SOCIAL INFLUENCE 5

social support social change LOC and minority influence

what is minority influence

a minority trying to persuade a majority leading to internalisation

what are the 3 parts of minority influence

consistency commitment and flexibility

what is consistency (MI)

a confident and repetitive message and belief over time

what is flexibility(MI)

compromising with the majority to show ability to negotiate and be reasonable

why is flexibility better than consistency at times

consistency could be counterproductive as it could make the minority be seen as narrow minded

what is a locus of control

the power we believe we have over events in our lives

what is an internal locus of control

people who believe they are responsible for what happens to them

how do people with an internal loc react to conformity pressures

resist

what is an external locus of control

a person who beleive the events of their life are out of their control

how do people with an external locus of control react to conformity pressures

they dont resist

what effect do dissenters have on conformity

dissenters reduce conformity as they break unanimity

what effect does the breaking of unanimity have on individuals

it allows them to make individual assessments of a situation 

what effect does social support have on people

it makes them feel more confident in their position as an outsider

what effect does social support have on individuals

individuals can act independently as their disobedient peer acts a role model who they can imitate

what does the presence of a disobedient peer have on people

they imitate or use it as an opportunity to escape

what does the disobedient peer act as in terms of obedience

a role model 

asch conformity rates dissenter

32 to 5

milgram dissenter percentage

65 - 10

LOC:supporting study

a meta analysis of the relationship between LOC and conformity found that those with an internal LOC are less easily persuaded and less likely to conform

LOC:weakness

gender differences

what gender differences where found in LOC studies

sherman found that women are more likely to have an external LOC due to their seeking relationships rather than acting independently

what supporting evidence is there for social support

Wallace found that whilst those with friends who drank are more likely to drink if they had a friend who also didnt drink they were less likely to drink

what is a weakness of social support

asch shows that it is not support but the breaking of the majority that causes resistance

how did asch demonstrate majority breaking as an explanation for resistance

when a dissenter gave an alternative incorrect answer conformity rates dropped to 9%

what are our examples of social support in terms of conformity and obedience

dissenters and disobedient peers 

what is supporting evidence for consistency

moscovicis slide study

how does moscovicis slide study support consistency

the minority which consistently said the blue slides were green persuaded a much larger amount of participants than the inconsistent minority 

what is a weakness of moscovicis slide study

participants were deceived and told the study was about visual perception and it was an artifical task lacking in ecological validity

supporting evidence for commitment

a researcher developed a social network in which a majority of people with traditional views were met with a minority of committed individuals with an alternative view 

what is a weakness for this study

explain how the commitment supporting study supports commitment

the percentage of committed individuals needed to shift the majorities views was only 10%

supporting evidence for flexibility

in a simulated jury situation discussing compensation for a ski accident an individual gave a low figure consistently and was ignored but shifted the majority opinion when he compromised