Social influence AO3 Flashcards
(27 cards)
Give evidence to support the role of informational social influence.
There is also evidence to support the role of informational social influence. For example, Lucas et al found that conformity to an obviously incorrect maths answer was greater when the question was more difficult and the participant rated their own maths ability unfavourably. This shows that individuals are more likely to turn to others when they lack the information to make their own informed decisions i.e. in an ambiguous situation.
Give a weakness for the Lucas et al study on informational social influence.
Weakness: The supporting research (Lucas et al 2006) can be criticised for age bias as it was only conducted on students. Perhaps adults may conform more or less therefore we can’t generalise findings to the wider population
Give 2 strengths for normative social influence.
Research from Schulz found that hotel guests reduced towel usage by 25% when they were told that the majority of the guests reuse their towels. Therefore the theory is credible because it has a study backing it up.(Strength of normative social influence)
Asch’s study supports normative social influence as participants reported that they conformed to fit in with the group, so it supports the idea of normative influence, which states that people conform to fit in when privately disagreeing with the majority
Give 2 study’s supporting normative social influence.
Research from Schulz found that hotel guests reduced towel usage by 25% when they were told that the majority of the guests reuse their towels. Therefore the theory is credible because it has a study backing it up.(Strength of normative social influence)
Asch’s study supports normative social influence as participants reported that they conformed to fit in with the group, so it supports the idea of normative influence, which states that people conform to fit in when privately disagreeing with the majority
In Schulz’s study, how much did hotel guests reduce their towel usage after they were told that the majority of the guests reuse their towels
25%
Give two strength’s of Asch’s study.
Lab experiment - Extraneous and confounding variables are strictly controlled, meaning that replication of the experiment is easy. Successful replication increases the reliability of the findings because it reduces the likelihood that the observed findings were a ‘one-off’.
High internal validity - There was strict control over extraneous variables, such as timing of assessment and the type of task used. The participants did the experiment before without confederates to see if they actually knew the correct answer, thus removing the confounding variable of a lack of knowledge. This suggests that valid and reliable ‘cause and effect’ relationships can be established, as well as valid conclusions.
Give a weakness of Asch’s study
Lacks ecological validity (Mundane realism) - it was based on peoples’ perception of lines and so the findings cannot be generalised to real life as it does not reflect the complexity of real life conformity i.e. where there are many other confounding variables and majorities exert influence irrespective of being a large group. Also as it was a lab study with a manipulated IV.
Lacks population validity due to sampling issues - For example, the participants were only American male undergraduates, and so the study was subject to gender bias, where it is assumed that findings from male participants can be generalised to females (i.e. beta bias). Also age bias and culture bias.
What were the ethical issues with Asch’s study?
Ethical issues: - there was deception as participants were tricked into thinking the study was about perception rather than compliance so they could not give informed consent.
- There could have been psychological harm as the participants could have been embarrassed after realising the true aims of the study.
What were the ethical issues with Zimbardo’s study?
Ethical issues – Psychological harm – Participants were not protected from stress, anxiety, emotional distress and embarrassment e.g. one prisoner had to be released due to excess distress and uncontrollable screaming and crying. One prisoner was released on the first day due to showing signs of psychological disturbance, with a further two being released on the next day. This study would be deemed unacceptable according to modern ethical standards.
What were the two strengths of Zimbardo’s study?
Debriefing – participants were fully and completely debriefed about the aims and results of the study. This is particularly important when considering that the BPS ethical guidelines of deception and informed consent had been breached. Dealing with ethical issues in this way simply makes the study more ethically acceptable, but does not change the quality (in terms of validity and reliability) of the findings.
The amount of ethical issues with the study led to the formal recognition or ethical guidelines so that future studies were safer and less harmful to participants due to legally bound rules. This demonstrates the practical application of an increased understanding of the mechanisms of conformity and the variables which affect this.
Give a strength of Zimbardo’s study. (Debriefing)
Debriefing – participants were fully and completely debriefed about the aims and results of the study. This is particularly important when considering that the BPS ethical guidelines of deception and informed consent had been breached. Dealing with ethical issues in this way simply makes the study more ethically acceptable, but does not change the quality (in terms of validity and reliability) of the findings.
Give a weakness of Zimbardo’s study. (Lacks ecological validity)
Lacks ecological validity - The study suffered from demand characteristics. For example, the participants knew that they were participating in a study and therefore may have changed their behaviour, either to please the experimenter (a type of demand characteristic) or in response to being observed (participant reactivity, which acts as a confounding variable). The participants also knew that the study was not real so they claimed that they simply acted according to the expectations associated with their role rather genuinely adopting it. Participants also noticed the numerous cameras placed around the prison and their cells.
Give a weakness of Zimbardo’s study. (Lacks population validity)
Lacks population validity – The sample only consisted of American male students and so the findings cannot be generalised to other genders and cultures. For example, collectivist cultures, such as China or Japan, may be more conformist to their prescribed social roles because such cultures value the needs of the group over the needs of the individual. This suggests that such findings may be culture-bound!
Explanations for Obedience: Agentic State, Legitimacy of Authority, and Situational Factors (strength)
Real life applications — This research opened our eyes to the problem of obedience and so may reduce future obedience in response to destructive authority figures e.g. obedience has resulted in negative social change - the Nazis obeyed orders and as a result, Hitler managed to get what he wanted and what he wanted was not what the majority of people wanted. Such research also gives an insight into why people were so willing to kill innocent Jews simply when told to, and so highlights how we can all easily be victims to such pressures. A general awareness of the power of such influences is useful in establishing social order and moral behaviours.
Variables affecting Obedience including Proximity, Location and Uniform, as investigated by Milgram (strength)
Highly replicable – The procedure has been repeated all over the world, where consistent and similar obedience levels have been found. For example, in a replication of Milgram’s study using the TV pseudonym of Le Jeu de la Mort, researchers found that 85% of participants were willing to give lethal electric shocks to an unconscious man (confederate), whilst being cheered on by a presenter and a TV audience. Such replication increases the reliability of the findings.
High external validity – Supported by research from Hofling (1966). Researchers found that 95% of nurses obeyed orders from a doctor over a phone to administer a lethal dose of a medication, knowing it was dangerous to the patient. This suggests that everyday individuals are still susceptible to obeying destructive authority figures.This is what is consistent with Milgram’s findings. This strengthens our acceptance of Milgram’s findings as similar results have been extracted in other experiments e.g. Hofling et al.
Weakness of Milgram’s (ethical)
- There was deception and so informed consent could not be obtained. This deception was justified by the aim of avoiding demand characteristics/ the ‘Please-U’ effect/ participant reactivity (where participants change their behaviour in response to knowing that they are being observed).
- There was psychological harm inflicted upon the participants - They showed signs of psychological and physiological distress such as trembling, sweating and nervous laughter. Such findings were also replicated in the Jeu de la Mort study, showing that these results were not simps due to participant variables/differences
Weakness of Milgram’s (Lack of ecological validity)
Lack of ecological validity – The tasks given to participants are not like those we would encounter in real life e.g. shooting somebody in the face is different from flicking a switch, meaning that the methodology lacks mundane realism, producing results which are low in ecological validity
Give a weakness of the authoritarian personality as an explanation for obedience.
The Authoritarian Personality has little ecological validity because it cannot explain many real-life examples of mass obedience. For example, it is very unlikely that the whole German population during Nazi occupation had an Authoritarian Personality, but rather many shared the same struggles in life and displaced their fear about the future onto a perceived ‘inferior’ group of people, through the process of scapegoating. This means that such a theory is a limited explanation for some examples of obedience.
What is scapegoating?
Scapegoating, in psychology, is a sociopsychological phenomenon where an individual or group is unfairly blamed for problems they did not cause. It’s a defensive mechanism that allows individuals or groups to deflect responsibility and blame by projecting their issues onto someone else.
Give a strength of Locus of control
There is also research evidence supporting the link between locus of control and social responsibility. For example, Oliner and Oliner (1988) interviewed two groups of nonJewish people who had lived through the holocaust. They also interviewed 406 people who protected and rescued Jews from Nazis and 126 people who did not. The rescuers were found to have an internal locus of control and also scored higher on measures of social responsibility. However, this also draws doubt over the direct link between locus of control and resistance to obedience - perhaps measures of social responsibility are more important/influential?
Give research that supports Locus of control.
There is also research evidence supporting the link between locus of control and social responsibility. For example, Oliner and Oliner (1988) interviewed two groups of nonJewish people who had lived through the holocaust. They also interviewed 406 people who protected and rescued Jews from Nazis and 126 people who did not. The rescuers were found to have an internal locus of control and also scored higher on measures of social responsibility. However, this also draws doubt over the direct link between locus of control and resistance to obedience - perhaps measures of social responsibility are more important/influential?
Give a strength of Social support
This idea is also supported by a variation of Milgram’s study, where there were two other participants (who were actually confederates) and disobeyed the experimenter. The presence of the other person caused the level of obedience to reduce to 10%. This shows that the social support provided from the other participants gave them the confidence to reject the position of authority.
Give a weakness of Locus of control
— The locus of control explanation is only valid for novel situations, as suggested by Rutter. Previous experiences are always more influential than LOC when an individual is making a decision as to how to act. This means that LOC is a limited explanation for only some cases of obedience.
Give a weakness of Moscovici’s study.
A key issue with Moscovici’s study in particular is the reliance on artificial tasks and stimuli. This means that such methodology lacks mundane realism because the tasks do not reflect the scenarios within which minority groups would act in real life. This also means that the findings are likely to lack ecological validity because the extent to which the results can be generalised is limited.
