AQA A Level Psychology - Social Influence

What is social influence?

The process by which an individual’s thoughts, feelings/behaviours are changed by real, imagined/implied presence of others

What is conformity?

A change in a person’s behaviour/opinions as a result of real/imagined pressure from an individual/group

What are 3 ways that people conform? (Kelman)

• Internalisation

• Identification

• Compliance

What is compliance?

A superficial, temporary type of conformity driven by desire for social acceptance, where public behaviour changes yet private belief does not

Only lasts as long as group pressure is present - weakest form of conformity

E.g. laughing at a joke with their friends - deep down, think its not funny

What is internalisation?

A type of conformity where an individual genuinely adopts the beliefs + behaviours of a group as their own, leading to a strong and lasting change in both public + private views, often driven by the desire to be right

E.g. converting religions

What is identification?

Moderate type of conformity → individual changes both their public + private beliefs to align with a group as they value it + want to be accepted

Identification is temporary but lasts longer than compliance - as long as the person desires membership of the group

E.g. styling hair like a famous Youtuber - admire creator’s status + wants to resemble them

What is informational social influence?

When a person conforms due to the desire of being right

Looks to others especially in situations that are ambiguous, new/hard where we lack the knowledge to make our own decisions - often leads to internalisation

E.g. an emergency

What is normative social influence?

Conformity due to the desire of being liked, accepted and avoiding rejection.

Often associated with compliance

E.g. smoking even when they don’t want to

Asch’s line study

Aim - investigate conformity in group situations to see if an individual will conform to a group even if they disagree with others in the group

Procedure

• PP were shown 2 large white cards

• On one card was a 'standard line’ + on the other three ‘comparison lines’

• 123 American male undergraduates - each were tested individually with a group of 6-8 confederates that gave wrong answers to the task

• Naive PP was not aware that they were confederates + at first they gave the correct answer, but then made intentional errors to the task in 12 out of 18 trials

Findings

• Naive PP gave the wrong answer 32% of the time + 75% of PP conformed at least once

Situational factors affecting conformity - Asch’s Research

1. Group Size → individual is more likely to conform in a larger group → greater the number of confederates, greater levels of conformity only up to a certain point. When there were 3 confederates - 32% conformity level → 15 confederates = significant drop in conformity levels

2. Group Unanimity → individual is more likely to conform when all group members gave the same answer → conformity decreases when there is another confederate that goes against the choice of the majority → by 80%

3. Task Difficulty → individual is more likely to conform when the task is difficult → when the comparison lines were made more similar in length - it was harder to judge the right answer + conformity increased → we are more likely to look to others for confirmation

What is obedience?

A form of social influence where an individual follows an order from another person that is typically an authority figure

What are 2 explanations for obedience?

Agentic State

Legitimacy of authority

Milgram’s Research

Aim - to discover the reason for Germans killing Jews during the Holocaust

Procedure

• 2 PP were assigned either the role of the teacher (was given to actual PP)/learner (confederate called Mr Wallace) → were put into separate rooms

• Teacher was then asked by the experimenter to administer electric shocks to the learner each time he made a mistake

• The experimenter gave a series of prods when the PP refused to administer a shock, e.g. please continue → final prod → you have no choice but to continue

Findings

• PP went to 300 volts + 65% went to 450 volts

Situational variables affecting obedience - Milgram’s Research

1. Authority figure wearing a uniform → obedience decreased when experimenter was not dressed in uniform but in everyday clothes → dropped to 20%

2. Status of Location → PP Were more likely to obey when it was conducted originally in Yale (greater credibility + more reputable) → less likely when done in a run-down office block - to 47.5%

3. Proximity → closer proximity = greater obedience, decreased proximity - more autonomous state. e.g. when the experimenter left + gave orders on phone - obedience levels dropped to 20%

What is the agentic state?

Where an individual believes another person will take responsibility for their actions

More likely to obey - no consequences to suffer from → acting behalf of an agent

What is the agentic shift?

The shift from an autonomous state to an agentic state

What is an autonomous state?

Where an individual takes responsibility for their own actions

What is meant by the legitimacy of an authority figure?

We are more likely to obey people perceived to have authority over us due to their position of power in a social hierarchy

Increased by visible symbols of authority, e.g. uniform

Legitimacy may also refer to setting, order/system

How can legitimacy of authority be seen in Milgram’s experiment?

• Uniform

• Yale (prestigious setting)

What is meant by the dispositional explanation?

An explanation that highlights the importance of the individual’s personality

Adorno’s Research

2000 middle class, white Americans investigated → using F-scale → 6 point scale with statements for PP to give a rating as to how much they agree/disagree with the statement → found that those with higher F-scores had authoritarian personality traits - prejudiced, inflexible in their outlook, viewed society as needing strong leaders to eradicate evil

What is an authoritarian personality?

When a person favours an authoritarian social system + admires obedience to authority figures

What are the characteristics of an authoritarian personality?

• Being hostile to those of inferior status

• Obedient to those of higher status

• Strict adherence to conventional norms

Belief → strong leadership + hierarchy → everyone must know their place - no challenge to those above, no mercy to those below

What is resistance to social influence?

Not yielding to the pressures to conform/obey

What are 2 different explanations for resistance to social norms?

• Social support (situational)

• Locus of control (dispositional)

How does social support lead to resistance?

Presence of people helps to resist pressure to conform/obey→ provides confidence + breaks unanimity

How can social support be seen in Milgram’s Research?

In one variation → PP were in a team of 3 teachers (2 confederates refused at one point)→ obedience of real PP decreased with only 10% of PP continuing to 450V

Disobedient confederates - demonstrates possibility of defying experimenter + heightens PP’s sense of personal responsibility

Social support undermines legitimacy of authority/majority pressure

How can social support be seen in Asch’s Research?

Asch’s variation → greater unanimity = rate of conformity dropped by 5% → frees others from conformity, confirms PP’s own perspective (seeing the wrong answer) + reduces normative pressure + acts as a model for independent behaviour, encouraging PP to do the same

What is meant by locus of control?