Social Influence Flashcards
(17 cards)
Outline and explain the 3 types of conformity
Conformity is when an individual yields to a group pressure (majority influence), it can reduce a person’s independence, but also helps society to function smoothly and predictably.
Compliance is a weak, temporary form of conformity, where one agrees with majority influence publicly to gain approval and fit in, but disagrees privately.
Identification is where one has both public and private acceptance of majority influence to gain group acceptance, but is also temporary and not maintained after leaving the group.
Internalisation occurs when individuals genuinely adjust their behaviour and opinions to majority influence, and maintains it without the group.
Outline and evaluate informational social influence
ISI occurs in unfamiliar or ambiguous situations when people look to others for guidance in order to be correct. It is a form of internalisation as people trust the group opinion.
Jenness conducted a study where he used an ambiguous situation with a jar containing 811 beans, asking 101 psychology students to estimate the number of beans, individually, before discussing in threes and then individually again. He found that nearly all participants changed their original answer on the second estimate, demonstrating the power of conformity through ISI when the answer isn’t clear.
Although the experiment was ethical, it lacks ecological validity, it is not reflective of real life as participants were psychology students who may have had an understanding of the research, and this narrow group of people also causes a lack of generalisation.
Outline and explain normative social influence (using Asch’s research)
Normative social influence is a form of compliance as an individual wants to be liked, respected, and accepted by a group, so publicly follows the majority to fit in.
Asch conducted a study in an unambiguous situation (he used a control group with a fail rate of 0.04 to check the task was easy), where 123 male US students were each placed in groups of 8 confederates. They were asked which of the three lines matches line X. The confederates answered with a unanimous wrong answer in 12 of the 18 rounds (critical trials). He found that 75% of participants conformed at least once, 32% conformed on all critical trials, and 25% didn’t conform at all. This shows that participants felt the need to alter their answers to fit in with the group, even when the majority’s opinions are obviously wrong.
The study presents issues of ecological validity, gender bias, cultural bias, and lack of generalisation due to the limited sample size. It also breaks ethical guidelines- the participants were not aware of the confederates and so were deceived, and showed signs of stress and anxiety, so were not protected from harm. However, the study is influential and easy to replicate.
Outline and evaluate the variables that affect conformity
1) Size of the group- research shows that conformity rates increase as majority influence size increases, up to a point. Asch conducted a variation where conformity was low with one real participant and one confederate, rising to 13% with two confederates and 32%? with three. Adding extra had no further effect. Bond and Smith supported this with a meta-analysis of 133 Asch-type studies showing that conformity peaks with about 4-5 confederates.
2)Unanimity- Asch found that if there was one confederate that went against the others then conformity dropped from 32% to 5.5%, showing that it declines when majority influence is not unanimous.
3) Task difficulty- Greater conformity rates are seen as the right answer becomes less obvious, increasing ISI. Asch increased task difficulty by making the comparison lines similar to each other, finding that more participants conformed.
Outline and evaluate conformity to social roles as investigated by Zimbardo
Conformity to social roles involves identification, both public and private acceptance of social roles.
Zimbardo wanted to understand the brutal behaviour found in America, and investigate the extent to which people would conform to roles relating the situational or disposition hypothesis. He selected the 21 most mentally stable participants from 75 male university students- 11 guards and 10 prisoners who were arrested from their homes. They were placed in the basement of Stanford uni, and established a regular routine, with Zimbardo playing the role of the prison warden.
He found that dehumanisation was apparent with guards taunting prisoners with meaningless tasks, while they became submissive. Deindividuation was seen as prisoners referred to each other as their numbers. In later interviews, both guards and prisoners were surprised at the uncharacteristic behaviours they had shown. He concluded that the situational hypothesis favoured over the dispositional hypothesis, with guards and prisoners demonstrating social roles gained from media.
The observation had a high variable control as participants were screened for emotional stability and mental health issues.
However, it lacks ecological validity as some may have been acting- one guard admitted to styling his role on a film character. It was also extremely unethical as participants couldn’t provide informed consent and showed clear distress.
Outline and evaluate obedience and the work of Milgram
Milgram designed a study to measure how far participants would go in obeying an authority figure who instructed them to perform acts that conflicted with their personal conscience. He recruited 40 male participants through a newspaper ad for a study on memory at Yale. Participants were paid with a confederate, assigning roles through a rigged draw where the participant was always the teacher. The learner was strapped into an electric chair, while the teacher read 10 listed words to confederates, with predetermined wrong answers, resulting in a shock up to 450 volts, with a confederate experimenter instructing the participants with a firm tone. All participants continued to 300 volts, and 65% continued to 450 volts. They showed signs of extreme tension- seizures, sweating, nervous laughter. They found out that ordinary individuals are likely to follow orders given by an authority figure, and are willing to harm someone if the responsibility is passed onto someone else.
The study has a high level of control in the lab setting and a standardised procedure. However, it lacks ecological validity as it was in a lab. There are ethical issues as participants were caused psychological harm and were deceived, also, the sample was biased as they were all self selected American males with a volunteer personality.
Explain the ethical considerations of Milgram’s study
Milgram’s study had many ethical considerations.
1. Psychological harm- patients showed severe stress, supported by extreme physical reactions, shaking, sweating, and 3 seizures. However, only 2% had regrets about being involved, and a year later, none showed long-term damage.
2. Deception/lack of informed consent- participants could not give fully informed consent as they thought it was a memory test, however, deception was necessary to believe the shocks were real, and they were debriefed after.
3. Right to withdraw- no explicit rights to withdraw were given, attempts to withdraw were met with verbal prods encouraging them to continue, however, Milgram argued that it was possible as 35% did refuse to continue.
4. Inducement to take part- the participants could believe they had to finish the study to get their $4.50, however, no participants claimed that they thought they had to get paid.
Explain the methodological criticisms of Milgram’s research
Milgram’s study may lack internal validity- the degree to which findings are attributable to the effect of IV on DV- as the participants may not believe shocks were real. Orne and Holland believed participants delivered the shocks as they knew they were not real, however, 75% of participants said in the debrief after that they thought it was real, and their extreme physical reactions support this.
Milgram’s study lacks external validity- if the results are generalisable- as it is androcentric, all 40 participants were males. It was also culturally biased, as he only used American participants. Obedience rates have found to vary in different cultures, the highest recorded as 90% in Spain, and the lowest as 28% in Australia.
Milgram’s study also could lack historical validity as it has been suggested that the high rate of obedience was a product of American culture being obedient in the early 1960s.
Milgram’s study could also lack ecological validity as it cannot be generalised to real life, giving shocks to people is unrepresentative of real life occurrences. Hofling performed a study in a real-life hospital, where 95.4% of nurses obeyed orders from an alleged psychiatrist to administer an unknown drug.
Outline and evaluate the 3 situational variables affecting obedience
Situational variables form an external explanation of obedience. Proximity involves how aware individuals are of the consequences of their actions in obeying authority figures. Milgram found that when the teacher and learner were in the same room, the teacher could see the learner’s distress, so obedience declined from 62% to 40%. When the teacher had to force the learner’s hand onto a shock plate, it fell to 30%.
Location is relevant as it adds to the perceived legitimacy of an authority figure. Milgram performed a variation of his study in an office block in a run-down part of town and found obedience dropped from 62% to 47%, suggesting that Yale University’s legitimacy was part of the high obedience rate.
Uniform can give a perception of added legitimacy. In Milgram’s experiment, the confederate researcher wore a lab coat to give him an air of authority.
Explain the agentic state and legitimacy of authority figure
Milgram proposed the agency theory, suggesting we are socialised from an early age to learn obedience is necessary for stability in society. people act in a mental agentic state when someone is perceived to be higher up the social hierarchy.
The opposite of agentic state is autonomous state, where we are independent and have free will.
In a variation of Milgram’s experiment, the confederate researcher gave orders on a telephone, and obedience declined from 62% to 20%, suggesting participants were in an autonomous state and saw themselves as responsible for their actions.
Legitimacy of authority occurs as we are taught from an early age who is at the top of the social hierarchy, so we act in an agentic state when we believe authority is legitimate. Milgram reported that some participants in his study ignored the learner’s distress and focuses on following the procedure, doing their duty recognising the legitimate authority of the researcher.
Outline and evaluate the dispositional explanation for obedience- the authoritarian personality
Outline and evaluate social support as a resistance to social influence
Social support helps people to resist the pressure to conform or obey if they have an ally, someone supporting their point of view. They no longer fear being ridiculed, helping avoid NSI. They are also more likely to disobey orders.
In one of Asch’s variations, one of the confederates was instructed to give the correct answer throughout, which dropped the rate of conformity to 5%, demonstrating that if the participant has social support for their belief, they are more likely to resist pressure to conform.
Social support can validate an individuals perspective, giving them confidence and a sense of belonging.
However, not everyone is equally influenced, some may conform with social support, and some may not need support to resist pressure. Also, it relies on situational variables.
Outline and evaluate locus of control as a resistance to social influence
People can resist pressure to conform or obey because of their personality. Rotter proposed the idea of locus of control, the extent to which people believe they have control over their own lives. People with an internal LoC believe that what happens in their life is the result of their own behaviour, and so are more likely to resist pressures. People with an external LoC believe that they do not have complete control over their life. Oliner and Oliner interviewed non-Jewish survivors of WW2 and compared those who resisted orders and protected Jewish people. They found 406 rescuers who were more likely to have an internal LoC, compared with the 126 who followed orders.
The idea of LoC is supported by research studies. It encourages reliance on own beliefs and values when making decisions. However, the impact of LoC may vary depending on the situation, personal traits, social norms, and group dynamics. It relies on dispositional variables. It has cultural bias as it focuses on western ideas of individualism vs collectivism.
Outline minority influence
Minority influence motivates individuals to reject established majority group norms. It is achieved through the slow process of conversion, with the behaviour being accepted by majorities through internalisation through; the augmentation principle- risky actions bring attention to the minority, the snowball effect- more and more people pay attention as the minority viewpoint gathers attention, social-crypto amnesia- once the social change has happened, the majority forgets it was once a minority view.
Outline and evaluate consistency as a form of minority influence with a study
Moscovici demonstrated the importance of consistency in minorities. If the minority resists social pressure and abuses against their viewpoint, it creates enough doubt about established norms to get people to re-examine their own beliefs. Moscovici wanted to see if a consistent minority could influence majority to give an incorrect answer, he split 172 female US participants into groups of 6 (with 2 confederates) for a colour perception test. They were shown 36 slides, with the confederates saying all 36 were green in the consistent condition, and only 24 in inconsistent condition. Real participants agreed on 6.95% more in the consistent condition, showing a consistent minority is more effective. However, this study presents limitations. It has a biased sample and therefore lacks ecological validity. It is unethical as participants were deceived and couldn’t give fully informed consent.
Outline and evaluate commitment and flexibility as factors of minority influence
Commitment- minorities who demonstrate resistance of social pressures and abuses against their viewpoint, using the augmentation principle to engage in risky activities to draw attention to their cause, increasing interest from other majority group members.
Flexibility- minorities who demonstrate an ability to be moderate, cooperative, and reasonable, when the minority compromises and is slightly inconsistent. Nemeth created groups of 3 participants and one confederate deciding compensation to pay for a victim of an accident. When the confederate was consistently arguing for a low amount, there was no effect on the majority. However, when he compromised slightly, the majority changed their opinion to a lower amount.
Outline and evaluate the role of social influence processes in social change
Social change is the process where society changes beliefs, attitudes, and behaviour to create new social norms. Social influence processes have bought change in history and the modern day. For example, Emmeline Pankhurst’s activism bought a social change of women’s rights which is now a norm. The minority influence is gradual and takes time, relating to the snowball effect, so creates a strong form of conformity- internalisation.
