Social influence

Outline an ethical issue that has arisen in social influence research

Outline an ethical issue that has arisen in social influence research

Lack of protection from physical or physiological harm is when a persons physical and mental needs are neglected and not met

Name and briefly explain a social influence study that links to ethical issues

The Stanford prison experiment by Zimbardo had no protection from physical or physiological harm because despite the experiment finishing early because of signs of distress, researchers had seen these signs multiple days before hand yet failed to intervene

Explain compliance as an explanation for conformity and use an example with a boy called Charlie

Compliance is when an individual is influenced by others because they want to be seen as ‘fitting in’. This person takes on these attitudes and behaviours now despite internally disagreeing with them but wants the rewards. It is apart of normative social influence because an individual is looking to gain approval.

Charlie: Charlie follows what the boys say which prove he is conforming to them however it is compliance as it is stated that he is worrying all night must still followed through with it meaning he is just downing it for the reward of fitting in instead of looking at the consequences. It is also explained through normative social influence

Explain obedience in link to bad behaviour and the example with the boy called Charlie

A reason for obedience is the power of the uniform. Obedience to authority is a social influence where a person responds to another who is seen as an authoritative figure. Power of the uniform shows authority because it displays power. This links to Charlie as instead of wearing school clothes like the children, it can be presumed that the head teacher is wearing most likely a smart suit to show his power over the children.

Evidence has proven this explanation through Milgrams electric shock punishment study. He got participants to zap a stranger with an electrical voltage if they got the question wrong. When the researcher gave the orders to zap the confederate, 65% conformed when he was wearing a uniform of a white lab coat however that dropped to only 20% when he was wearing his own casual clothes

Discuss consistency as a process involved in minority influence

Consistency is when a minority is exposed to a different view yet is vocal about it continuously, others begin to reassess the situation and consider the issue more carefully.

Key research that links to this is Muscovite. He asked participants about the colour of blue slides as they varied intensity. There were two confederates and they continuously responded green on every slide in the consistent condition. In the inconsistent condition, they responded green for only 2/3 of the slides. In a control group with no confederates, all participants called blue throughout. Findings showed that in the inconsistent group there was only a tiny difference from the control group and it was insignificant whereas the consistent group were influenced on 8% of all slides.

Discuss flexibility as a process involved in minority influence

Flexibility is when a an individuals point is in the minority so they must negotiate their point within the majority instead of enforcing it. It also includes having a willingness to compromise when expressing a position.

Key research that links to this is Nemeth and Brillmayer. In a simulated injury situation, group members discussed compensation if a ski accident were top occur. A confederate put forwards an alternating view and refused to change his position. This had no effect on any group members. However, when a confederate compromised, there was some degree of shift between the group. Influence was only evident though in those who shifted late as they were seen as showing flexibility instead of caving to the majority. This suggests that flexibility is only effective at changing the majority instead certain situations