Unit 2-social

Question 0

Compliance

1st type of conformity

Answer 0

• when a person conforms out loud with the views or behaviours expressed by others in the group
• but continues privately to disagree
• their personal views on the subject do not change

Question 1

Conformity

Answer 1

Conformity is a type of social influence involving a change in belief or behavior in order to fit in with a group.

Question 2

Identification (2nd type of conformity)

Answer 2

• an individual adopts the views or behaviour of a group both publicly and privately
• however the new attitudes and behaviour are temporary and not maintained after leaving the group

Question 3

Internalisation

3rd type of conformity

Answer 3

• occurs when an individual truly alters their behaviour and opinions to those of a group
• the new attitudes and behaviours have become part of your value systems and are not dependent on the presence of the group (opinions remain the same even when they are no longer with the group)

Question 4

Conformity to majority- Ao1 study

• Asch 1956
• participants
• procedures

Answer 4

-123 American male student volunteers

• believed they were taking part in a study of visual perception
• individuals were placed in groups of 7-9 people who were confederates
• task was to say which comparison line A,B or C was the same as the stimulus line
• was a control group with no confederates to see if it was possible for participants to make a mistake

Question 5

Conformity to majority- Ao1 study

• Asch 1956
• findings

Answer 5

• on the 12 critical trials there was a 32% conformity rate to wrong answers
• 75% of participants conformed to at least one wrong answer
• 25% of participants never conformed in any trial
• control group only had an error of 0.04>stimulus lines were unambiguous

Question 6

Conformity to majority- Ao1 study

• Asch 1956
• conclusions

Answer 6

The judgments of individuals are affected by majority opinions, even when the majority are wrong

Question 7

Variations in Asch study

1.) Difficulty of the tsk

Answer 7

• when Asch made the lengths of the lines much smaller> the levels of conformity increased
• suggests that we are more likely to conform to a majority when we are unsure about something

Question 8

Variations in Asch study:

2.) Size of the majority

Answer 8

• little conformity when the majority consisted of 2 or 3 individuals
• when the majority was 3 conformity rate increased to 30%
• further increases in the size of the majority did not make a difference

Question 9

Variations in the Asch study

3.) The unanimity of the majority

Answer 9

• when the real participant was given support by another real participant or a confederate conformity levels decreased
• errors decreased from 32% to 5.5%
• Asch concluded that it was breaking the groups consensus that caused a decrease in conformity

Question 10

Asch- conformity AO2 (strength)

-Jenness (1932)

Answer 10

• asked participants to guess the number of beans in a jar
• after allowing participants to discuss their estimates with others
• found that their estimates converged to the group norm

Question 11

Asch-conformity AO2 (strength)

• reliability
• control group error rate

Answer 11

• high in reliability because the research was carried out in a laboratory environment
• suggests that the research can be tested and re-tested if replicated at a later date

-control group had an error rate of 0.04% (3/720) increasing the validity

Question 12

ash- conformity- limitations AO2

-lacks population validity

Answer 12

• only used on American male students
• Problem because it makes the study difficult to generalise to other populations
• e.g conformity rates could be lower if he used ,ale professionals

Question 13

ash- conformity- limitations AO2

-Lacks mundane realism

Answer 13

• carried out in an artificial setting
• using unrealistic task
• conformity rates would be lower if participants were tested in their natural environment with a more realistic task

Question 14

ash- conformity- limitations AO2

ethical issue: deception

Answer 14

• participant did not know the real purpose of the experiment
• participants did not know that the other participants were confederates

Question 15

ash- conformity- limitations AO2

-research contradicting -Perrin 1980

Answer 15

• repeated the study in England with science and engineering students
• 1 conforming response out of 396
• suggests that Aschs findings are unique to the 1950s America when people were scared to be different

Question 16

Culture and conformity- Smith and Bond

aim and procedure

Answer 16

aim: investigated cultural differences in conformity

Procedures: -carried out a meta-analysis of 134 studies which used the same/ similar procedure to Aschs original experiment

• usa&uk are classified as individualistic
• Japan and Fiji are classified as collectivistic

Question 17

Culture and conformity- Smith and Bond

Findings

Answer 17

• collectivistic culture had higher conformity rates than individualistic culture
• Us conformity rates decreased steadily since Asch’s study
• conformity rates were higher when: size of majority increased, more ambitious stimuli and women were included

Question 18

Culture and conformity- Smith and Bond

-Limitations

Answer 18

• Line judgment task may be more meaningful in some countries/cultures
• It is those differences rather than social differences affecting the results

Question 19

Explanation of conformity-Ao1

-Normative social influence

Answer 19

• people have a need for social companionship and want to be accept and a fear of rejection
• explanation of conformity type compliance
• represents a compromise in a situation where there is a conflict between our opinions and others

Question 20

Explanation of conformity-Ao2

-strength of Normative social influence

Answer 20

• Can be used to explain the negative and positive attitudes to groups as being related to how socially acceptable groups are
• e.g negative attitudes towards groups as they are not socially acceptable leads to others conforming to that negative attitude as they fear rejection from their own group

Question 21

Explanation of conformity- ao1

-Informational social influence

Answer 21

• argues that we have a need to be confident that our ideas and beliefs are correct
• when we are unsure about something we seek others opinions(occur in unfamiliar situations)
• form our own opinions when learning others
• conformity type: internalisation

Question 22

Explanation of conformity- ao2

• Informational social influence
• Supported by wittenbrink and Henly (1996)

Answer 22

• Found that participants who were exposed to negative comparison information about African Americans and were led to believe this was the view of the majority later in life were found to still have negative beliefs about black individuals
• suggests that exposure to other people’s beliefs has an important influence

Question 23

obedience experiment -Milgram (1963) Ao1

-Aim,participants and sampling method

Answer 23

aim: to investigate whether ordinary pele will obey authority even when required to injure and ordinary person

Participants: 40 American males aged 20-50

Sampling method: Volunteer sampling

Question 24

obedience experiment -Milgram (1963) AO1 -findings

Answer 24

- 65% of participants went to 450 volts - all participants went to 300 volts - findings demonstrate that ordinary people are obedient to authority - suggest that it is not evil people that commit atrocities but ordinary people

Question 25

obedience experiment -Milgram (1963) AO1 -procedure

Answer 25

-2 confederates 1= experimenter (authority figure) 1=man who played the learner -participants were told that they must increase the voltage of the shocks the more questions the learner gets incorrect -if the teacher asked to stop the experiment, the experimenter had a set of prods to ensure that the participant carries on

Question 26

obedience experiment -Milgram (1963) AO2 | -methodological criticism Only females

Answer 26

- research was androcentric as only males were used - findings cannot be generalised to females - e.g obedience levels may be higher if Milgram had used females in his experiment

Question 27

obedience experiment -Milgram (1963) AO2 -methodological strength

Answer 27

- a strength of mil grams research is that he established the basic method (paradigm) for studying obedience - Milgrams paradigm has been used in many countries to study obedience

Question 28

obedience experiment -Milgram (1963) AO2 | -ethical issue Deception

Answer 28

- Milgram deceived his participants by not telling them the true aims of this study - However he argued that the experiment would have been meaningless without some degree of deception - this denied participants the right to informed consent

Question 29

obedience experiment -Milgram (1963) AO2 | -ethical issue Right to withdraw

Answer 29

- criticised for not making it clear to participants that they have the right to withdraw l - however Milgram claimed that participants were able to leave at any time as demonstrated by the fact that some did leave

Question 30

Milgram variation: what actually happened | When the: location changed

Answer 30

- university obedience levels were 65% - when location changed to a run down office obedience= 48% - suggesting that the location influences the level of obedience

Question 31

Milgram variation: what actually happened | When the: teacher was in the same room as the learner

Answer 31

- level of obedience dropped to 40% | - suggesting that closer proximity to the victim causes higher levels of guilt>lower levels of obedience

Question 32

Milgrams explanation of why people obey-AO1 -Agentic shift

Answer 32

- The Agentic state is the condition in which a person sees himself as an agent for carrying out another persons demands. - Milgram argued that people shift back and fourth between an Agentic state and an autonomous state - in an autonomous state an individual would see themselves acting on their own - When entering a hierarchy of authority Milgram argued that people no longer see themselves as acting out their own persons but as an agent of accomplishing others wishes

Question 33

Milgrams explanation of why people obey-AO2 -Supported by Blass and Schmitt (2001)

Answer 33

- they showed students a video of Milgrams experiment and asked them about the responsibility of Milgram and his participants in giving the shocks - students believed that Milgram was the authority figure and that - believed he was responsible for the shocks not the teacher - Supports agency theory because participants were In an Agentic state therefore were not to be blamed for their actions

Question 34

Milgrams explanation of why people obey-AO1 -The role of buffers

Answer 34

- Milgram suggests that people are more likely to obey authority when people are protected and buffered from seeing the consequences of their actions - e.g in his original study the teacher was buffered from having to see the learner therefore it was easier for him to administrate shocks - the teacher could hear but could not see the learne - Milgram suggests this was one of the main reasons why obedience levels were so high

Question 35

Milgrams explanation of why people obey-AO1 -The role of buffers: strength

Answer 35

- -supported by Milgrams variation study where the learner was in the same room as the teacher and obedience levels were much lower at 40% - this supports the explanation as it shows that people are less likely to obey if they can directly see the consequences of what they are doing

Question 36

AO1: Individual differences in independent behaviour locus of control Definition High external High internal

Answer 36

Refers to a person's perception of personal control over their own behaviour High internals=having a great deal of personal control over their behaviour>More likely to take personal responsibility for it High externals= perceive their behaviour as being caused more by external influences or luck

Question 37

AO1: Individual differences in independent behaviour locus of control Characteristics of high internal

Answer 37

- Active seekers of information that is useful to them - less likely to rely on the opinions of others - more achievement-orientated>more likely to become leaders - resistant to social pressure

Question 38

AO2: Individual differences in independent behaviour locus of control -internals are more likely to become leaders than follow others is supported by Anderson &schneier

Answer 38

- found that group members possessing an internal locus of control were more likely to emerge as leaders in their groups - reason for this=individuals who take responsibility for their actions to themselves tend to assume they can cause certain changes in their environment, including the behaviour of others around them - eval: strength=could be applied to real world

Question 39

AO2: Individual differences in independent behaviour locus of control -Shute: relationship between conformity and locus of control

Answer 39

-exposed undergraduates to peers who expressed either conservative or liberal attitudes to drug taking -found that undergraduates with internal LOC conformed less to expressing pro-drug attitudes, supporting the idea that having internal LOC increases resistance to conform Eval:limitation lacks historical validity was done 37y problem

Question 40

Ao1: the role of minority influence in social change How minorities change attitudes and behaviour over time?

Answer 40

- incurs a strong long-lasting form of conformity, involving fundamental changes in belief systems - new ideas&behaviours become adopted as mainstream practises. - requires minorities to be consistent&committed - gradual process by which minority beliefs become majority (at first converts to the viewpoint are view more join&minorities gain status, power&acceptability)

Question 41

Ao2: the role of minority influence in social change -importance of being consist is supported by Moscovici et al

Answer 41

- found that 8% of p's in groups containing a minority of confederates who consistently called blue slides green agreed with this wrong answers - compared to 1% in groups containing confederates who gave inconsistent answers - shows that consistency is important when trying o convert people to a viewpoint

Question 42

Ao2: the role of minority influence in social change -importance of being consist is supported by Moscovici et al: evaluation wood et al

Answer 42

- meta-analysis on 97 studies of minority influence --found that minorities who were perceived as being especially consistent in their positions were particularly influential - study reinforces the importance of being consistent when trying to convert a majority to a minority