Situational Factors

• What are the 4 situational factors?

  Majority influence on conformity

  Authority Figures on obedience

  Crowd and Collective on pro/anti-social behaviour

  Culture on pro/anti-social behaviour
• Explain majority influence on conformity

  This is when the majority of a group influences the others to conform to their beliefs/behaviours.

  The greater the majority, the greater the influence.
• Examples of majority influence on conformity?

  Elevator experiment

  Beep experiment
• Explain the effect of authority figures on obedience

  Authority figures have the power to punish - making people more to conform.

  So the presence/order of an authority figure can lead to higher levels of obedience as people are more likely to follow their requests.
• Example of authority figures on obedience?

  Milgram Experiment

  Bickmans Study/Uniform experiment
• What are the two states relating to authority figures and obedience?

  Autonomous - we feel responsible for our own actions

  Agentic - we do not feel responsible for out own actions as we have acted under orders of authority figures
• What does the autonomous state mean?

  This is when we feel responsible for our own actions.
• What is the agentic state?

  Individuals do not feel responsible/less responsible as they were acting under orders from authority figures.
• Explain the effect of collective/crowd behaviour on pro/anti-social behaviour

  In a crowd, we can experience deindividuation which is where you lose your identity within a group (as you feel more anonymous/less sense of self-awareness).

  With this, you are more likely to conform to the crowd.
• Explain deindividuation

  This is where you lose your identity in a group due to a feeling of anonymity or can't be easily identified.

  With deindividuation you are more likely to conform to the group.
• Examples of the effect of collective/crowd on pro and anti-social behaviour

  Pro-social: Black Lives Matter protest - people protest together against racism.

  Anti-social: Mobs at the football/Tottenham riots.
• Explain the effect of culture on pro/anti-social behaviour

  Psychologists believe that the culture that an individual exists in/is exposed to (through childhood or close family) can influence whether they engage in pro/anti-social behaviour.
• Explain collectivist cultures

  The norms and values emphasise the importance of the group - people value behaviour that benefits everyone.

  Examples: Japan, China, India, Sweden
• Explain individualistic cultures

  The norms and values of society emphasise the importance of each individual person's rights and responsibilities.

  Examples: USA, UK, Australia
• What is the bystander effect and why does it happen?

  A phenomenon where individuals are less likely to help in an emergency when others are present.

  Reasons:

  Diffusion of responsibility

  A need to behave in the correct/socially-acceptable way.
• What are the 3 criticisms of situational factors?

  1. The theories are deterministic - external factors can also influence people's behaviour, individuals do have free will and there are many examples of independent behaviour regardless of others.
  2. The theories are reductionist - they oversimplify why people are influenced in different contexts, and fail to take into account individual differences
  3. Research can be seen as socially sensitive - Milgram's theory of agentic state - it suggests that people who commit atrocious acts aren't responsible for their actions/shouldn't be held accountable.
• Why are the theories deterministic?


  • They are deterministic as external factors can affect people's behaviour. Individuals have free will and there are examples of independent behaviour, regardless of situational factors.
• Why are the theories reductionist?


  • They oversimplify why people are influenced in different contexts
  • They fail to take into account individual differences
• Why can the research seem socially sensitive?

  Example of Milgram's theory of agentic state - it suggests that people who commit atrocious acts are not responsible for their actions and should not be held accountable for them.