Social Influence

Question 1

what are the three types of conformity

Answer 1

internalisation, identification and compliance

Question 2

what is internalisation

Answer 2

this occurs when a person genuinely accepts the social norms. this results in a private as well as a public change of opinions / behaiviour. this change is usually permanent as attitudes have been internalised.

Question 3

what is identification

Answer 3

sometimes we conform to the opinions/ behaviour of a group because there is something about that group we value. we publicily change our opinions/ behaiviour to be accepted by the group, even if we dont privately agree.

Question 4

what is compliance

Answer 4

involves simply going along with others in public, but privately not changing personal opinions/ or behaiviour.

Question 5

what are the two main reasons people conform

Answer 5

informational social influence and normative social influence

Question 6

what is informational social influence

Answer 6

this is about who has the better information - you or the rest of the group. we follow the behaiviour of the group because we want to be right. isi is a cognitive process because it is to do with what you think. it leads to a permanent change (internalisiation).

Question 7

what is normative social influence

Answer 7

this is about norms. norms regulate the behaviour of groups and individuals so it is not suprising that we pay attention to them. people prefer to gain social approval rather than be rejected. nsi is an emotional process. it leads to temporary change (compliance).

Question 8

strength for normative social influence

Answer 8

evidence supports it as an explanation of conformity. for example, when asch interviewed his participants, some said they conformed because they felt self-conscious givign the correct answer and they were afraid of disapproval. when participants wrote them down conformity fell to 12.5% . this is because giving answers privately meant there was no normative group pressure.

Question 9

strength for informational social influence

Answer 9

there is research evidence to support isi from the study by todd lucas et al. he found that participants conformed more often to incorrect answers they were given when the maths problems were difficult. this is because when the problems were easy the participants ‘knew their own minds’ but when the problems were hard the situation became unclear. this shows that isi is a valid explanation of conformity because the results are what isi would predict.

Question 10

weakness for isi and nsi

Answer 10

it is often unclear whether it is nsi or isi at work in research studies. for example, asch found that conformity is reduced when there is one other dissenting participant. they may reduce the power of isi or nsi. both interpretations are possible. therefore it is hard to seperate isi and nsi and both probably operate together in most real world conformity situations.

Question 11

limitation of nsi

Answer 11

nsi does not predict conformity in every case. some people are greatly concerned with being liked by others. such people are called nafflilators. mcghee and teevan found that students who were naffilators were more likely to conform. this shows that nsi underlies conformity for some people more than it does for others. there are individual differences in conformity that cannot be fully explained

Question 12

what was ashch’s baseline procedure

Answer 12

to assess what extent people will conform to the opinions of others, even in a situation where the answer was certain.

Question 13

what were the three variable investigated by asch

Answer 13

group size, unanimity and task difficulty

Question 14

how did asch test group size

Answer 14

he varied the number of confederates from 1 to 15. asch found a curvlinear relationship between group size and conformity rates. conformity increased with group size. with three confederates, conformity to the wrong answer rose to 31.8%/ this suggests that people are very sensitive to the views of others.

Question 15

how did asch test unanimity

Answer 15

asch wondered if the presence of a non conforming person would affect the naiive persons conformity. he introduced a confederate who disagreed with other confederates. in one variation he gave a correct answer, in another he gave a wrong one. the presence of a dissenter appeared to free the naiive participant to behave more independently. this suggests that the influence of the majority depends to a large extent on it being unanimous.

Question 16

how did asch test task difficulty

Answer 16

he increased the difficulty of the line judging task by making the stimulus line and the comparison lines more similar to each other in length. this meant it became harder for pps to see the difference in the length. asch found that conformity increased. it may be that the situation is more ambiguous when the task becomes harder. this includes informational social influence.

Question 17

one limitation of aschs research

Answer 17

the task and situation were artificial. participants knew they were in a research study and may have simple gone along with what was expected. according to susan fiske they did not really resemble groups that we experience in everyday life. this means findings dont generalise to real world situations

Question 18

another limitation of aschs study

Answer 18

the participants were only american men other research suggests that women may be more conformist possibly because they are concerned about social relationships and being accepted. the usa is an individualist culture. this means that aschs findings tell us little about conformity in women and people from some cultures.

Question 19

a strength of aschs study

Answer 19

support from the other studies for the effects of tasks. eg todd lucas et al asked their pps to solve east and hard questions. participants were given answers from three other students. the participants conformed more often when the problems were more harder. this shows that asch was correct in claiming that task difficulty is one variable that affects conformity.

Question 20

counterpoint for strength of aschs study

Answer 20

however, lucas et als study found that conformity is more complex than asch suggested. participants with high confidence in their maths abilities conformed less on hard tasks than those with low confidence. this shows that individual level factor can influence conformity by interacting with situational variables.

Question 21

zimbardos research : the stanford prison experiment procedure

Answer 21

they set up a mock prison in the basement of the psychology department at stanford university. they selected 21 male student volunteers who tested as ‘emotionally stable’. the students were randomly assigned to play the role of prison guard or prisoner . prisoners and guards were told to conform to social roles both through the uniforms they wore and also instructions about their behaviour.

Question 22

the uniform in the stanford prison experiment

Answer 22

the prisoners were given a loose smock to wear and a cap to cover their hair. they were identified by their numbers. the guards had their own uniform reflecting the status of their role. uniforms created a loss of personal identity (de -individuation)

Question 23

instructions about behaviour in the stanford prison experiment

Answer 23

the prisoners were further encouraged to identify with their role by several procedures. for example rather than leaving the study early, prisoners could ‘apply for the parole’. the guards were encouraged to pay their role by being reminded that they had complete power over the prisoners.

Question 24

findings of zimbardos research of the stanford prison experiment

Answer 24

the guards took up their roles treating the prisoners harshly. within two days, the prisoners rebelled. (ripping of uniform, shouting, swearing). the guards harassed the prisoners constantly, to remind them of the powerlessness of their role. for example they conducted frequent handouts. the guards highlighted the difference in social roles by treating opportunities to enforce the rules and administer punishments. after the rebellion was put down , the prisoners became depressed. 1 was released due to symptoms of psychological disturbance. the guards became increasingly brutal. zimabardo ended the study after six days instead of 14.

Question 25

conclusion of zimbardos research- the stanford prison experiment

Answer 25

social roles appear to have a strong influence on individuals behaviour. the guards became brutal and the prisoners became submissive.

Question 26

strength of the stanford prison experiment

Answer 26

zimabardo and his colleagues had control over key variables. for example, the selection of participants . emotionally stable individuals were chosen and randomly assigned to the roles of guard and prisoners. this was one way in which researchers ruled out individual personality differences. this degree of control over variables increased the internal validity of the study meaning we can be much more confident in drawing conclusions about the influence of roes on conformity.

Question 27

limitation of the stanford prison experiment

Answer 27

it did not have the realism of a true prison. banuazizi and movahedi argued the participants were merely play-acting rather than genuinely conforming to a role. participants performance were based on their stereotypes of how prisoners and guards are supposed to behave. for example, one of the guards claimed he had based his role on a brutal character from a film. this suggests that the findings of the spe tell us little about conformity to social roles in actual prisons.

Question 28

another limitation of the stanford prison experiment

Answer 28

zimbardo may have exaggerated the power of social roles to influence behaviour. for example, only one third of the guards actually behaved in a brutal manner. another third tried to apply the rules fairly. the rest actively tried to help and support the prisoners. most guards were able to resist situational pressures to conform to a brutal role. this suggests that zimbardo overstated his view that spe participants were conforming to social roles and minimised the influence of dispositional factors. (personality)

Question 29

definition of obedience

Answer 29

a form of social influence in which an individual follows a direct order. the person issuing the order is usually a figure of authority.

Question 30

definition of conformity

Answer 30

a change in a persons behaviour or opinions as a result of real or imagined pressure from a person or group of people

Question 31

procedure of milgrams research

Answer 31

40 american men volunteered to take part in a study at yale university in the usa. the volunteers were introduced to participants. draw was fixed so the participant was always the teacher. the experimenter was dressed in a grey lab coat. the teacher could not see the learner but could hear him. the teacher had to give the learner an electric shock every time the learner made a mistake on the memory task. the volts increased with each mistake by 15 volts each time to 450 volts.

Question 32

findings of milgrams research

Answer 32

every participant delivered all the shocks upto 300 volts. 12.5% (5) stopped at 300 volts. 65% continued to the highest level of 450 volts (fully obedient). the participants also showed signs of extreme tension, sweating, biting nails and three people had seizures.

Question 33

conclusion of milgrams research

Answer 33

he concluded that german people are not different. the american participants in his study were willing to obey orders even when they might harm another person.

Question 34

strength of milgrams findings

Answer 34

it was replicated in a french documentary that was made about reality tv. the documentary focused on a game show. the pps in the game believed they were contestants in a pilot episode for a new show. they were paid to give electric shocks to other people infront of a audience. 80% of the participants delivered the maximum shock of 460 volts to an apparently unconscious man. their behaviour was almost identical to milgrams participants - biting, sweating, nailbiting. this supports milgrams original findings about obedience to authority, and demonstrates that the findings were not just due to special circumstances.

Question 35

limitation of milgrams procedure

Answer 35

it had low internal validity. his procedure may not have been testing what he intended to test. 75% of his participants said they believed that shocks were genuine. orne and holland argues that the participants behaved as they did because they were just 'play-acting'. perries research confirms this. she listened to tapes of milgrams research and she reported that only about half of them believed the shocks were real. 2/3 were disobedient. this suggests that participants may have been responding to demand characteristics.

Question 36

counterpoint for limitation on milgrams procedure

Answer 36

sheridan and king conducted a study using a procedure like milgrams. in this study participants gave real shocks to puppy in response to orders from an experimenter. 54% of the male students and 100% of the females delivered what they thought was a fatal shock. this suggests that the effects in milgrams study were genuine because people behaved obediently even when the shocks are real.

Question 37

another limitation of milgrams conclusion

Answer 37

it may not be justified haslam et al showed that milgrams participants obeyed when the experimenter delivered the first three verbal prods. however, every participant who was given the fourth prod (you have no other choice, you must go on) without exception disobeyed. according to social identity theory , participants only obeyed when they identified with the scientific aims. this shows that sit ma provide a more valid interpretation of milgrams findings, as milgram himself suggested that identifying with the science is a reason for obedience.

Question 38

what are the three situational variables

Answer 38

proximity, location, uniform

Question 39

proximity in milgrams study

Answer 39

in the proximity variation, teacher and learner were in the same room. the obedience rate fropped from the original 65% to 40%. in the touch proximity variation, the experimenter left the room and gave instructions to the teacher by telephone. obedience reduced to 20.5%

Question 40

explanation of proximity

Answer 40

decreased proximity allows people to psychologically distance themselves from the consequences of their actions. for example,when the teacher and learner were physically seperated,the teacher was less aware of the harm they were causing to another person so they were more obedient

Question 41

location in milgrams study

Answer 41

milgram conducted a variation in a run down office block rather than in the prestigious yale university. in this location, obedience fell to 47.5%

Question 42

explanation of location

Answer 42

the prestigious university environment gave milgrams study legitmacy and authority. participants were more obedient in this location because they perceived that the experimenter shared this legitmacy and that obedience was expected. however, obedience was still quite high in the office block because the participants perceived the 'scientific' nature of the procedure.

Question 43

uniform in milgrams study

Answer 43

the experimentor wore a grey lab coat as a symbol of his authority. in one variation the experimenter left and was take over by an ordinary memeber ( a confederate) in everyday clothes rather than a lab coat. the obedience rate dropped to 20%, the lowest of these variations.

Question 44

explanation of uniform

Answer 44

uniforms encourage obedience because they are widely recognised as symbols of authority. theit authority is legitimate.

Question 45

strength of situational variables

Answer 45

other studies have demonstrated the influence of situational variables in obedience in a field experiment, bickman had 3 confederates dress in different outfits. they all asked individually to pick up litter people were twice as likely to obey the assisstant dressed as a security guard than the one dressed in a jacket or tie this supports the view that situational variable, such as a uniform does have a powerful effect on obedience

Question 46

another strength of situational variables

Answer 46

his findings have been replicated in other cultures meeus and rajimakers used a more realistic procedure. the participants were ordered to say stressful things in an interview to someone desperate for a job. 90% of the participants obeyed. when the person giving the orders wasnt present, obedience decreased dramatically this suggests that milgrams findings about obedience are not just limited to americans or males but are valid across cultures and can apply to females

Question 47

a limitation of situational variable

Answer 47

it had low internal validity. participants may have been aware the procedure was faked orne and holland made this criticism and stated that this is even more likely because of the extra manipulation of variables. for example the variation where the experimenter was replaced by someone else. therefore in all of milgrams studies it is unclear whether the findings are genuienly due to the operation or because the participants saw through the deception.

Question 48

name the situational explanations of obedience

Answer 48

agentic state and legitimacy of authority

Question 49

what is agentic state

Answer 49

Milgram suggested that people can enter an 'agentic state' in which they pass responsibility for their actions onto those giving the orders. The more legitimate an authority figure is, the more likely they are to be obeyed.

Question 50

two states of agenitics state

Answer 50

autonomous state and agenitc state

Question 51

autonomous state meaning

Answer 51

When people have control and act according to their own wishes, they are said to be in ‘autonomous state’.

Question 52

agentic state meaning

Answer 52

When a person obeys an authority figure, they give up some free will and enter into an ‘agentic state’.

Question 53

what is binding factors

Answer 53

many of his participants wanted to stop but felt powerless. this is because of binding factors. this is aspects of a situation that allow the person to ignore or minimise the damaging effect.

Question 54

research evidence on agentic state

Answer 54

In Milgram's (1963) famous study on obedience, he noted that during de-brief, participants admitted to feeling under ‘moral strain’, but still continued to obey. This is consistent with an agentic state. He also found that when the researchers were not in the same room as the teachers and gave instructions via a telephone, obedience fell from 62.5% to 20.4%. This is consistent with an autonomous state.

Question 55

strength of agentic state

Answer 55

milgrams own studies support the role of agentic state in obedience most of the pps resisted giving shocks at one point and asked the experimenter questions like 'who is responsible'. when the experimenter answered 'im responsible' the pps went through the precoedure with no objections this shows that once participants perceived they were no longer responsible for their own behaviour, they acted more easily as the experimenters agent.

Question 56

limitation of agentic state

Answer 56

it doesnt explain many research findings about obedience for example, it doesnt not explain finidngs of rank and jacobsons study. they found that 16/18 hospital nurses disobeyed orders from a doctor to adminsiter an excessive drug dose to a patient. the doctore was an obvious authority figure. but almost all the nurses remained autonomous. this suggests that the agentic state can only account for some situations of obedience

Question 57

what is legitimacy of authority

Answer 57

People who are obedient accept the power and status of legitimate authority figures to give orders. There are social roles within a hierarchy. The higher up the social hierarchy, the more perceived authority a person has, and the more likely they are to be obeyed.

Question 58

what is destructive authority

Answer 58

problems arise when legitimate authority becaomes destructive. powerful leaders can use their powers fro destructive puropses

Question 59

strength of legitimacy of authority

Answer 59

it is a useful account of cultural differences in obedience many studies show that countries differ to which people are obedient to authority. for example kilham and mann found that only 16% of female australian participants went all the way upto 450 volts in milgrams study. however in germany it was 85% this shows that in some cultures authority is more likely to be accepted as legitimate and entitled to demand obedience.

Question 60

limitation of legitimacy of authority

Answer 60

legitiamcy canot explain instances of disobedience in a hierarchy for example, the nurses in rank and jacobsons study. most of them were disobedient eventhough they were working in a rigidly hierarchical authority structure. this suggests that some people may just be more or less obedient than others.

Question 61

what is the dispositional explanation on obedience

Answer 61

authoritarian personality

Question 62

what is authoritarian personality

Answer 62

Adorno proposed the concept of the authoritarian personality as an explanation of dispositional obedience Adorno's theory claims that personality develops as a result of childhood experiences the theory takes the nurture side of the nature/nurture debate nurture includes any external influence on personality/behaviour, e.g. upbringing, learning, environment

Question 63

the procedure of adornos research of hte authoritarian personality

Answer 63

Adorno (1950) devised a questionnaire known as the F-scale to measure the authoritarian personality ‘F’ on the scale denotes a rating of fascism 'Young people sometimes get rebellious ideas, but as they grow up they ought to get over them and settle down' fixed responses on the scale ranged from 'Disagree strongly' to 'Agree strongly' More than 2,000 middle-class white Americans completed the scale note that the sample demographic did not represent all racial and ethnic groups in the USA at the time The scale was designed to reveal attitudes towards other racial groups

Question 64

findings of the research (adorno)

Answer 64

Adorno concluded that people with an authoritarian personality exhibit the following traits: They are more obedient than other people They respect social hierarchies and authority figures They are ‘black and white’ in their opinions and see the world in a rigid, inflexible way, e.g. ‘men should be real men and not show emotion’

Question 65

strength of dispositional explanation of obedience

Answer 65

is evidence form milgram supporting the authoritarian personality elms and milgram interviewed asmall sample of people who had participated inthe original obedience study and been fully obedient they all completed the f -scale.these pps scored significantly higher on the f-scale compared to 20 disobedient participant. this suggests thst adorno et als view that obedient people may have similar characterisitcs to people who have an authoritatarian personality

Question 66

limitation of the authoritarian personality

Answer 66

authoritarianism cannot explain obedient nehaviour in the majority of the countries population for example in the pre was germany millions were displayed as obedient, racist and anti-semitic behaviour. they must have differed in their personalities in all sorts of ways. it is extremely unlikely theyculdl all posses an authoritarian perosnality therefore adornos theory is limited because an alternative explanation is much more realistic

Question 67

what is social support

Answer 67

the presence of people who resist pressure to conform or obey can help others to do the same. these people act as modes to show others that resistance to social influence is possible.

Question 68

two types of social support

Answer 68

resisting conformity and resisting obedience

Question 69

what is resisting conformity

Answer 69

the pressure to conform can be resisted if there are other people who are not conforming. simply the fact that someone else is not following the majority is social support. it enables the naive participant to be free to follow their own conscience.

Question 70

what is resisting obedience

Answer 70

the pressure to obey can be resisted if there is another person who is seen to disobey. in one of milgrams variations, the rate of obedience dropped from 65% to 10% when the genuine participant was joined by a disobedient confederate. the disobedient model challenges the legitimacy of the authority figure, making it easier for others to disobey

Question 71

what is locus of control

Answer 71

refers to the sense we each have about direct events in our lives. internals believe that they are mostly responsible for what happens to them (internal locus of control). externals believe it is mainly a matter of luck or other outside forces (external locus of control)

Question 72

what is the LOC contimum

Answer 72

LOC is a scale and individuals vary in their position on it. So, high internals LOC is one end of the contimum and high external at the other

Question 73

link resistance to social influence with locus of control

Answer 73

people with high internal LOC are more able to resist pressures to conform or obey. if a person takes personal responsibility for their actions, they tend to base their decisions on their own beliefs rather than depending on the opinions of others.

Question 74

strength of social support

Answer 74

positive effects of social support albrecht et al evaluated teen fresh start, an 8 week programme to help pregnant women (14-19) resist peer pressure to smoke. social support was provided by a slightly older mentor at the end of the programme women who has a buddy were less likely to smoke than a group of pps who did not have a buddy this shows that social support can help young people resist social influence as part of an intervention in the real world.

Question 75

another strength of social support

Answer 75

research to support the role of dissenting peers in resisting obedience gamson et als pps were told to produce evidence that would be used to help an oil company run a smear campaign. researchers found higher levels of resistance than milgram this is because the pps were in groups so could discuss what they were told to do. 29/33 groups of pps rebelled against their orders. this shows that peer support can lead to disobedience by undermining the legitimacy of an authority figure.

Question 76

a strength to support the link between LOC and resistance to obedience

Answer 76

research evidence to support holland repeated milgrams baseline study and measured whether pps were internals or externals. he found that 37% of the internals did not continue to the highest shock level, whereas only 23% of externals did not continue this shows that resistance is at least partly related to LOC, which increases the validity of LOC as an explanation of disobedience

Question 77

a limitation of the link between LOC and resistance

Answer 77

evidence that challenges the link between LOC and resistance Twenge at al analysed data from the american locus of control studies conducted over a 40 year period. the data showed that people became more resistant to obedience but also more external. if resistance is linked to internal locus of control, we would not expect people to have become more internal this suggests that locus of control is not a valid explanation of how people resist social influence.