Social Influence - Key studies

Asch 1951 - Conformity

123 male American students took part in 18 line-judgement trials (12 of which were critical where confederates (Cs) all gave the wrong answer). The participants (Ps) were asked to identify which of the three lines matched the original. P was always sat last of second to last. Ps conformed 32% of critical trials. 75% Ps conformed at least once. Afterwards, Asch interviewed Ps, who said they conformed because of NSI, to avoid disapproval from the group.

Variations: When wrote down answers (removing NSI pressure), conformity dropped to 12.5%. When a C broke the unanimity of the group, conformity dropped to 5% if gave the correct answer, and 9% when gave an alternate wrong answer. When the task got more difficult, by making the lines more similar in length, conformity increased due to Ps looking to the majority for guidance (ISI). Group size; 2 Cs = 13%; 3 Cs = 32%. After a group of 3, conformity plateaued.

Jennes - supports ISI

Jennes conducted a study where Ps had to guess how many beans were in a jar. Participants individually estimated number of beans in a jar, then the Ps discussed as a group of 3 before each making a second estimate. Most Ps changed their answers to be more similar to the other people in their group. Providing support for ISI, as they believed other group members were more likely to be correct.

Perrin and Spencer 1980 - Asch replication

In 1980, Perrin and Spencer replicated Asch’s study with British engineering students and found the participants conformed only 0.25% of the time. Suggesting Asch’s study lacks temporal validity.

Milgram 1963 - Obedience

In a study with 40 male volunteers at Yale, participants (Ps) acted as teachers and were instructed to administer electric shocks to a confederate learner for incorrect answers, increasing voltage up to 450V. All Ps shocked to at least 300V, and 65% reached 450V. Many exhibited signs of stress, including sweating and trembling. Obedience levels varied with proximity: same room (40% obedience), forced hand onto shock plate (30%), and instructions over the phone (20%). When the experiment was conducted in a rub-down office block as opposed to Yale, obedience dropped to 48%. When the experimenter was wearing everyday clothes, obedience drops to 20%.

Hofling et al. 1966 - Obedience

Opposing evidence to Milgram. Hofling found that 21/22 nurses obeyed orders given over the phone to give an overdose of an unknown drug to a patient.

Bickman 1974 - Obedience uniform

Field experiment with a confederate asking passers-by to perform tasks e.g. picking up litter. He found that when asked to put money in a parking meter, 89% of people obeyed the C dressed as a guard, but only 33% obeyed the C dressed as a civilian. Supporting the idea that uniform affects obedience.

Adorno et al. 1950 - Authoritarian personality

Studies 2000 middle-class white Americans’ attitudes towards other ethnic groups. He used the F-scale (F for fascist) to determine the extent of each person’s authoritarian personality. A higher F-scale score meant an authoritarian personality - respect those of a higher status, rigid thinking, strict adherence to norms. Found a strong correlation between authoritarianism and prejudice.

Moscovici 1969 - Minority influence

172 female participants took part in a colour-perception task. In groups of 6 (2 confederates), they wee shown slides of various shades of blue and had to state aloud the colour. In the consistent condition, the Cs always said green. In the inconsistent condition, the Cs only said green 2/3 of the time.
In the consistent condition, Ps said green 8.2% of the trials, whereas in the inconsistent condition, Ps only said green 1.25% of the time. Showing a consistent minority is more effective at convincing the majority.

Elms and Milgram 1966 - Authoritarian personality

20 obedient Ps (who went to the full 450V in Milgram’s original study) and 20 disobedient Ps (who refused to continue) completed several questionnaires, including Adorno’s F-scale, to measure their levels of authoritarian personality. They were also interviewed about their relationship with their parents and their opinions on the experimenter from Milgram’s original study. They found obedient Ps were more likely to have an authoritarian personality, and were less close to their fathers during childhood.

Oliner and Oliner 1988 - LOC resisting obedience

The Oliners interviewed non-Jewish people who had either rescued/protected Jewish people from the Nazis during WWII or not. They found rescuers were more likely to have an internal locus of control. Internal LOC correlates with resistance to obedience.

Spector 1983 - LOC resisting conformity

157 University students took Rotter’s locus of control questionnaire and then took part in a conformity task. He found that the higher the students’ internal locus of control, the more likely they are to resist conforming due to normative social influence.

Nemeth and Brilmayer 1987 - Flexibility

Ski-lift compensation fake jury scenario. They found participants got more compensation if they compromised on a value. Ps who were flexible and willing to compromise managed to change the majority opinion. Highlights importance of flexibility in minority influence.