social influence case studies Flashcards
(10 cards)
Q: What did Asch (1951) discover about conformity?
A: Participants conformed to incorrect majority answers about line lengths in 37% of trials – showing normative social influence.
Q: What are Kelman’s (1958) three types of conformity?
A: Compliance (public agreement), identification (conforming to fit a role/group), internalisation (genuine belief change).
Q: What did Sherif (1935) find using the autokinetic effect?
A: People conformed to group norms when unsure, showing informational social influence in ambiguous situations.
Q: What did Eagly & Carli (1981) find about gender and conformity?
A: Women are more likely to conform than men, especially in group settings – possibly due to social roles.
Q: What did Wiesenthal et al (1976) suggest about resistance to conformity?
A: People with knowledge and confidence in the task are more likely to resist conformity.
Q: What did Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment (1973) reveal?
A: People conform to social roles quickly
Q: What happened in Reicher & Haslam’s BBC Prison Study (2006)?
A: Unlike Zimbardo’s, guards didn’t identify with their role, and prisoners eventually challenged authority – showed the importance of group identity.
Q: What did Milgram (1963) find about obedience?
A: 65% of participants delivered what they believed were fatal shocks when instructed by authority – shows power of obedience.
Q: What did Bickman (1974) find about obedience to authority?
A: People were more likely to obey someone in a guard’s uniform than a civilian – supporting the role of legitimate authority.
Q: What did Moscovici (1969) show about minority influence?
A: A consistent minority (confederates saying green instead of blue) influenced participants in 8.42% of trials – shows minority consistency matters.
