Studied by 17 people
define conformity
a change in behavior or thoughts from indirect pressure .we do this because we feel the need to fit in to a social group
state the three types of conformity
internalization
identification
compliance
define compliance
going along with the majority although a person does not privatey agree
define internalization
mimicing other peoples behaviour because you do not know how to behave in a social situation
explain why we go through internalisation
this is because of informational social influence(copying other peoples behaviour because you do not know how to behave in a social situation)
explain why we go through compliance or identification
this is because of normative social influence(the need to be accepted and liked by a group)
define identification
changing ones behaviour/beliefs according to a group HOWEVER this only lasts for as long as the person is around the group
state the situational three factors that affect conformity
unanimity of the majority
task difficulty/ambiguity
size majority
what does size majority do
the greater the amount of people the more likely a person is to conform
what does task difficulty do
the harder the task the more likely a person is to look to others for an answer
what does unanimity do
the less people disagree the more likely a person is to conform
what personality factors affect compliance
authoritarian personality
pluralistuc ignorance
define what an internal locus control is
the belief that a person has a large amount of control over their behaviour
define what an external locus of control is
the belief that a person does not have a large amount of control over their actions
what are people with a high amount of an internal locus of control less likely to do
they are less likely to be influenced by others
what are people with a high amount of an external locus of control more likely to do
they are more likely to be influenced by others
what were the aims of asch’s study
to demonstrate the power of conformity in groups.
decribe the basics of asch’s experiment
there were groups of 7-9 people were one was a participant and the rest were confederates
the participant was always the last to answer
one a participant had to write down their answers they were less likely to conform
define a confedrate
a researcher or other person who is acting in a study but does not know what the study is about.
state the results of asch’s trial
rate of conformity with one confederate;3%
rate of conformity with two confederates;13%
rate of conformity with three confederates;32%
define obedience
following orders from an authority figure
define blind obedience
following order given by and authority figure without question
Situational factors of obedience
Proximity of the victim
Proximity of the authority figure
Wether an authority figure is present
Legitimacy of context
Personal responsibility
Support of others
What is an authoritarian personality
Is respectful of authority
Has right wing attitude
Rigid beliefs
What is Adorno’s f-scale
A questionnaire designed to identify an authoritarian personality
authoritarian personality has ……..
respect for authority figures
rigid beliefs and attitudes
a strong belief in justice
right-wing politics
aggressive to those inferior to themselves.
Momentum of compliance
when a person starts something they feels compelled to finish it
Define the bystander effect
Bystander effect is when people don’t help someone because they believe others will help instead.
Situational factors of the bystander effect
Cost of helping
Noticing the event
Pluralistic ignorance
Diffusion of responsibility
What it Pluralistic ignorance
Interpreting a situation based on others' reactions.
What are the personality factors that affect the bystander effect
Competence
Mood
Personality
Bystander effect case study
28 year old Kitty Genovese was stabbed and raped on the 13th of march 1964.Two weeks later, The New York Times published an article improperly claiming that 38 witnesses saw or heard the attack, and that none of them called the police or came to her aid.
What were the aims of pilliavin et Al’s study
: to investigate helping behaviour in a natural environment, and understand the conditions in which people are more likely to help
Findings of pilliavin et Al’s study
We are more likely to help an ill victim than a drunk victim
Men are first helpers more than females
People offer more help in bigger groups
The Diffusion of responsibility does not always occur
Provide the strengths and weaknesses of Pilliavin et Al’s study
G: There was a large sample size of 4500 participants(strength). They only used male model/victims(weakness)
R: Piliavin kept the procedure the same for each of the trials(standardised procedure), but because it was in a natural environment it was hard to control extraneous variables(lack of control weakness)
A:demonstrates that the diffusion of responsibility does not always happen(weakness
V: In a natural environment so high in ecological validity. Participants did not know they were being observed, so they were more likely to act naturally and show less demand characteristics (strength)
E: no consent from the participants as it was a covert observation. Also there was deception, as the victim wasn’t really ill/drunk or in need or genuine help.(weakness unethical)
What is deindividuation(crowd behavior)
Loss of personal self-awareness and responsibility as a result of being part of a group.
What is pro social behavior
Behavior that is seen as help full
What is antisocial behavior
Destructive behavior
What do crowds do
They magnify levels of conformity which is why ordinary people can act like criminals in crowds
What is another argument for deindividuation
The feeling of anonymity making a person form a new identity
How do authority figures affect crowd behavior
They exert influence
What factors affect the influence an authority figure has over a crowd(3)
Proximity
Legitimacy
Power
are boys or girls more likely to conform
boys are less likely to conform
Name two factors that affect how likely a bystander is to help a victim(4)
Cost of helping
Noticing the event
Pluralistic ignorance
Diffusion of responsibility
what is pluralistic ignorance
Pluralistic ignorance is when an individual sees lots of others doing an action, and therefore assumes that action is acceptable.
what were the aims of Zimbardo et al’s study(1973)
to test the dispositional hypothesis
To show how the taking of social roles would lead to excessive conformity to those roles
describe the main facts of this study(1973)
small sample size(all male)
standardised procedure used
The guards became more aggressive. Every guard at some point behaved in an abusive, authoritarian way.
Evidence of pathological prisoner syndrome
state four conclusions of zimbardo et al’s study
1.Rejects dispositional hypothesis
2.The prison environment changed the guards behaviour
3.People conform to the roles they are expected to play
4.The roles we are given can shape our behaviour and attitudes
what were the weaknesses and strengths of this study
weakness was Genralisability : The sample was limited – only males took part, it was a small sample and they were all university students
strength was Reliability : There were lots of controls in place – the experiment was recorded so there could be inter-rater reliability. There were rules put in place (although these were broken)
strength was Application : The study tells us about prison behaviour – it tells us that the situation in a prison can lead to negative behaviour
weakness was ecological Validity : The prison was not real life – the prisoners had not committed real crimes and the guards had limited power. The participants all knew it was part of the study and may have shown demand characteristics
weakness was unethical : The study was unethical – there was lots of psychological harm, and it was very difficult for the prisoners to withdraw, despite asking for “parole”
what is seriation
sorting objects into certain groups or categories
milgrams variations
Proximity – Milgram told the teacher to force the learner’s hand down onto a shock plate when they refused to participate after 150 volts. Milgram found that Obedience fell to 30%. The participant is no longer ‘protected’ from seeing the consequences of their actions.
Change of location – The experiment was moved to a set of run down offices rather than the impressive Yale University. Obedience dropped to 47.5%. This suggests that status of location effects obedience.
Uniform – The role of the experimenter was taken over by an ‘ordinary member of the public’ (a confederate) in everyday clothes rather than a lab coat. The obedience level dropped to 20%.
ways of preventing blind obedience
If some of the soldiers decided to be disobedient and rebelled then it may be that peer support would lower the obedience to the high-ranking soldier (1) because Milgram (1974) had two peers rebel in a variation of his study and found that obedience fell (from 65% to 10%) because the two peers refused to continue at various points during the study (1). •
If the distance between the high-ranking soldier and the other soldiers was increased so that he had to remotely give the orders from a different country then obedience could drop (1) because Milgram (1974) showed that if the authority figure had to give the verbal prods over the telephone rather than in person the obedience of participants dropped (from 65% to 22.5%) (1).
Note 
Flashcard (44)