Social Influence Flashcards
(252 cards)
1
Q
Who came up with the types of conformity?
A
Kelman (1958)
2
Q
Name the three types of conformity
A
- Internalisation - Identification - Compliance
3
Q
What is internalisation?
A
Genuine acceptance of group norms resulting in both a public and private change of opinions. Likely to be permanent and exist even in the absence of group members
4
Q
Give an example of an external behaviour that shows internalisation
A
Giving up meat at university as your vegetarian friends have convinced you it is important
5
Q
Give an example of an internal behaviour that shows internalisation
A
When you go home to visit your family from uni, you continue to eat meat free food
6
Q
What is identification?
A
Conforming to a group because we value it. Willingness to change views in order to be accepted by the group. Only temporary - leaving the group often leads to a change of views
7
Q
Give an example of an external behaviour that shows identification
A
Going to an Ed Sheeran concert with all your friends and having a great time
8
Q
Give an example of an internal behaviour that shows identification
A
5 years later, you miss an Ed Sheeran gig with your old school friends to instead see Michael Buble
9
Q
What is compliance?
A
Simply going along with the group in public but privately not changing your views. Very temporary and will stop when the group pressure stops
10
Q
Give an external behaviour that shows compliance
A
At work you wear a poppy during remembrance day because everyone else is
11
Q
Give an internal behaviour that shows compliance
A
You disagree with wearing a poppy as you are a pacifist, but do it anyway
12
Q
What is the subtle difference between identification and compliance?
A
Identification is about pleasing people you care about, whilst compliance is about preventing yourself from feeling awkward
13
Q
Which type of conformity is this? Liz is by nature a smart dresser but she wears jeans and sweater to work on ‘Dress Down Friday’ because she doesn’t want to give the impression of being standoffish to the work colleagues she likes
A
Identiification
14
Q
Which type of conformity is this? Lewis is eating alone at a Chinese restaurant. Although he finds eating with chopsticks rather tedious and inconvenient, he uses them because he feels too awkward to ask for a fork
A
Compliance
15
Q
Which type of conformity is this? Harsa puts some money in a charity box even though she doesn’t particularly agree with the cause because she feels uncomfortable walking past the collector in the local supermarket
A
Compliance
16
Q
Which type of conformity is this? Len slows down to 30mph as soon as he reaches that speed zone because he believes it is wrong to drive faster than that in a built up area
A
Internalisation
17
Q
Winston is visiting the UK from the US. At a concert he stands for the national anthem because he doesn’t want to upset his hosts. What type of conformity is this?
A
Identification
18
Q
Jack is on a solo visit to London for the day. At a pedestrian crossing everyone suddenly surges across as soon as there’s a gap in the traffic even though the lights are red. Jack follows, feeling uncomfortable but too embarrassed to be the only one not to cross. Which type of conformity is this?
A
Compliance
19
Q
Jenny is at a local restaurant with 5 of her friends. They all say ‘Go on try it’ after they have all ordered an unusual spicy dish which is the chef’s recommendation. She follows suit because she doesn’t want to look unadventurous to her friends. Which type of conformity is this?
A
Identification
20
Q
Who came up with the explanations for conformtiy?
A
Deutsche and Gerard (1955)
21
Q
What are the two explanations for conformity?
A
- Normative social influence - Informational social influence
22
Q
What is normative social influence?
A
- Comes from our desire to be liked and accepted. We look to others who we admire or want to be like to guide us in how to behave - It is strongest when the group is important to us and we spend a lot of time with them - As humans, we fear rejection
23
Q
Give an example of normative social influence
A
Phoning a friend to see what they are wearing to a party
24
Q
What is informational social influence?
A
- Comes from out desire to do what is right/correct - We look to others who we believe to be correct to guide us in how to behave. - Strongest in ambiguous or novel situations, but also when in an emergency situation or an expert is present
25
Give an example of informational social influence
- Looking to a teacher when the fire alarm goes off - Putting your hand up for the same answer as everyone else in your class
26
Normative social influence is a (a) process, whilst informational social influence is a (b) process.
a) Emotional b) Cognitive
27
Why is compliance a type of conformity?
It suggests people only superficially go along with group norms
28
Why is normative social influence an explanation of conformity?
It suggests that people conform because they seek social approval
29
Why is internalisation a type of conformity?
It suggests that sometimes people genuinely change their private beliefs to those of the group norms
30
Why is informational social influence an explanation of conformity?
It suggests that people conform when they feel that others have the right answer
31
Why is identification a type of conformity?
It suggests some people conform to the opinions of the group without necessarily agreeing with all the group's ideas
32
Name the research support for normative social influence
- Goldstein et al - Asch
33
What did Goldstein investigate?
Whether social influence could increase customers' compliance to a towel reuse programme
34
Outline Goldstein's conditions
Condition 1: participants were exposed to notes that stated 75% of previous hotel guests had reused their towels Condition 2: participants were exposed to notes asking them to reuse towels due to the importance of environmental protection
35
What were the results of Goldstein's experiment?
- 44.1% of guests reused their towels in condition 1 - 35.1% of guests reused their towels in condition 2
36
What was the aim of Asch's experiment?
To see if participants would conform in unambiguous situations
37
What was the method of Asch's study?
- Participants were asked to judge which of 3 lines was most similar to a target line - It was obvious what the correct answer was, but confederates would select different responses to see if the participant would conform to them
38
What were the results of Asch's experiment?
There were high conformity levels, even when the answer given was very clearly incorrect. The pressure of the group is enough to alter people's responses.
39
Name the research support for informational social influence
- Lucas et al - Asch
40
What was the method of Lucas et al's experiment?
Participants were asked to answer easy and difficult mathematical problems
41
What were the results of Lucas et al's experiment?
- There was more conformity with more difficult problems - There was even more conformity when the participants rated their understanding of maths as 'poor'
42
What does Lucas et al's experiment show?
We experience informational social influence when we are unsure or lack confidence
43
Outline the method of the variation of Asch's experiment that supports informational social influence
- Participants were asked to judge which of 3 lines was most similar to a target line - Asch changed the length of the lines so that they were more similar
44
What were the results of Asch's experiment variation?
Conformity rates increased because the participants were less confident
45
When did Asch carry out his study
1951
46
What was the aim of Asch's study?
To investigate the effect of social influence in an unambiguous situation
47
What was Asch's procedure?
- Had 123 American male students as participants. Each one was placed in a room with 6 - 8 confederates - Participants were shown a standard line and asked to state aloud which comparison line (A, B or C) was most like the standard line. The answer was always obvious. - The confederates has pre-agreed their responses but the real participant was not aware of this - The confederates began the trials by giving the correct answer but then they began to make 'errors' - There were 18 trials and in 12 the confederates gave the wrong answer - There was also a control condition where there were no confederates, only 'real participants'
48
What were the results of Asch's line experiment?
- 75% conformed at least once - 36.8% went along with the group on a majority of the trials - 25% remained completely independent - When tested alone, subjects got more than 98% of the judgements correct
49
What can be concluded from Asch's study?
Participants will conform to avoid rejection (ie: normative social influence)
50
Name the three variations of Asch's study
- Group size - Unanimity - Difficulty of task
51
What did Asch change in the group size variation?
Changed the group size
52
What were the results of the group size variation of Asch's study?
- One confederate: 3% conformity rate - Two confederates: 13% conformity rate - Three or more confederates: 32% conformity rate
53
What group size gave optimum conformity levels?
- With a majority of 3 - Increasing the size of the majority beyond 3 did not increase the levels of conformity found
54
How did Asch change the unanimity of his study?
He included a confederate who disagreed with the rest
55
What were the results of the results when unanimity was varied in Asch's study?
Conformity dropped to 5% The participant had more confidence if the group were not unanimous
56
How did Asch increase the difficulty of the experiment?
He made the comparison lines and the standard lines more similar
57
How did increasing the difficulty of the study affect conformity?
- Conformity increased - Social influence plays a role when a task is ambiguous
58
What is the strength of Asch's study?
Deutsche and Gerrard's variation of Asch's research
59
Outline Deutsche and Gerrard's variation of Asch's research
They asked participants to write down their answer to the task and then throw the paper away
60
What were the results of Deutsche and Gerrard's variation?
Conformity dropped to 5%
61
Why is Deutsche and Gerrard's variation a strength of Asch's research?
It shows that individuals in Asch's original study were conforming to be accepted rather than to be right
62
Name the weaknesses of Asch's study
- Lacks temporal validity - Small sample size - Lacks ecological validity
63
How does Asch's study lack temporal validity?
- People today would not react in the same way and would be less likely to conform - Perrin and Spencer's 1980 replication of Asch, which was conducted in the UK and used engineering students, found that only 1 of the 396 participants conformed
64
Why is it not ideal that Asch's sample size was so small?
- There may be gender differences in conformity - There may be cultural differences. Asch's study was conducted in an individualist culture but collectivist cultures may be even more conformist - It is difficult to generalise the data
65
Why does Asch's study lack ecological validity?
- The task set would have been novel and unrealistic to the participants
66
When did Zimbardo conduct his study?
1973
67
What was the aim of Zimbardo's study?
To see how easily people would conform to social roles they have assigned
68
Outline Zimbardo's method
- He conducted the study in the basement of Stanford university converted into a prison - 21 'emotionally stable' male college students were randomly assigned the role of guard or prisoner - Prisoners were arrested at home and immediately treated like criminals (blindfolded, strip searched, deloused) - Prisoners were issued a number which they would be addressed by and had to wear a smock - Guards were given a uniform, dark glasses, wooden club and handcuffs and keys - Prisoners stayed in prison for the duration whereas guards did shift work and could go home after their shift
69
What were the findings of Zimbardo's experiment?
- The guard's brutal behaviour led to a prisoner rebellion which was quickly quashed - The guards used a divide and conquer tactic and became more abusive and dehumanising (eg: waking prisoners up in the middle of the night and forcing them to clean toilets with their bare hands) - The prisoners became increasingly submissive. 1 left after 1 day, 2 left after 4 days, 1 went on hunger strike and was sent to the 'hole'
70
When did Zimbardo call the experiment off?
After day 6
71
What can we conclude from Zimbardo's experiment?
- Social roles strongly influence people's behaviour
72
Name 4 ethical issues of Zimbardo's study
- The prisoners were arrested at night in their own homes. They were not aware that this was going to happen - The prisoners were stripped, blindfolded and deloused at the prison - Some of the guards were hostile and dehumanising towards the prisoners - Zimbardo overlooked the abusive behaviours until a graduate student called him out on it
73
Explain why this is an ethical issue: The prisoners were arrested at night in their own homes. They were not aware that this was going to happen
- Lack of informed consent: the prisoners were not aware they would be arrested at home - Lack of protection from harm: the prisoners would have been humiliated - Lack of confidentiality: they were publicly arrested
74
Explain why this is an ethical issue: The prisoners were stripped, blindfolded and deloused at the prison
- They would have been humiliated and could have suffered psychological harm
75
Explain why this is an ethical issue: Some of the guards were hostile and dehumanising towards the prisoners
- They were not treated with respect and may have suffered psychological harm and distress as a result
76
Explain why this is an ethical issue: Zimbardo overlooked the abusive behaviours until a graduate student called him out on it
- The wellbeing of all his participants should have been prioritised over running the experiment - He overlooked the participants right to withdraw and did not emphasise it enough
77
How did Zimbardo justify the unethical treatment of the prisoners (and everyone involved in the experiment)?
It was necessary in the context of the study and without it, it would have affected the validity of the prisoners' and guards' behaviour
78
Name a strength of Zimbardo's study
Supporting research from Orlando (1973)
79
Explain what happened in Orlando's research
- He used hospital staff as participants in a psychiatric unit where they worked - Within a short time, the behaviour of the mock patients was almost identical to that of real patients in the hospital - Some suffered withdrawal, depression and weeping, or even tried to escape
80
How does Orlando's research support Zimbardo's?
It suggests that people will readily conform to the role they are given
81
Name the 3 weaknesses of Zimbardo's study
- The BBC prison study - Ethical issues - The role of personality
82
What was the BBC prison study?
A partial recreation of Zimbardo's experiment, carried out by Haslam and Reicher
83
What were the findings of Haslam and Reicher
- Prisoners did not conform to their expected role and actually ended up harassing the guards
84
What was a similarity in the findings of Haslam and Reicher's study and Zimbardo's?
- In the original study about a third of the guards actively tried to support and help the prisoners
85
What can be concluded from Haslam and Reicher's study?
If a group social identity is not shared among the majority of members then they will be unable to conform to their roles.
86
What would have happened if Zimbardo carried out his experiment today (in terms of consequences of ethical issues)?
- He would be heavily reprimanded and ousted from the psychological community
87
Explain how Zimbardo may have exaggerated the role of situational factors in the findings of his study
- Only one third of the guards acted in a brutal manner so this would suggest that there must have been factors other than the situation which lead to the behaviour - We cannot, therefore, ignore the role personality factors played in this experiment - This suggests that we can still behave in a way we deem right or wrong despite whatever social role we are fulfilling
88
How can the atrocities at Abu Ghraib be explained by Zimbardo's findings?
- Zimbardo said that they were simply conforming to social roles influenced by their society and culture, rather than being individually bad people - They were influenced by their situation rather than their nature
89
What is obedience?
Acting in response to a direct order from an authority figure
90
When did Milgram carry out his study?
1963
91
What was the aim of Milgram's study?
To investigate the extent to which individuals would obey an authority figure
92
Who participated in Milgram's study?
40 male participants aged between 20 and 50 from a range of professions were paid $4.50 to participate
93
Where did the experiment take place?
Yale University
94
Outline the method of Milgram's study
- Participants were told that it was an experiment to see the effects of punishment on learning - It was fixed so that the participants were given the role of 'teacher' whilst a confederate had the role of 'learner'. The experimenter was played by an actor - The learner and teacher were in separate rooms. The learner had to answer questions. Every time they got one wrong the teacher had to deliver an electric shock
95
What was the voltage of the electric shocks given?
It started at 15V (slight shock) and increased in 15V increments to 450V (danger severe shock)
96
What happened when the 'teacher' showed reluctance to continue with the experiment?
He was given up to 4 prods before he was allowed to leave
97
What did the 'learner' do when they were shocked with 300 volts?
- Pounded on the wall and then gave no response to the next question
98
What did the 'learner' do after 315 volts?
Pounded once more on the wall and then fell completely silent
99
What were the findings of Milgram's experiment?
- All participants went up to the 300 volts - 12.5% stopped at 300 volts - 65% continued to the highest level of 450 volts - The participants showed signs of extreme agitation and tension (eg: sweating, trembling, stuttering, groaning, seizures)
100
What percent of participants said they were glad to have participated afterwards?
0.84
101
What can be concluded from Milgram's study?
- Obedience to authority is ingrained in us all from the way we are brought up - People are likely to follow orders given by an authority figure, even to the extent of killing an innocent human being
102
What is a strength of Milgram's study?
Hofling et al's supporting research
103
Outline Hofling et al's research
- They investigated obedience levels of nurses on a hospital ward - They studied how the nurses responded to unjustified demands from doctors such as giving twice the recommended dosage of a drug to a patient
104
What were the results of Hofling's research?
- 21 of 22 nurses obeyed the doctor - This adds external validity to Milgram's experiment
105
Name the 3 weaknesses of Milgram's study
- Lack of internal validity - Lack of population validity - Ethics
106
Why might Milgram's study lack internal validity?
- It has been suggested his participants did not truly believe they were delivering the shocks - Perry (2013) who analysed tape recordings from the experiment found that many participants expressed doubts about the authenticity of the task
107
What study backs up the internal validity of Milgram's study?
Sheridan and King conducted a study in which real puppies were genuinely shocked and found equally high levels of obedience (20/26)
108
Why has Milgram's study been criticised for lacking population validity?
- He used males in his study - There may be gender differences in obedience levels
109
What study suggests there is a difference in obedience levels between men and women?
Sheridan and King conducted a study where 100% of women obeyed but only 54% of men did
110
What happened when Milgram replicated the study on women?
They gave the same level of obedience
111
What were the ethical issues of Milgram's study?
- He deceived the participants about the fact they were not actually delivering electric shocks so they were unable to give informed consent - He did not protect his participants from psychological harm as they experienced trauma in delivering the shocks and humiliation upon finding out the extent of the deceit
112
What does the situational factors explanation suggest?
That it is the environment in which orders are given that affects whether people are obedient or not
113
What was the obedience rate of Milgram's original experiment?
0.65
114
Name the eight different variations of Milgram's experiment that suggest situational factors influence obedience
- Location changed to a seedy office - Learner only participated if allowed to be let out when they wanted to be - Teacher and learner in same room - Teacher forced learner's hand on a plate - Teacher supported by 2 other (confederate) teachers who refused to obey - Experimenter left room and instructed by telephone - Teacher paired with assistant (confederate) who flicked switch - The experimenter was called away on an urgent phone call and a member of the public (confederate) took over the role
115
What was the obedience rate when the location of Milgram's experiment was changed to a seedy office?
0.475
116
What was the obedience rate of Milgram's study when the learner only participated if allowed to be let out when asked?
0.4
117
What was the obedience rate of Milgram's study when the teacher and learner were in the same room?
0.4
118
What was the obedience rate of Milgram's study when the teacher forced the learner's hand on a plate?
0.3
119
What was the obedience rate of Milgram's study when the teacher was supported by 2 other (confederate) teachers who refused to obey?
0.1
120
What was the obedience rate of Milgram's study when the experimenter left the room and instructed them by telephone?
0.205
121
What was the obedience rate of Milgram's study when the teacher was paired with an assistant (confederate) who flicked the switch?
0.925
122
What was the obedience rate of Milgram's study when the experimenter had to leave due to an urgent phone call and was replaced with a member of the public?
0.2
123
In which variations did Milgram alter proximity?
- Reduction of distance between the teacher and learner by putting them in the same room - Further reduction in 'electroshock plate' condition - Increase in distance between the teacher and experimenter when he left the room
124
What happened in the three alterations of Milgram's study where proximity was changed?
Obedience dropped
125
What do the alterations of Milgram's study where proximity changed show?
The closer the presence of the victim then the lower the obedience level whereas the further away the presence of the legitimate authority the lower the obedience
126
In which variation of his study did Milgram alter location?
- When he changed the location from Yale university to a seedy, run down office
127
What happened when Milgram altered the location of his study?
Obedience dropped to 47.5%
128
What does the alteration of Milgram's study where location changed show?
The new location didn't have the same status and trustworthiness as the old one so reduced the likelihood of obedience
129
In which variation of his experiment did Milgram alter uniform?
When he replaced the experimenter (in a grey lab coat) with a member of the public in casual clothing
130
What happened when Milgram altered the uniform in his study?
Obedience dropped to 20%
131
What does the variation of Milgram's study where uniform changed show?
It shows the importance of status and symbols of authority in ensuring obedience
132
Name the 2 strengths of situational factors that affect obedience
- Supporting study evidence - Milgram's large sample size
133
What supporting evidence is there that situational factors cause obedience?
Bickman (1974)
134
Outline Bickman's procedure
- The experimenters each took turns dressing as a guard, a milkman and a civilian - One of the experimenters gave one of the following orders to pedestrians: picking up litter, giving a man a dime to pay for his parking metre or standing on the other side of the bus stop
135
What were Bickman's findings?
- People were twice as likely to obey the guard than the civilian - The milkman brought about more obedience than the civilian
136
Why does Bickman's study back up the idea that situational factors cause obedience?
It shows that a uniform conveys the authority of its wearer and is a situational factor likely to produce obedience
137
How large was Milgram's sample?
636 participants
138
Why is Milgram's large sample a positive thing?
It is statistically unlikely that every person has the same obedient disposition, so when they commit an immoral act is likely because of the situation rather than their character
139
Name the 2 weaknesses of situational factors that affect obedience
- Milgram's study variations lacked internal validity - Mandel suggested it is dangerous to accept that situation factors cause obedience
140
Why do Milgram's study variations lack internal validity?
- Many participants would have been able to work out that the experiment was fake due to the extreme nature of the variations - Eg: the variation where the teacher had to hold the learner's hand on a plate would have required excellent acting skills to be believable
141
Why does Mandel argue that it is dangerous that we accept situational factors as a reason for obedience?
- It may be an excuse for brutal and sadistic behaviour - It could be offensive to some holocaust survivors as it suggests Nazis were just obeying orders and were victims of situational factors - Obedience is a highly sensitive topic
142
Name the two socio-psychological factors that affect obedience
- Agentic state - Legitimacy of authority
143
Who proposed the concept of an agentic state and when?
Milgram (1973)
144
Why did Milgram propose the concept of an agentic state?
He wished to explain why people are prepared to go against their morals and do as they are told, even when it causes them considerable distress
145
Name the 2 distinct modes of social consciousness that Milgram put forward
- Autonomous - Agentic
146
What is an agentic state?
- A mental state where we feel no personal responsibility for our behaviour because we believe ourselves to be acting for an authority figure - This frees us from the demands of our conscious and allows us to obey even a destructive authority figure
147
What is an autonomous state?
- We act according to our own conscience - We feel responsible for our actions - We mostly behave decently to others in this state
148
When do people move from the autonomous to agentic state?
When they are confronted with an authority figure
149
What is the shift from the autonomous to agentic state called?
The agentic shift
150
Why might people be unable to stop when they are in an agentic state?
Binding factors: aspects of the situation that allow a person to minimise the damaging effect of their behaviour
151
Define the theory of legitimacy of authority
An explanation for obedience which suggests that we are more likely to obey people who we perceive to have authority over us
152
Give some examples of figures of authority
- Police - Teachers - Adults - Bosses - Politicians
153
When is authority deemed legitimate?
When it is agreed by society
154
Why do most people agree that certain authority figures can exert their power?
- It will allow society to function - We are socialised from birth to respect authority and to understand who has legitimate authority
155
When can legitimacy of authority become a problem?
We generally trust authority figures not to abuse their power, so when legitimate authority becomes destructive it can have terrible consequences
156
Give examples of people in legitimate authority who used their power in terrible ways
- Hitler - Stalin
157
Explain this example of obedience: A headmaster orders everyone to hand in their mobile phones at the start of school and everyone does so.
- The headmaster is a legitimate authority - The children have been socialised to respect authority - The headmaster is the top of the heirarchy
158
Explain this example of obedience: A prisoner is told that a fellow inmate is the Top Dog and must be obeyed. When asked by the Top Dog to deliberately spill their meal over a new prisoner, they do so without question.
- They are in an agentic state so justify their behaviour by thinking they are just doing as the Top Dog says - Binding factor: fear of disobeying the Top Dog - The prisoner doesn't act independently
159
Name the three strengths of the socio-psychological causes of obedience
- Blass and Schmidt supporting research - They explain real life war crimes - Explains cultural differences in obedience
160
Outline Blass and Schmidt's method
They showed video footage of the Milgram experiment to a collection of students and asked them who was to blame for the behaviour of the teachers
161
Outline the results of Blass and Schmidt's research
- Most believed the experimenter was to blame rather than the teacher of learner - This shows obedience was due to the figure of legitimate authority rather than any other factor
162
Give an example of how socio-psychological explanations of obedience explain real life war crimes?
- In the case of the My Lai massacre Lt. Calley (the only person to be tried) based his defence around the claim that he was simply following orders - Many people suggested he may have been used as a scapegoat for the real culprits: the US army - He experienced an agentic shift as he acted as an agent for the hierarchical US army who have legitimacy of authority
163
How can socio-psychological causes of obedience explain cultural differences in obedience?
- Kilham and Mann (1974) replicated the study in Australia they found only 16% of participants obeyed - Mantell (1971) replicated the experiment in Germany they found obedience levels of 85% - This fits in with the expectations of how these different cultures view authority
164
Name the weakness of socio-psychological causes of obedience
It can be dangerous and insensitive to accept these factors as a reason for obedience. It is important not to justify and normalise atrocities.
165
Give examples of historical events that socio-psychological causes of obedience have been used to explain
- My Lai massacre - Nazi death camps
166
Whose study is relevant to dispositional factors causing obedience?
Adorno et al (1950)
167
Outline the procedure of Adorno's research
- Studied more than 2000 middle-class, white Americans and their unconscious attitudes towards other ethnic groups - The researchers developed several measurement scales, including the F scale
168
What is the F scale?
- The potential-for-fascism scale - This scale is used to measure Authoritarian Personality
169
Outline the findings of Adorno's research
People with authoritarian learnings (ie: those who scored high on the F scale and other measures): - Identified with 'strong' people - Were generally contemptuous of the 'weak' - Were very conscious of status - Showed extreme respect, deference and servility to those of higher status - They had a cognitive style in which they had very black and white thinking surrounding stereotypes - There was a strong positive correlation between authoritarianism and prejudice
170
Define an authoritarian personality
A type of personality that Adorno argued was especially susceptible to obeying people in authority. Such individuals are also thought o be submissive to those of higher status and dismissive of inferiors.
171
What values do people with authoritarian personalities tend to promote?
- Traditional values - Love of country - Love of family
172
Who do people with authoritarian personalities tend to blame for the wrongs of society?
People who are "other" (ie: people of different ethnicities)
173
When does Adorno believe that authoritarian personalities are formed?
In childhood as a result of harsh parenting which included: - Extremely strict discipline - An expectation of absolute loyalty - Impossibly high standards - Severe criticism of perceived failings - Conditional love
174
What is Adorno's psychodynamic explanation for the formation of authoritarian personalities?
- The child feels resentment and hostility - The child cannot express these feelings toward their parents because they fear punishment - Their fears are displaced onto others who they perceive to be weaker. This is known as scapegoating - This explains their hatred towards people considered to be socially inferior
175
What is the relationship between obedience and F-scale score?
A strong positive correlation
176
Name the weaknesses of the dispositional explanations of obedience
- Adorno's study is a correlational study - Methodological issues with Adorno's study - The F-scale doesn't explain obedience across the political spectrum - It has limited application
177
Why is it an issue that Adorno's study is a correlational study between 2 measured variables?
- Correlation does not infer causality - Obedience isn't necessarily the result of an authoritarian personality or vice versa - There may be a third factor which explains the link between the two variables
178
Give an example of a third factor which could explain the link between the two variables (obedience and F-scale)
- Educational attainment - Social class
179
What is the methodological issue with Adorno's study?
Adorno interviews participants about their childhood experiences yet already knew their test scores therefore knew who had an authoritarian personality. This means he was vulnerable to interviewer bias and, consciously or not, he may have altered the questions to extract the information he wanted.
180
How would somebody who is extremely left wing show up on the F-scale?
They would have no authoritarian personality despite being highly obedient (Lenin and Mao stated that extreme left wing ideology relies on total obedience)
181
Why is it a problem that the F scale only accounts for right wing people who are obedient?
It means it has limited application to real life
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Why else does the F-scale have limited application?
- It cannot explain how there are cases where entire populations are obedient - Millions of individuals displayed obedient, anti-semitic and racist behaviour in pre-war Germany - It is highly unlikely that an entire nation had the same authoritarian personality types, suggesting another cause
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What other explanation might be more appropriate in cases of widespread obedience?
Situational or socio-psychological variables
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In both Asch and Milgram's studies, what percentage of participants did not conform?
- Asch: 25% - Milgram: 35%
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Why might participants not conform (in general)?
Individual differences such as: - Age - Confidence - Social class - Educational attainment
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Why did participants not conform in Ash's study?
- When the task was made easier - When there was a non-conformist confederate
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Why did participants not conform in Milgram's study?
When the study was varied in these ways: - Location - Proximity - Uniform - Trust - Dissenting confederate - Legitimacy of authority
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What can help reduce conformity and obedience?
Social support
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Why does social support reduce conformity?
- It reduces the pressure felt if you were the only one not conforming
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Does the non-conformist have to be correct to reduce conformity?
No - the fact that someone else is not conforming is enough to enable the person to follow their own conscience
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What happens if the non-conformist starts conforming again?
- The other person is likely to follow suit - Resisting conformity isn't necessarily long lasting
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Where is it demonstrated that social support enables resistance to conformity?
In Asch's study variation where there was one disagreeing confederate, conformity dropped to 5%
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Why does social support reduce obedience?
It reduces the pressure felt if you were the only one disobeying
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Does the person have to copy the dissenter's behaviour when resisting obedience?
No - the fact that someone else is not obeying is enough to enable the person to follow their own conscience
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Where is it demonstrated that social support enables resistance to obedience?
In Milgram's variation where there were 2 disobedient confederates, obedience dropped to 10%
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Who proposed the idea of locus of control?
Rotter (1966)
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Define locus of control
What you believe controls the events of your life
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Name the two types of locus of control
- External - Internal
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What do people with an external locus of control believe?
- What happens is outside of your control - Things occur due to luck and fate
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What do people with an internal locus of control believe?
- What happens to you is within your control - Positive events come from hard work
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Which locus is most likely to resist social influence?
- Internal - If a person takes responsibility for their actions and experiences then they are more likely to base their decisions on their own beliefs and resist pressure from others
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Name some characteristics of people with higher internal loci of control
- Self confident - Achievement oriented - Higher intelligence - Less need for social approval - More resistant to social influence
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How could knowledge of resisting social influence be used by a teacher who wants to ensure that students resist peer pressure to conform?
Social support - Encouraging role models to talk about their own experiences of resisting conformity LOC - Encouraging development of internal locus of control - PSHE lessons on self-efficacy and self confidence
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How could knowledge of resisting social influence be used by an army sergeant who wants to reduce the possibility that his new squad disobey his orders?
Social support - The focus should be removed from anybody being disobedient so others don't see and follow suit LOC - Reinforcing obedience in tasks in the early days will increase the likelihood of obedience - LOC only comes into play when the task is a novel one
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Name the strengths of the idea that social support and LOC are able to reduce obedience and conformity
- Asch's study variations - Milgram's study variations - Holland's research (1967)
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Outline the variation of Asch's study that supports the idea that social support reduces conformity
- Asch included one confederate who disagreed with the rest - Conformity dropped from 75% to 5%
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What other research supports the idea that social support reduces confromity?
- Allen and Levine (1971) - They recreated this variation and implied that the confederate had vision problems - Conformity still decreased (to 64%), even though the confederate did not seem to be in a position to be making judgements
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What conclusions can be drawn from Asch's variation and Allen and Levine's research?
People conform not just because they follow what someone else says but because a fellow dissenter allows someone to be free of the pressures of the group
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Outline the variation of Milgram's study that shows how social support can reduce obedience levels
- The teacher was accompanied by 2 other teachers (confederates) who refused to obey - Obedience levels dropped to 10%
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What other research shows how social support can reduce obedience levels?
- Gamson - Small groups were asked to obey an order to run a smear campaign - They found that only 4 of 33 groups obeyed (88% resisted)
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What do Milgram's study variation and Gamson's research show?
Peer support is linked to greater resistance
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What does Holland (1967)'s research support?
The suggestion that those with an internal locus of control are more likely to resist pressure to obey than those with external LOC
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Outline Holland's 1967 research
- He replicated Milgram's original research and measured whether participants were internal or external - He found 37% of internals did not continue to the highest shock level - Only 23% of externals did not continue
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Name the weakness of locus of control
The influence it has in causing obedience is somewhat overestimated
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Explain why the LOC's influence in causing obedience may be overestimated
- Rotter (1982) suggested that locus of control only comes into play in novel situations and has little influence in familiar situations - LOC can only explain obedient behaviour in a limited range of situations
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Define minority influence
- Situations where one person or a small group of people influences the behaviours and beliefs of other people
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What is change brought about by minorities much more likely to lead to?
Internalisation
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What 3 factors of can influence minority group influence?
- Consistency - Commitment - Flexibility
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Why is consistency important for the success of minority influence?
- It increases interest from the majority - It leads the majority to think they may have a point as the minority have been all saying the same thing for a long time
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What is it called when the minority all says the same thing?
Synchronic consistency
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What is it called when the minority has all been saying the same thing for a long time?
Diachronic consistency
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Why is commitment important for the success of minority influence?
- Extreme activities demonstrate how committed the minority is to their cause - Extreme behaviours cause risk to life, so show how dedicated to the cause activists are
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What is it called when extreme actions for a cause make it more effective?
Augmentation principle
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Why is flexibility important for the success of minority influence?
- Lack of flexibility will portray the minority as rigid and dogmatic - The minority can balance consistency and flexibility by accepting small changes and showing reason by adapting their arguments where appropriate
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How do women show consistency in the fight for gender equality?
The suffragettes formed in 1903 and have been fighting for equality for 120 years and longer
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How do women show commitment in the fight for gender equality?
Put their lives on the line (ie: went on hunger strikes, broke the law)
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How do women show flexibility in the fight for gender equality?
The gender pay gap in the UK has closed by 1/5, bringing it a little closer to its goal
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How do LGBTQ+ people show consistency in the fight for sexual equality?
The Alan Turing law in 2017 gained Royal Pardon for gay men who were criminalised years ago. This was after many years of campaigning.
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How do LGBTQ+ people show commitment in the fight for sexual equality?
The Stonewall riots of 1969 in which LGBTQ+ people fought the police
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How do LGBTQ+ people show flexibility in the fight for sexual equality?
Same sex marriage was legalised in England, Wales and Scotland. This was a gradual process and still isn't accepted in some churches.
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How do Black people show consistency in the fight for racial equality?
By promoting the consistent message that everyone should be treated equally. They fought against Jim Crow laws and incarceration
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How do Black people show commitment in the fight for racial equality?
Martin Luther King was imprisoned for protesting the treatment of Black people in Alabama
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How do Black people show flexibility in the fight for racial equality?
Originally education in all-white schools was better than education in all-Black schools. This changed when, whilst still being taught separately, the education standard was made equal.
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Name the 6 steps of social change occurring in a society
Majority influence --> Minority wants social change --> Consistent, committed, flexible --> Snow-balling --> Social cryptoamnesia --> Minority becomes majority
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What happens when social change occurs in a society?
The attitude or opinion becomes an integral part of the society's culture
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Define snowballing
As the minority opinion grows in size it picks up momentum so that more and more majority members convert to the minority opinion
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Define social cryptoamnesia
When the minority opinion becomes an integral part of the society, its source is generally forgotten
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Apply the 'majority influence' stage to the fight for women's suffrage
Men had the majority influence and did not feel women were equal nor deserved a say in political decision making
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Apply the 'minority wants social change' stage to the fight for women's suffrage
Suffragettes disagreed with men and post war felt there was no better time to show women were equal
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Apply the 'consistent, commitment, flexible' stage to the fight for women's suffrage
- Suffragettes fought for 15 years - People were imprisoned and some died - Women were first given the vote if they were 30, then it was lowered to 21
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Apply the 'snowballing' stage to the fight for women's suffrage
Due to the techniques used, other women began to take notice, followed by liberal men, and then all men
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Apply the 'social cryptoamnesia' stage to the fight for women's suffrage
Few women who vote in the UK now consciously thank the suffragettes for the fact that they can vote - it is seen as a normal thing
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Name the strength of these explanations of minority influence and social change
- Moscovici's 1969 research
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What was the aim of Moscovici's research?
To see if consistency can increase minority influence
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Outline the procedure of Moscovici's research
- There were 4 naive participants and 2 confederates - They were shown several shades of blue and asked to identify the colour. There were 36 slides - In one condition the confederates identified the colours as green 100% of the time - In the other condition the confederates identified the colours as green two thirds of the time
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What were the findings of Moscovici's research?
- In the condition where the confederates consistently called the slides green, participants identified them as green in 8.42% of the trials - In the condition where confederates inconsistently called the slides green, participants identified them as green in only 1.25% of trials
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What can be concluded from Moscovici's study?
Consistency of opinions/beliefs will bring about more change than inconsistency
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What variation of Moscovici's study supports the importance of consistency in minority influence?
- Participants were allowed to write their answers down in private rathe than stating them out loud - Results showed greater behavioural change from the majority (the complete opposite of Asch)
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What does the variation of Asch's study show?
Participants experienced internalisation and didn't want to be associated with the minority in the eyes of the majority
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What did Bashir (2013) find is often a barrier to social change?
The negative stereotypes associated with minorities (ie: feminists are branded as 'man-haters' and environmentalists as 'tree huggers')
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Why does Bashir's study discredit the theories surrounding how to promote social change?
They do not account for minority groups managing to discard the negative stereotypes associated with their cause
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What methodological criticisms are there of Moscovici's study?
- The trivial task of identifying slide colours does not reflect real life situations of social influence - The participants were made up entirely of female students and this does not generalise well to other groups in the population
