General knowledge

conformity definition

a change in a person’s behaviour or opinions as a result of real or imagined pressure from a person or group of people

explanations for conformity

normative social influence and informational social influence

normative social influence definition

when we conform to others because we want them to like and accept us, not because we believe they are right

informational social influence definition

when we conform to others because we believe they have accurate information

types of conformity

internalisation, identification, compliance

internalisation definition

a type of conformity where we take the majority view because we accept it as correct, permanent change in behaviour even when the group is absent, ISI

identification definition

a type of conformity where we act the same way as a group because we value and want to be part of it, don’t necessarily agree with everything the group does especially when the group isn’t present

compliance definition

a superficial, temporary type of conformity, outwardly go along with group but privately disagree, change only lasts as long as the group is present -NSI

nAffiliators definition

people who are greatly concerned with being liked by others

demand characteristics definition

any cue from the researcher or from the research situation that may be interpreted by participants as revealing the purpose of an investigation. this may lead to a participants changing their behaviour within the research situation

the two responses to demand characteristics

‘please U effect’- to overperform to please examiner, and ‘screw U effect’- to underperform to sabotage results

validity definition

the extent to which an observed effect is genuine- does it measure what it’s supposed to measure (internal validity) and can it be generalised beyond the research setting (external validity)

types of external validity

ecological, temporal, population

ecological validity definition

represents real life scenarios

population validity

represents the population as a whole

temporal validity

represents modern day

social identity theory (SIT) definition

behaviour is motivated by social identity- your self-image is based on the social groups you belong to and certain things e.g. conformity does not always come naturally

agentic state definition

a mental state where we feel no personal responsibility for our behaviour because we believe we are acting for an authority figure, experiences high anxiety- moral strain, powerless to disobey

autonomous state definition

being free and able to act according to your own principles and feel responsible for your actions

agent definition

someone who acts for or in place of another person

the switch between agentic state to autonomous state

agentic shift

legitimacy of authority definition

the social hierarchies in place allow people in certain positions to hold power over others

when is legitimate authority a problem

when it becomes destructive authority e.g. Hitler

binding factors definition

aspects of a situation that allow the person to ignore or minimise the damaging effect of their behaviour, reducing moral strain

explanations for obedience

situational variables, situational explanation, dispositional explanation

dispositional explanation for obedience

high levels of obedience are caused by the personality of someone rather than the situation

personality relating to the dispositional explanation of obedience

authoritarian personality

who came up with the dispositional explanation for obedience

Adorno

key characteristics of the authoritarian personality

extreme respect and submission for authority, view society as weaker than it once was, believe we need strong, powerful leaders, show contempt for those of inferior social status, rigid beliefs, bullying, belief in conventional values, uncomfortable with uncertainty, use defence mechanisms

where does authoritarian personality originate

forms in childhood due to harsh parenting and conditional love, repression

authoritarian personality definition

psychodynamic explanation, suggests our behaviour is due to repressed childhood experiences that have shaped our personality

link between authoritarian personality origin and obedience

• rigid beliefs- acceptance of social hierarchy- link to legitimacy of authority

• intolerance of ambiguity- follow orders, no need to think about how to behave if someone tells you what to do, links to agentic state

• submissive attitudes towards authority- legitimacy of authority, uniform

alternative explanation for authoritarian personality theory

social identity theory

social identity theory definition

explains dispositional situation of obedience instead of authoritarian personality, people who obey do not necessarily have authoritarian personality, they identify with the ‘in’ group in society and go along with how society is structured

what type of conformity does minority influence lead to

internalisation

difference between conformity and minority influence

conformity is where a majority is influencing, minority influence is where one person or a small group are influencing

3 key features of effective minority influence

consistency, commitment, flexibility

types of consistency in minority influence

synchronic and diachronic

synchronic consistency definition

all the people of the minority are saying the same thing

diachronic consistency definition

the minority has been saying the same thing for a long time

why is consistency important in minority influence

suggests sincerity and firm convictions, shows unity

what is commitment in minority influence

involves sacrificing something valuable

what effect does commitment have on majority in minority influence

they pay more attention

why is flexibility important in minority influence

suggests rationality

the effect of people quickly switching to minority viewpoint

snowball effect

augmentation principle definition

drawing more attention to a cause in minority influence by doing something extreme

types of resistance to social influence

social support, locus of control

types of social support in resisting social influence

resisting conformity, resisting obedience

what helps resisting conformity

a dissenter present that breaks unanimity

what helps resisting obedience

disobedient role model challenges legitimacy of authority, agentic state is less likely

types of locus of control

internal, external

what do people with internal locus of controls believe

they are in control of what happens to them

what do people with external locus of controls believe

things that happen to them are out of their control, it is due to chance or luck

how is locus of control measured

on a continuum- high internal on one end and high external on the other

characteristics of people with high internal locus of control

more able to resist pressures to conform or obey- greater resistance to social influence, takes responsible for actions, base decisions on their own beliefs, self-confident, achievement-orientated, higher intelligence, more likely to be leaders

define social change

when whole societies adopt new attitudes, beliefs and ways of doing things

how does minority influence lead to social change

drawing attention, consistency, deeper processing, augmentation principle, snowball effect, social cryptomnesia

social cryptomnesia definition

people have memory that a change has occurred, but don’t remember how it happened

what is it called when people have memory that a change has occurred, but don’t remember how it happened

social cryptomnesia

example of social change

suffragettes

social change leads to…

new social norms

causes of social change

types of social influence: conformity, obedience, minority influence

how does social influence cause social change

normative social influence- everyone else is doing it, informational social influence- research and evidence to back up the point

how does obedience cause social change

gradual commitment e.g. Zimbardo, disobedient role models e.g. Milgram with a disobedient teacher

why do people remain in an agentic state

binding factors- aspects that reduce moral strain and allow agent to ignore damaging effect of their behaviour e.g. blaming the victim for causing it on themselves