Psychology social influence

Conformity

When a person changes their behaviour, attitudes or values due to a real of perceived group pressure

Internalisation

Taking the majority view because you see it as correct leading to a far-reaching permanent change in behaviour even in the absence of the group

Identification

Acting in the same way as a group because you value the group and want to be a part of it but you don’t agree with everything the group believes

Compliance

Outwardly going along with the majority view but privately disagreeing with it, the change only lasts as long as the groups monitoring us

Informational social influence

An explanation of compliance that says we agree with the opinion of the majority because we believe it to be correct and so accept it so we can be correct

What does ISI lead to

Internalisation

What does NSI lead to

Compliance

Normative social influence

an explanation of compliance that says we agree with the opinion of the majority because we want to gain social approval and be liked

Jeness’ study method

Had a group of 26 participants guess the number of beans in a glass individually then placed in groups of 3 and formed a group estimate and then the individual participants estimated again to see if they changed their individual answer

Jeness’s study aims

To see whether individuals change their opinion in an ambiguous situation in response to a group discussion

Jeness’ study results

Nearly all participants changed their original answer when provided the opportunity to do so, males change their answer by 256 and females by 382

Jeness’ study confusion

People conform in situations even when it makes no difference

Research support for ISI

Participants conformed in Asch’s study more to incorrect answers, when math problems where hard and people conformed to be right

Research support for NSI

(Add from textbook)

Limitation of NSI and ISI

It’s difficult to distinguish between NSI and ISI as they usually overlap and do not usually occur exclusively of one another

Aim of Asch’s study

To see to what extent people would conform to the opinion of others even in a situation where the answer is unambiguous

Method of Asch’s study

123 American men were tested in groups of 6-8 alone with confederates, they saw 2 large white cards one with line x on and the other with 3 reference lines, line x was the same length as one of the reference lines, each participant was asked to say aloud which line was the same length as X

Results of Asch’s study

On average the genuine participants conformed and agreed with the confederates incorrect answers 36.8% of the time (around a 1/3 of the time) but 25% of participants never conformed

Conclusion of Asch’s study

People were willing to conform to fit in with the rest of the group especially when they were asked to give their answer publicly

What was the effect of group size on Asch’s study

Up to 3 participants had the greatest impact on conformity and after 12 participant the effect declines (curvilinear relationship)

What was the effect of unanimities on Asch’s study

The presence of non-conforming participant who either gave the correct answer or an alternative incorrect answer decreased conformity to less than ¼ of the original value

What was the effect of task difficulty on Asch’s study

As task difficulty increased so did conformity as participants became less confident in their answer increasing Informational social influence

What was the effect of artificial stimuli on Asch’s study

Participants knew they were participating in a research study and so demand characteristics may have influenced yields results and the groups didn’t resemble real groups where conformity is more important making the results hard to generalise to real world findings

What was the effect of limited application on Asch’s study

Asch’s participants were all American men which was not representative of the general population, when the study was replicated on other less individualistic cultures e.g. China conformity was much higher. Additional studies also show women may conform more and so Asch’s study tells us little about conformity in women and other cultures

Social roles

The parts people play as members of various social groups accompanied by the expectations we have of others

What type of conformity does social roles represent

Identification

Describe the aim of the Stanford prison experiment

To examine whether people would conform to the social roles of a prison guard or prisoner when placed in a mock prison environment and whether the behaviour displayed in prison was due to internal disposition as factors or external situational factors

Describe the method of the Stanford prison experiment

21 men selected from a group of volunteers whom tested as emotionally stable, they were randomly assigned prison guard or prisoner, prisoners given a loose smock, cap covering their hair and number identification. Guards had their own uniforms reflecting their status, wooden club, handcuff and mirror shades. Prisoners were encouraged to identify with their role by procedures such as applying for parole and guards were reminded that they had power over the prisoners. The mock prison was set up in the basement of Stanford university

What were the results of the Stanford prison experiment

The guards treated the prisoners so harshly that by day 2 the prisoners rebelled ripping up their uniform, swearing and retaliating. Guards played the prisoners off against each other through divide and rule harassing them by enforcing headcounts. They also highlighted different social roles providing opportunity for punishment, following the rebellion prisoners became subdued, depressed and anxious whereas guards identified more closely with their role with their behaviour becoming more brutal and aggressive. After 6 days the study ended early after some prisoners were released early on days 3 and 4.

What was the conclusion of the Stanford prison experiment

Zimbado concluded that people quickly conform to social riles even when the rule goes against their moral principles and furthermore he concluded that situational factors were largely responsible for their behaviour as none of the participants had previously demonstrated this behaviour.

How was controlling variables a strength of zimbados research

He selected participants who were emotionally stable through random allocation, removing individual differences, the random allocation meant that the differences in behaviour were because of roles increasing the internal validity

How is lack of realism a limitation of Zimbado’s research

Banuazizi and Mohavedi argues that the experiment didn’t have the realism of a true prison suggesting that the participants were play-acting not conforming, participant behaviour was based on stereotypes of prison and guard behaviour, findings of the SPE tell us little about conformity to social roles in actual prisons

How is high internal validity a strength of Zimbado’s research

Mark McDermott argued that participants behaved as though the prison was real with 90% of conversations being on prison life including the impossibility of leaving before their sentence suggesting that the SPE dud replicate social roles of prisoners and guards in real life giving the study high internal validity

How is the evidence of Zimbado exaggerating the impact of social roles a limitation.

Only 1/3 of the guards actually behaved brutally with 1/3 applying them rules fairly and 1/3 even actively supporting the prisoners for example reinstating privileges showing that most guards actually resisted situational pressures and that Zimbado overstated the view that SPE participants conformed to social roles and minimised the influence of dispositional factors e.g. personality

What were some ethical issues of Zimbado’s study

The participants playing prisoners were arrested at night in their own home, they were then stripped, blindfolded and deloused when they arrived at prison, some guards were hostile and dehumanising towards prisoners and Zimbado overlooked the abusive behaviour of then prison guards until it was questioned by a graduate student

What happened in Abu Ghraib in terms of conformity to social roles

The soldiers in Abu Ghraib wore a uniform enforcing their social role as a soldier onto them and influencing their behaviour leading them to commit horrific acts of abuse towards the prisoners. Away from then situation as a guard the men would be objected to such acts seeing them as immoral

What was the aim of Milgram’s study

Researching how far people would go in obeying an instruction if it involved harming another person

What was the method of Milgram’s study

40 American men volunteered to take part in a memory study when they arrived they met a confederate (learner) the volunteer was asked to shock the learner by the experimenter which they believed to be real, the participant was given a small shock to experience. At 315 volts the leaner became silent. The Experimenter used language such as please continue, the experiment requires that you continue, it’s absolutely essential that you continue and you have no choice you must go on.

What were the results of Milgram’s study

All of the participants went to at least 300 volts and 65% continued to the full 450 volts, alongside this the participants showed signs of distress and tension e.g. sweating or trembling

What were the conclusions from Milgram’s study

American participants were willing to obey powders even when they might harm another person, he suspected that there were certain factors in the situation that encouraged obedience and so he conducted further studies to investigate these

What is some research support for Milgram’s study

The findings were replicated in a French documentary where they gave fake electric shocks to other participants when ordered to by the presenter they exhibited the same participants behaviour such as nervous laughter and nail biting which supported Milgram’s original findings about obedience increasing the validity.

How is internal validity a limitation of Milgram’s study

Orne and Holland argued that the participants didn’t believe the set up and play-acted, only around ½ of the participants believed so the study may have been influenced by demand characteristics

How is internal validity a strength of Milgram’s study

Sheriden and King conducted a study where participants gave real shocks to puppies when asked to despite the real distress of the puppy, 54% of men completed this and 100% of women grave a fatal shock suggesting that Milgram’s study displayed genuine obedience

What is social identity theory

That participants only obeyed when they identified with the scientific aims of the research

Why is social identity theory a limitation of Milgram’s study

The participants didn’t obey through obedience instead they were influenced by SLT

Which 3 situational factors did Milgram investigate

Proximity, location and uniform

How did proximity affect obedience

When the teacher and the learner were in the same room obedience dropped from 64 to 40%, when in a different room with instructions given over the phone obedience levels fell to 20.5%

How did location affect obedience

When the experiment was completed in a rundown building instead obedience levels dropped from 65% to 47.5%

How did uniform affect obedience

When the experimenter appeared in everyday clothing obedience decreased from 60% to 20%

Agentic state

Someone who acts on behalf of someone else feeling powerless to disobey

Agentic shift

When someone in the autonomous state is confronted with a figure of authority causing them to move into an Agentic state

Binding factors

Factors that are aspects of a situation allowing a person to minimise the damaging effects of their behaviour

Moral strain

Obeying an order that goes against your conscience and mortal principles

Legitimacy of authority

People in certain positions of power hold authority over the rest of us

What’s a potential consequence of legitimacy of authority

Some people are granted the power to punish others

Destructive authority

When powerful leaders use their power for destructive purposes, ordering people to behave cruelly and dangerously

What is research support for legitimacy of authority

Blass and Schmidt showed Milgram’s study to students and asked who was responsible for harm to the learner, they blamed the experimenter not the participant due the experimenters legitimate authority

What is the limitation of the Agentic shift

Some people will remain in an autonomous state which reduces its reliability

What are some examples of elements of an authoritarian personality

Blind allegiance to conventional beliefs about right and wrong, respect for submission to acknowledged authority, a negative view of people in general, a need for strong leadership with uncompromising power, a preoccupation with violence and sex

Aims of Adorno’s study

To test whether dispositional factors e.g. an authoritarian personality affected obedience levels

Method of Adorno’s study

He studied more than 200 middle-class white Americans and their unconscious attitudes towards other ethnic groups using measurements such as the F-scale

Results of Adorno’s study

Individuals who scored highly on the F-scale and other questionnaires reported identifying with strong people and showed disrespect towards the weak and were status-conscious regarding themselves and others showing excessive respect towards those in higher power

Conclusion of Adorno’s study

Individuals with an authoritarian personality were more obedient to authority figures

What was did Milgram and Elms find about the obedience of participants that scored highly on the F-scale

They scored much higher on the F-scale if they were obedient than those who were disobedient

What did Milgram and Elms find about the relationship between obedient participants and their fathers

They didn’t glorify their fathers or receive unusual levels of punishment and weren’t hostile towards their mothers

What did Milgram and Elms find about who they admired most in the experiment

They admired the experimenter

How is the number of obedient German citizens during WW11 Germany a limitation of dispositional factors

Not all of the citizens could’ve possessed an authoritarian personality and likely all had different personalities and yet they were all obedient so social identification theory may explain this instead

How is political bias a limitation of the F-scale

The F-scale doesn’t account for obedience to authority across the political spectrum only fascism

What is the main limitation of Adorno’s research

You could gain a very high score from simply selecting agree for all the answers making anyone with this response bias assessed as having an authoritarian personality

What research supports social support as a theory

Albrecht’s research into a programme for pregnant teens to quit smoking, some had buddies which helped them resist the pressure to smoke and those without continued smoking however the follow-up study showed that even those with buddies started smoking again once the social support was removed

What research supports a descending peer leads to social resistance

Gamson did a study where groups of people were asked to form marketing campaigns against oil protesting however when a dissenting peer was added they wouldn’t continue showing that peer support also leads to disobedience

Internal locus of control

Take responsibility for your own behaviour good and bad and therefore are more likely to resist obedience

External locus of control

Believe that other outside forces control what happens to your making you more likely to obey

Why are people with an internal LOC more likely to obey

They are more confident and have higher personal responsibility which allows them to resists social influence

Research support for locus of controls in resisting social influence

Holland repeated Milgram’s study demonstrating that people with an internal LOC showed greater resistance to social influence than those with an external LOC

Contradictory evidence for LOC in resistance to social influence

Meta-analysis by Twenge studied LOC studies across 40 years which shower lower levels of obedience alongside more external LOC in society