, Banuzazi and Mohavedi (1975) argued that participants were merely play-acting rather than genuinely conforming to the role. Their performances were based on stereotypes of how guards and prisoners should act. One of the guards claimed he had based his role on a brutal character from the film Cold Hand Luke.
E: This is an issue because if the participants were simply acting how they thought they should act, these demand characteristics mean that the internal validity of Zimbardo’s research is reduced and so there was no occurrence of conformity.
L: As a result, the overall credibility and internal validity of Zimbardo’s research into conformity is questioned
