psychology social influence

when does conformity occur

when a person changes their behaviour due to societal pressure

who came up with the different types of conformity?

Kelman

What is compliance (4)

-the most superficial form of conformity
-a person will adopt a behaviour to gain approval or avoid embrassement
-tend to not truly agree so will stop conforming when group setting is removed
-means they conform at a public level - normative social influence

what is internalisation (4)

-most deeply engrained form of conformity
-a person will accept a group behaviour as part of their own value system
-show conformity universally - public and private
-leads to changes in behaviour and results from Informational social influence

how did Asch measure conformity in his study

interviewed the participants and asked why they confomed to an obviously wrong answer

what did Asch find when he asked particpants about why they conformed to obviously wrong answers

most said it was to avoid rejection despite being aware that it was the wrong answer which suggests compliance.

what was the aim of ascus original study

to investigate whether participants would conform to an obviously wrong answer

who were the participants in aschs study and how were they grouped

50 male undergraduate students. arranged in groups of 7-9

what was the method that Asch used in his original study

-asked participants to match one standard line with three possibilities of varying length
-only 1 participant in a group was naïve and the rest were confederates
-participant was always 2nd to last to answer

what did the confederates do in Asch original study

were told to give the same wrong answers on 12 out of 18 of the trial - these were called the critical trials

how many participants did not conform to any of the critical trails in aschs orngial study

26%

how many participants conformed on every critical trial in aschs original study

5%

how many participants conformed at least once in aschs orngial study

74%

how many of the trials ended in conformity in aschs original study

32%

what happened when the participants were asked to write their answers privately instead of verbally

conformity decreaced significantly

what is an advantage of asch's study (V+R)

-high controlled lab experiment
-used a standardised procedure (the same instruction were given to each participant, the same task was used and the confederates behaved in the same way) this means that extraneous variables are unlikely to have an effect on results
-this also means that the study can be replicated -with similar results
-enformes the reliability of findings and supports the conclusions

what is a disadvantage about Asch's study (G)

-evidence of cultural bias
-SMITH AND BOND analysed over 100 studies using aschs procedure and found that people in collectivist cultutures were more likely to conform than those in individualist cultures due to the value placed on independence and autonomy
-in collectivist cultures more value was placed on interdependence
-means it may not be generalisable to non western cultures or collectivist sub cultures in western society

what did smith and bond do

did a meta analysis of 100 studies using an Asch type procedure in order to invalidate the generaliablity of aschs conclusions in regards to collectivist and individualist culutres

what is an advantage of aschs original study (E and A)

-useful applications that potentially benefit society
-public voting is effected by NSI and therefore organisation tend to require members options privately
-taken on by trade unions. no longer ask for a show of hands instead use private ballots for strike action. also used for jurors by doing secret voting
-desmostares how aschs finds about NSI have application in improving democratic processes

what is advantage of the theory of the different types of conformity (evidence)

-supportive evidence for the different types of conformity
-ashcs og study supports the idea of compliance due to the interviews afterwards, aksing why. most said they conformed to avoid rejection. when private conformity stopped
-in variation, when it became harder conformity increases because they believed the group was correct suggesting internalisation
-evidence different levels and reasons

what is disadvantage of the theory of the different types of conformity (application and validity )

-evidence lacks real world application
-asch research is lab based and demand charhctersitcs may have been shown/altercations in behaviour due to the notion of it being a study
-task has poor mundane realism irl people conform to friends rather than strangers and about music tast etc
-may not support conformity irl poor ecological validity

what is advantage of the theory of the different types of conformity (application)

-has practical application
-alerts us if the majority are attempting to cause a permanent change of behaviour then compliance is not enough
-chamnging smokers and drivers may achieve agreement through compliance but a permanent consistent change can only be achieved through internalisation

what was sheriffs study

-autokinetik effect
-showed that as the task become for difficult people conformed more
-internalised the answer
-supportive of aschs research

what does ashes study help explain

-historical events that feel hard to explain
-nazi rise to power and mccarthyism in the usa

whats a disadvantage of aschs original study - validity

-has poor mundane realism
-poor ecological validity ]
-poor temporal validity at the time the study was conducted conformity was arguably more valued in American society due to political climate eg. maccarthysism

whats a disadvantage of aschs study (ethics)

-use of deception
-miseld about true nature and the use of the confederates
-caused stress or embarrassment or internal doubt
-harmed psychology reputation

what did eagily and Carli find

-aschs study was limited and unrepresentative
-they conducted a meta analysis of 148 studies
-found that women have been found to have higher conformity
-lacks generalisability

what variables did Asch test in his variations

group size, unanimity and task difficulty

what were aschs aims and methods when adjusting group size

-he wanted to investigate whether conformity was defected by having more confederates give the same answer
-he did this by manipulating the size go the group to record the effect it had on the participants
-he used group sizes of 1,2,3,4,8,10 or 15 confederates

what were aschs findings when he varied group size

-confomrity was 3% when there was one confederate
-confromity was 13% when there was two confederates
-conformity was 32% when there was 3+ confederates
-larger groups (15) led to less conformity because of demand characteristics

what did Asch conclude from varying group size

group size increases conformity up to a majority of 3 after which conformity does not increase

what were aschs aims and methods when adjusting unanimity

-he wanted to see whether one person dissenting from the group majority would affect the likelihood of the participant conforming
-one confederate acted as an ally - breaking the unanimity by giving the correct answer or another incorrect answer

what were aschs findings when he varied unanimity

-when the confederate gave the right answer - 5.5%
-when the confederate gave the wrong answer - 9%

what did Asch conclude from varying unanimity

-important factor was social support that the ally provided
-more important whether the answer was correct or not
-drops in conformity were similar and significant

what were aschs aims and methods when adjusting task difficulty

-to investigate whether adjusting task difficulty would effect levels of conformity
-the variable lines were made more similar in length to the standard line so it became more difficult to say which was the same

what were aschs findings when he varied task difficulty

-confomity increased sigficiantly - both publically and privatley
-participants reported that conformed because they believed the group was probably correct even if their original answer was different

what did Asch conclude from varying task difficulty

-confomity is more likely when the taks is more difficult

what is an advantage of aschs variational study (application)

-demonstates the importance of situational variables conformity
-he systematically altered factors and showed how they directly influenced levels of conformity
-for example in group size, conformity levelled of after 3 confederates suggesting threshold effect which may not have been guessed without empirical evidence
-highlights the nuncanced way that social context influences behaviour

what did Perrin and Spencer do

-conducted a line experiment the 1980s with engineering and science students
-found that there was only one confmoirng response in 396 trials

what is an diasdvantage of aschs variational study (P+S)

-task difficult and unanimity dont always increase conformity as individual differences/predispostions have an effect
-perrin and speakers research shows this
-may be because of their different levels of expertise other the fact it was done 30 years later
-indidival differences are an important factor/ poor temporal validity, all decrease generalisability and reliability of findings

what is an advantage of aschs variational study (application 2 - real life )

-emperical and quantifiable reasearch into group size has useful application
-understanding the optimum number in the majority to exert pressures on minority can be used in institutional settings
-eg. schools - improving beahviour or business settings
-shows how understanding of variables effects conformity and useful applications

what did Duetsch and Gerrard say

-there are two reasons why people conform - ISI and NSI

what is informational social influence

-the explanation that we conform in order to be right
-it is more likely to occur in ambiguous situations when the correct way to behave is unclear
-mor eliely to result in internalisation and a permeant change in behaviour

what is normative social influence

-the explanation that we conform to be liked or fit in

• it is more likely to result in compliance, so private beliefs are still maintained
  -leads to short term change as when the social environment is taken away behaviour returns to normal

what is evidence that supports NSI and ISI (advantage - well evidenced)

-ashcs study combined with his variations
-when participants were given an easy test there was 32% general conformity rate across critical trials
-interviews found that although they new the answer was wrong they conformed in order to fit in - suggesting NSI
-when the task was made more difficult general conformity increased
-interviews found that although they assumed the group was correct - suggesting ISI

what is a diadvantge for the reasons why people conform - application

-evidence lacks real world application
-asch research is lab based and demand charhctersitcs may have been shown/altercations in behaviour due to the notion of it being a study
-task has poor mundane realism irl people conform to friends rather than strangers and about music tast etc
-may not support conformity irl poor ecological validity - doesnt acc tell us why

what did mcGhee and Teevan find

-studnets who had a higher need for affiliation were more likely to conform to group norms
-suggests that NSI does not effect all individuals equally and that dispositional factors like personality effect it

what is a disadvantage of the reasons why people conform - mcGhee and Teevan - application

-there are individual differences of how subsepticle people are to NSI
-not everyone conforms to be liked and some are more motivated by social approval than others
-McGhee and Teevans findings

• although it is a useful explanation it is not unviersally applicable which weakens it overall explanatory power

what did Lucas et al find

-corroborating evidence
-he found that there was more conformity when students were given harder maths problems then easy ones

what is an advantage of the evidence for the explanations for confmorty

-lucus et al, asch and mcGHee and Teevan
-all used empirical evidence
-rooted from lab studies with a strong sense of standardisation

what is obedience

Complying with the direct demands or orders given by an authority figure

what was the aim of Milgrams original study

-investiagting how far people would go in obeying an order even if it involved inflicting harm on a seemingly innocent individual
-aimed to tests the belief that germans has a societal predisposition to obedience following the holocaust

how many participants were there in milligrams research

-40 American males
-aged between 20 and 50
-range of occupations

what was the method of milligrams original study

-particpants were told the experiment was about learning and punishment
-the 'experimenter' and the other participant 'mr wallace' were actually confederates.
-the naïve participant believed they had been randomly allocated to a 'teacher' role.
-they say 'mr wallace' strapped into an electric chair in the next room and heard him ask about his heart condition
-they read questions to mr wallace and gave increasing electric shocks when he agave the wrong answer
-the shocks went from 15-450 volts
-they heard what they believed was mr wallace calling out in pain and after 315 volts he went silent

what were the results of milgrams original study

• all 40 participants obeyed up to 300 volts
  -65% gave shocks up to 450 volts
  -during the study participants showed signs of nervousness and tension (shaking, stuttering, 3 had seizures)
  -when asked 70% believed the shocks were real and the majority believed he was dead or unconscious

What was the conclusion of Milgram's original study?

-the vast majority of ordinary individuals will follow orders of an authority figure even if it involves inflicting pain on an innocent individual
-germany, as a society, doesnt posses a predisposition to obedience and anyone is able to be obedient even any the expense of others

what happened after milgrams original experiment

-he debried the participants in order to assure them their behaviour was normal
-this was done in order to minimise potential persistent psychological harm manifested as a direct result of the stressful nature of the experiment
-he introduced them to mr wallace and assured them he was unharmed

what did the participants say about milgrams experiment after they had been debriefed

-84% said they were glad to have participated
-74% said they had learnt something of great personal importance

what is one advantage of milgrams original study (V and R)

-high level of control due to the notion fit being a lab study, increases interval validity
-procedure was standardised - same scripted prompts, consistent confederate
-difference in obedience levels were unlikely to be as a result of externs variables
-confdintly establish cause and effect relationshipthrough emerpical results

one disadvantage of milgrams original study - E

-subversion of multiple ethical guidelines, including deception and psychological harm.
-study elicited extreme stress among the participants, -the participants weren't adequately reminded of their right towithdraw form the experiment
-exhibited signs of extreme stress including sweating, trembling andlaughing inappropriately.

• fall short of todays ethical
  guidelines and raises the concern about the treatment of human subjects inpsychological research

advantage of milgrams original study - application

-challenegs the belief go German predispositions
-dispproved the germans are different hypothesis with credible concrete empirical evidence
-65% of Americans were able to inflict pain upon an innocent individual
-obdience is a universally powerful force that subverts general notions of human empathy across all cultures

what did Sheridan and king do

-got their participants to give real shocks to a puppy
-54% of males and 100% of females obeyed
-puppy showed real visible pain

how does Sheridan and kings findings effect milgrams research

-corroborates findings by presenting empirical evidence of the minimal effects of objective pain of obedience
-subverts the notion of any demand charchtersitcs that may be argued as real pain was inflicted
-provvided nuanced views in regards to the generalisability of data through sex

what did hofling et el research

-did a similar study in a natural setting, a field experiment
-female nurses were given instructions over a phone by 'dr smith' - a doctor they did not know through telling them to give an unapproved medication to a patient that exceeded the 'safe dose' marked on the bottle
-this subverted multiple hospital policies
-21 out of 22 nurses complied
-in a hypothetical group setting 31/33 said they would not administer the drug
-suggests similar levels of obedience in real life settings and subverted the potential for demand chatrhctertsics

what did orne and holland argue

-that the participants would have guessed that the shocks were fake
-the study simply tests demand characteristics

what are disadvantages of milgrams original study V

-lacks ecological validity due tot he notion of poor mundane realism

what are disadvantages of milgrams original study G

-low ppoplatuion validity - all males
-culture bias - American males but conclusions were generalised universally
-sheridan and kings evidence corroborated the notion of obedience but found nuances in sex

what were the situational variables that milligram introduced within his study

-proximity - to victim and experimenter
-uniform
-location

what was milgrams aim and method when investigating proximity to victim

-to see whether the proximity to the victim effected obidience
-milgram varied the distance between mr wallace and the participant. from the next room, to the same room, to instructing the 'teacher' to physically press mr walalces hand on a shock plate

what was milgrams results when investigating proximity to victim

• original study - 65%
• same room - 40%
  -physically forcing the learners hand - 30%

what was milgrams conclusion when investigating proximity to victim

-the more a person is able to avoid witnessing the consequences of their obedient behaviour the more likely they are to obey

what was milgrams aim and method when investigating location

-to investigate whether location has an effect on obidience
-his original study was conducted at Yale university - which is notably prestigious. however in this variation he ran the experiment in a run down office block

what was milgrams results when investigating location

48%

what was milgrams conclusion when investigating location

if the location is prestigious and conveys legitimate authority obidience will be higher

what was milgrams aim and method when investigating uniform

-to investigate the effect of uniform on obidience
-in his original study milligram had the experimenter wear a white lab coat. However, in his variation the 'experimenter' was called away and an ordinary man (actually another participant) wearing his own clothes was asked to step in and run the experiment

what was milgrams results when investigating uniform

20% obedience

what was milgrams conclusion when investigating uniform

-uniform can give the impression of legitimate authority
-obidience rates are more likely to be higher if the person giving the orders is wearing a uniform

what did bickman investigate

-wanted to see how people reacted in real life environment behave in response to requests by a man wearing a uniform

what was bickmans method

-field experiment in New York
-same confederate approached a member of the public and gave a simple direct command

what were the three conditions in bickmans experiment

1. confederate gave a command wearing a guards uniform
2. confederate gave a command wearing a milk delivers uniform
3. confederate gave a command wearing normal cilivan clothing

what was obidience in the guards uniform

76%

what was obidience in the milk delivers uniform

47%

what was the obidience in normal civilian clothing

30%

what did bickman conclude

-unforms influence obedience
-unifroms that convey a notion of legitimate authotrty will evoke higher levels of obedience

what is an advantage of milgrams and bickmans research - A

-provided strong support for the significance of situational variables on obidience
-across difference variation eg. x obidience varied even when the rest of the variables were kept consistent
-this suggests that people are not simply obeying because of their personality traits or internal dispositions because of external cues in the evicorment that signal authority and legitimacy.
-therefore milgrams research challenges the idea that obedience is primarily a result of individual personality and instead emphasises the critical role of environmental and situational factors

what is a limitation of milgrams variations - R and G

-lack of realism which reduces the ecological validity
-the variations were designed to stimulate real world authority scenarios, participants were still water they were in a study and the task was highly articifical and lacked mundane realism
-critics argue that demand characteristic could have influence their behaviour
-as a result the variations demonstrate how situational factors can influence obidience in a controlled setting their findings may not cgenralise to real world setting with emotional and interpersonal nuances

why can external validity actually be thought of as being good in milgrams study

-bickams research corroborates his findings within the unform variation
-if the findings are consistent across both lab and field studies it suggests that uniform serves as a powerful symbol of authority
-this strengthens the reliability of milgrams research

what did kilman and Mann find

they replicated milgrams study in Australia and only found that 16% of participants shocked the the leaner and the maximum voltage

what did mantell find

they replicated milgrams study in germany and found that obidience was 85%

what does the difference in kilman, mantell and milgrams study suggest

-differnt societies and cultures lead to different levels of obdidience rather than the simple situational variables being tested
-this suggests an oversimplification of a complex social behaviour like obidience
-points towards adornos reasearch

what explanation for obidience does bickman and milgram reasarch provide

a situational explanation

what two levels did milgram say we operate on

autonomous state and agentic state

what is an autonomous state

-when individuals operate in an autonomous state they feel as if they are personally responsible for their actions and therefore act in allegiance with the law and their own conscious

what is an agentic state

when an individual feels able to pass responsibility for their actions onto an authority figure and no longer feels personally responsible or accountable for their actions

when will an agentic shift happen

when an individual decides their is a legitimate authority figure giving orders

what is legitimate authority

when someone has a role that is defined by society that gives them the right to exert control over others. people tend to obey because they trust them or they believe they have the power to punish them

what is a strength of the argument for agentic state and legitimate authority - V

-strong evidence
-film footage and notes from milgrams experiment showed that participants exhibited physical manifestations of extreme discomfort bit still proceeded when the experimenter said they were responsible
-neagated moral compass and evidence that they acted on behalf of the experimenter
-diredct support of milgrams theory

what is a strength of the argument for agentic state and legitimate authority - A

-real world applications in hisorical and military context
-adolf einchmann defened their actions in nazi Germany by claiming they were simply following commands
-reflects the same psychological process and milgram described through a deference of moral responsibility
-provides valuable framework for understanding obidience outside the lab

what is a weakness of the argument for agentic state and legitimate authority - V

-doesnt fully explain why some individuals resist authority
-in milgrams study and variations some participants refused to carry on administering shocks despite being prompted
-if agentic state is a universal response to authority we would expect all participants to obey once reposnabilty was shifted however the resistance suggest that their are more complex nuances
-overlooks the importance of individual differences

why did Adorno say people obeyed

as a result of their personalities, particular an authoritarain personality