social influence

• What are the three types of conformity mentioned in the study material?

  Compliance, Identification, and Internalisation
• What is compliance in the context of conformity?

  A temporary type of conformity where one publicly agrees with the majority view but privately disagrees
• In what situation might someone demonstrate compliance?

  When they publicly agree with a group but do not share the same beliefs privately
• What is identification in terms of conformity?

  A moderate type of conformity where one acts in the same way as the majority but does not necessarily agree with their beliefs
• Provide an example of identification.


  Following a dress code
• What is internalisation in the context of conformity?

  A deep type of conformity where one accepts the majority view as correct, leading to permanent change in behavior
• Give an example of internalisation.

  Becoming vegan or vegetarian
• What are the differences between compliance, identification, and internalisation?

  • Compliance: Temporary agreement with the majority, private disagreement.
  • Identification: Moderate conformity, acting like the majority without full agreement.
  • Internalisation: Deep acceptance of the majority view, leading to permanent change.
• What is normative social influence (NSI)?

  It explains why we behave like the majority without accepting their point of view due to social pressures
• What does NSI stand for?

  Normative Social Influence
• Why do people conform according to NSI?

  People conform to fit in and avoid rejection, making it an emotional process
• What is informational social influence (ISI)?

  It explains why people conform due to uncertainty and the belief that others are correct
• What does ISI stand for?

  Informational Social Influence
• In what situations is ISI most likely to occur?

  When the situation is ambiguous, in a crisis, or when others are perceived as experts
• What are the key findings from Asch's research on conformity?

  • 123 American men tested in groups with confederates.
  • Participants agreed with incorrect answers 36.9% of the time.
  • 25% never conformed.
  • Conformity rates dropped with group sizes smaller than 4.
  • Presence of a dissenter reduced conformity.
  • Increased task difficulty led to higher conformity due to ISI.
• What was the average conformity rate found in Asch's baseline findings?

  36.9%
• How many participants were genuine in Asch's study?

  One genuine participant per group
• How did Asch manipulate group size in his research?

  He varied the number of confederates from 2 to 16
• What effect did adding a confederate who gave the correct answer have on conformity rates?

  It reduced conformity among the other participants
• What happened when Asch made the line length differences smaller?

  Conformity increased due to informational social influence
• How does Asch's research illustrate the difference between normative and informational social influence?

  It shows that conformity can occur due to both the desire to fit in (NSI) and the belief that others are correct (ISI)
• What was the purpose of Asch's research?

  To investigate the extent to which social pressure from a majority group could influence a person to conform
• What ethical issue arose from the deception of participants in the study?

  The naive participants were deceived as they thought confederates were also genuine participants.
• Why should ethical costs be weighed against benefits in research studies?

  Because the potential benefits gained from the study may justify the ethical costs involved.
• What did participants believe the research task was related to?

  Participants were led to believe the task was related to vision.
• How might the trivial nature of the task affect participants' behavior?

  Participants may have conformed to expectations because the task was relatively trivial.
• What does the term "limited application" refer to in the context of Asch's findings?

  It refers to the fact that participants were all American men, limiting the generalizability of the findings to women and other cultures.
• Who conducted research supporting Asch's findings on task difficulty?

  Todd Lucas et al. (2006) conducted research supporting Asch's findings.
• What was the main finding of Todd Lucas et al.'s study regarding task difficulty?

  Participants conformed with wrong answers more when the question was harder.
• What was the aim of Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment (SPE)?

  • To investigate conformity to social roles
  • Specifically, the roles of guard and prisoner in a simulated prison
• What was the setting of the Stanford Prison Experiment?

  The experiment was conducted in the basement of a psychology building, turned into a mock prison.
• How many male college students were selected for the Stanford Prison Experiment?

  24 male college students were selected.
• What was the payment for participants in the Stanford Prison Experiment?

  Participants were paid $15 per day to take part.
• How were roles assigned to participants in the Stanford Prison Experiment?

  Participants were randomly assigned roles of prisoner and guard.
• What were the conditions for prisoners in the Stanford Prison Experiment?

  Prisoners were housed three in a room and subjected to various humiliating treatments.
• What was the behavior of the guards in the Stanford Prison Experiment?

  Some guards began harassing the prisoners within hours of starting the experiment.
• What happened to the prisoners' behavior over the course of the Stanford Prison Experiment?

  Prisoners adopted prison-like behavior and became more submissive as the guards became more aggressive.
• How long was the Stanford Prison Experiment originally supposed to run?


  The experiment was supposed to run for 14 days.
• Why was the Stanford Prison Experiment terminated early?

  The experiment was terminated after 6 days due to the extreme emotional distress of participants.
• What conclusions can be drawn from the Stanford Prison Experiment?

  • People conform to social roles, especially when given roles and uniforms
  • The prison environment significantly influenced the guards' brutal behavior
  • Participants experienced psychological distress, leading some to leave the study