★ : Social Influence !

AQA A-Level Psychology Social Influence Flashcards . . .

what is conformity ?

a change in behaviour or opinion due to real or imagined pressure from a group/individual

what are the 2 types of conformity?

internalisation and compliance

what is internalisation ?

when an individual accepts the group’s norms and makes a public + private change in behaviour/opinion

what is compliance?

when an individual publicly accepts the group’s norms but maintains their own private opinion

why do people conform ?

NSI and ISI

what is NSI?

normative social influence (the need to be liked)

what is ISI?

informational social influence (the need to be right)

when does NSI occur?

in situations with greater need for social approval

when does ISI occur?

in crisis or when the answer is ambiguous so the individual assumes the group is correct

what variables affect conformity ?

task difficulty, unanimity, group size

how did Asch investigate the affect of task difficulty on conformity?

he made the comparison lines more similar in length, so the answer was more ambiguous

what were the results when Asch investigated the affect of task difficulty on conformity?

conformity increased (as the answer was ambiguous and they assumed the group was correct)

how did Asch investigate the affect of task difficulty unanimity on conformity?

he made one confederate say the actual right answer or a different wrong answer

what were the results when Asch investigated the affect of unanimity on conformity?

conformity decreased to 25% (as confederate provided social support to not conform)

how did Asch investigate the affect of group size on conformity?

he increased the number of confederates

what were the results when Asch investigated the affect of group size on conformity?

conformity increased to 31.8% with 3 confederates but didn’t increase past this. (more people = group is more likely to be correct)

what is obedience ?

a type of social influence in which an individual follows a direct order

what are situational explanations for obedience?

agentic state and legitimacy of authority

what is agentic state?

a state in which individuals are free from the consequences to their actions because the believe they are acting on behalf of an authority figure

what is legitimacy of authority?

the perceived right of an authority figure to have power (because they can be punished) and be obeyed

what are dispositional explanations for obedience?

Authoritarian Personality

What is Authoritarian Personality?

A personality type that comes from strict parenting (where absolute loyalty and compliance to high standards is expected) and causes them to have extreme respect for authority figures (making them more likely to obey)

what does agentic state make people experience ?

binding factors (psychological mechanisms that keep people obedient by psychologically distancing themselves from accountability) such as victim blaming

what was Milgram’s baseline obedience experiment?

Participants (“teachers”) were instructed to give increasingly severe electric shocks to a learner for wrong answers

what were the results from Milgram’s baseline obedience experiment ?

100% went to 300V and 65% were fully obedient to 450V

what were situational variables that affected obedience in Milgram’s variable experiments ?

remote proximity, touch proximity, location and uniform 

how was remote proximity investigated ?

experimenter left the room + instructions were delivered through a telephone

how was touch proximity investigated ?

participants were forced to place the ‘learner’s’ hand on the shock when they didn’t want to

how was location investigated ?

experiment was moved from Yale university campus to a run down apartment block

how was uniform investigated ?

experimenter left the room + instructions were given to participants from a ‘member of the public’ in casual clothes

what were the results when remote proximity investigated ?

obedience dropped to 20.5% (because less authority perceived)

what were the results when touch proximity investigated ?

obedience dropped to 30% (because they couldn’t psychologically distance themselves from the victim)

what were the results when location investigated ?

obedience dropped to 47.5% (because less authority perceived)

what were the results when uniform investigated ?

obedience dropped to 20% (because less authority percieved)

why do people resist social influence ?

locus of control and social support

what is social support?

the presence of people who resist social influence, which helps others to do the same 

what is locus of control?

a spectrum that affects people’s ability to resist social influence 

what does it mean when an individual has a HIGH INTERNAL locus of control?

they believe that everything that happens to them is a result of their own actions

what are the characteristics of those with a HIGH INTERNAL Locus of Control?

they are less likely to conform as they have a lower need for social approval + feel responsible for their actions

what does it mean when an individual has a HIGH EXTERNAL locus of control?

they believe everything that happens to them is out of their control

what is minority influence?

when a small group of people persuade others to adopt their beliefs/attitudes

what type of conformity arises from minority influence?

internalisation (as the minority want a permanent change in the majority)

what does minority influence require to work ?

commitment, consistency and flexibility

what is flexibility in terms of minority influence?

being willing to adapt views or approach when needed

what is an example of flexibility in minority influence ?

The Suffragettes Movement (they balanced between peaceful/forceful protests and hunger strikes when needed, depending on context)

what is consistency in terms of minority influence?

being consistent in their views

what are the 2 types of consistency ?

diachronic (saying the same thing over time) and synchronic (all members of the minority saying the same thing)

what is an example of consistency in minority influence?

The Suffragettes were diachronic (movement lasted over 60 years) and synchronic (all said the same thing/had the same goals)

what is commitment in terms of minority influence?

showing commitment to the cause through your actions (involving personal risk or sacrifice) to allow the augmentation process take place

what is an example of commitment in minority influence ?

The Suffragettes Movement → women faced imprisonment and went hunger strikes (showing personal risk + sacrifice)

how does commitment help minority influence ?

greater personal risk/sacrifice = higher influence (augmentation process) so majority are more likely to reconsider

how does consistency help minority influence ?

it increases their credibility + encourages others to rethink

how does flexibility help minority influence ?

the minority seem less rigid + give off a genuine/credible attitude so people are more likely to reconsider