Social Influence Flashcards
(33 cards)
Conformity
Accepting influence as a result from exposure to the majority position and leads to compliance with position. Tendency to adopt the behaviours the majority group hold.
Types of Conformity - Internalisation
Accepting influence because the content of the attitude or behaviour being proposed is consistent with their own values.
Types of Conformity - Compliance
Accepting influence because they hope to achieve a favourable reaction from those around them. Attitude/behaviour adopted not because of content but because of reward associated with it.
Types of Conformity - Identification
A form of influence where an individual adopts an attitude or behaviour because they want to be associated with a certain group.
Explanation of Conformity - Informational Social Influence
A form of influence which is the result of a desire to be right.
Explanations of Conformity - Normative Social Influence
A form of influence whereby an individual conforms with the expectations of the majority in order to gain approval.
Key Study: Asch-(1956) - Procedure
-Lines
-123 male US undergraduates participants
-presented with three lines, asked to state which of the three lines was the same length as the standard line.
-On 12/18 of the trials, confederates were asked to give the same wrong answer.
AIM: To see if the real participants would stick to what they believed was right or cave into the pressure of the majority.
Key Study: Asch-(1956) - Findings
-On the 12 critical trials the average conformity rate was 33% - ppts agreed with the incorrect response given by the confederates.
-When Asch interviewed the ppts after, the majority of the ppts stated they continued to privately trust their own perceptions and judgements.
Variables Affecting Conformity: Group Size
-little conformity when the group was limited to one or two confederates
-conformity jumped to 30% when there was three confederates in the group
-Further increases in group size did not impact conformity levels, suggesting whilst group size is important, it is limited.
Variables affecting Conformity: Unanimity of Majority
-When real participant was given the support of another(either real ppt or a confederate), conformity levels dropped from 33% to 5%.
Variables affecting Conformity: Task Difficulty
-In one condition, Asch made the difference between the lines much smaller making it less clear which the correct line was.
-Under theses circumstances, levels of conformity increased.
Key Study: Zimbardo & Haney-(1973) - Procedure
-Stanford Prison Experiment
-Conformity to Social Roles
-Mock prison set up in the basement of Stanford University.
-Male student volunteers were psychologically and physically screened and then randomly assigned to either Guard or Prisoner role.
-Prisoners were unexpectedly arrested at home and on entry to the ‘prison’ were given prison uniforms and assigned an ID number, which they were only referred to as.
- Guards were given uniforms, whistles, clubs an wore reflective sunglasses to prevent eye contact.
-Zimbardo took the role of Prison Superintendent.
Key Study: Zimbardo & Haney-(1973) - Findings
-Stanford Prison Experiment
-Conformity to Social Roles
-Guards grew increasingly tyrannical/abusive, forced prisoners to complete degrading activities.
-Some guards were so enthusiastic they volunteered to do extra hours.
-Five prisoners had to be released early due to extreme reactions.
-Study was terminated after only 6 days
-Study demonstrated that both guards and prisoners conformed to their social roles.
Situational Factors affecting Obedience
Key Study: Milgram - (1963) - Procedure
Teacher/Learner
-Studied 40 ppts at a time over a series of conditions.
-Ppts told it was a study on how punishment affects learning.
-Conducted at Yale University.
-Study was rigged so real ppt was always the teacher and confederate was the learner (who was told to be another ppt).
-Teacher required to test learner on his ability to remember word pairs, with every time the learner got one wrong, the teacher was forced to administer electric shocks, starting at 15 volts and reaching a maximum of 450 volts.
Key Study: Milgram - (1963) - Findings
-Milgram, fellow psychologists and students predicted the max voltage teachers would administer was 150 volts and none would administer the maximum 450 voltage.
-However, in the voice feedback condition(where the learner would sit in another room), 26 of the 40 ‘teacher’ ppts continued to the max voltage of 450.
-All ppts went to 300 volts with only five stopping there.
Situational Factors Affecting Obedience
-Proximity
-Both teacher and learner were in the same room, obedience levels fell to 40% as the teacher was able to feel the learner’s anguish directly.
-Milgram found the absence of the experimenter in the room, and the receiving of instructions over a telephone resulted in the majority of ppts defying the experimenter and only 20% administrating the shocks.
Situational Factors Affecting Obedience
-Location
-Several ppts marked the location of the study (Stanford University) assured them on the integrity of the people involve.
-To test if ppts would still obey instructions, Milgram did another condition with the study taking place in a run down office in Connecticut, Milgram found obedience rates did drop but only slightly to 48%.
Situational Factors Affecting Obedience
-Power of Uniform
-Uniforms are easily recognizable and convey power and authority.
-(Bushman) carried out a study where a female researcher dressed as either a policewoman, a businessman or a beggar and asked people in the street to give money to a confederate who needed money for parking.
-When she was in the uniform, obedience was 72% whilst when she was in the beggar outfit. it was only 52%.
The Agentic State
-A person sees themselves as an agent for carrying out another person’s wishes.
-Shift from an autonomous state to agentic state.
-One explanation for why people shift to an agentic state is a need to maintain a positive self-image.
-In Milgram’s Obedience Study, teachers may of have assessed the consequences of their actions and refrain to maintain a positive self-image.
Legitimacy of Authority
-A person who is believed to be in a position of social control in a situation
-If an authority figure’s commands are of a potentially harmful or destructive nature for them to be perceived as legitimate they must occur within some sort of institutional structure.
Real Life Application
-Milgram found a definitive example of the genetic shift could be found in the actions of the American Soliders - Vietnam 1968
-My Tai Village, US soliders order to kill innocent elderly, women and children by commander, Lt William Calley.
- In military trial, Calley refused to accept guilt and stated he too was just following the orders of his commanding officer, and was not in control of his choices.
The Authoritarian Personality
-Personality type characterized by strict adherence to conventional values and a belief in absolute obedience or submission to authority.
The F-Scale
-The Californian (F)ascist Scale was used by Adorno to measure the different components that make up the Authoritarian Personality
