social influence

What are the types of conformity?

• compliance

• Indentification

• Internalisation

2 explanations for conformity

• informational social influence

• Normative social influence

Compliance

• changes behaviour publicly but not privately

• Occurs due to normative social influence

Internalisation

• Private and public change in behaviour

• Happens because of informational social influence

• Accept the groups beliefs and inherits it as there own belief system

Identification

• public and private acceptance of the groups behaviour

• They conform because something in the group they find desirable

• They change their behaviour privately and publicly

Informational social influence

• they want to be correct, thye look to the majority for guidance

• Can lead to internalisation

Normative social influence

• want to be accosted by the group

• Compliance

Sherif (1935) - what did he do

• aim: the investigate conformity in an ambiguous situation

• 40 male students were shown a light individually and asked to estimate how far and in which direction it moved (the light did not move at all)

• Results: condition 2- estimates varied widely then after 100 trials they started to become similar- condition 3 there estimates where more like the group norm.

• Conclusion: participants looked to each other to provide a social standard/ norm as it was an ambiguous situation

Asch- what did he do

• study on normative social influence

• To see if participants would give a wrong answer even when the answer was obvious

• 123 male students- cards (you know this ☺)

• results: 75% conformed at least once, 25% never did

• people conformed more when the tasks became difficult, after 5 confederates the conformity rates started decreasing, overall people conformed as a mix of informational and normative social influence

Asch evaluation

• strength- lab experiment which establishes a cause and effect

• Limitation- has low mundane realism, its not realistic

• Limitation- has low population validity

Social roles

• parts people play as members of various social groups

• These are accompanied by expectations of what is appropriate

• When we are in these roles we have a high likely hood to conform to their standard

• We may change our behaviour to fit

Zimbardo

• aim: investigate the extent to which people will conform to social roles

• Set up a mock prison in the basement of the psychology department

• Students volunteered, assigned role of either prisoner or guard

• They were arrested in their homes, blindfolded and strip searched given a uniform and referred to by a number

• The guards had uniform, bats and handcuffs, and wore mirror shades

• Results: the guards became increasingly abusive, prisoners were very passive. 1 released on day one due to psychological disturbance, 2 released on 4th day, another went on hunger strike and was punished by the guards

• The study had to be stopped after 6 days instead of 2 weeks

• Many forgot it was a study

Evaluation of zimbardos study

Strengths

-highly controlled shows cause and effect

Limitations

-some argue it shows low mundane realism

-low population validity- male American students only

-historically biased- carried out in 1971 social roles have changed

Milgram (1963)

• aim- to investigate if ordinary Americans would harm another due to an unjust order from a person of authority

• Was at Yale university

• All participants went to at least 300 volts and 65% went to a deadly 450v

• This was due to legitimacy of authority and agentic state

Legitimacy of authority

When you believe a person has a justified status to give orders

Hierarchal rank

The agentic state

A mental state where we feel no personal responsibility for our behaviour because we are presented on behalf of an authority figure

Evaluation of milgram

Strength- lab experiment shows cause and effect

Limitations- low mundane realism

Limitations- low population validity

Proximity affecting obedience- milgram

-when the teacher an learner where in the SAME room it went down to only 40% of people going to 450v

-in a diff variation the teacher had to place their hand on a plate which brought it down to 30%

-when the experimenter was in a different room and he gave orders over the phone, obedience dropped and only 21% went to 450v

Location affecting obedience- milgram

• different variation- in a rundown office

• Only 47.5% went to 450v

• Run down offices do not have the prestige of a university taking away from the experimenters legitimacy of authority

who studied uniform?

BICKMAN

Bickman

• 3 confederates dressed in uniform, jacket and tie, a milkman, and a security guard

• Asked members of the public to, pick up a bag, give someone money for a parking metre, and stand on a bus stop with a sign saying “no standing:

• People Ostend t the security guard twice as much as the shirt and tie and milk man