Social Influence

• What is social influence?

  It is the process by which an individual’s attitudes, beliefs, or behaviours are modified by the presence of other people.
• What are the different types of social influence?

  Majority influence (conformity), minority influence, and obedience to authority.
• How is conformity defined according to Myers (1999)?

  Conformity is a change in behaviour or belief as a result of real or imagined group pressure.
• What are in-groups and out-groups?

  In-groups are groups we identify with, while out-groups are those we do not belong to.
• What are social norms?

  Social norms are implicit or explicit rules of behaviour set culturally within each social group.
• What are the three types of conformity?

  • Compliance: Conforming to be liked or avoid ridicule, public but not private change.
  • Identification: Public and private acceptance for group acceptance, temporary change.
  • Internalisation: Full acceptance of majority views, both public and private change.
• Give an example of compliance.

  Eating vegetarian at a friend’s house to avoid upsetting the host.
• Give an example of identification.

  Eating vegetarian with friends who are vegetarian to gain their respect, but eating meat at home.
• Give an example of internalisation.

  Becoming vegetarian because you believe it is right on principle.
• What did Kelman (1958) demonstrate about compliance and internalisation?

  He showed the difference between private and public conformity through an experiment with black students.
• What was the aim of Asch's study (1951)?

  To find out if participants would yield to social influence in a group task and give an incorrect answer.
• How many male students participated in Asch's study?

  123 male students.
• What was the critical trial in Asch's study?

  Trials where confederates deliberately gave the wrong answer on 12 out of 18 trials.
• What percentage of participants conformed to the majority in Asch's critical trials?

  37% of participants conformed to the majority.
• What reasons did participants give for conforming in Asch's study?

  Participants gave differing reasons, including informational and normative influences.
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of Asch's study?

  Strengths:

  • Reliable procedures in a controlled experiment.
  • Insight into real-life applications like behavior in emergencies.

  
  

  Weaknesses:

  • Low ecological validity due to artificial situation.
  • Ethical concerns due to deception of participants.
• How does group size affect conformity according to Asch's findings?

  Conformity increases with group size, peaking at 3 confederates, but does not significantly increase beyond that.
• What effect does unanimity have on conformity?

  If the group is unanimous, the individual is more likely to conform.
• How does task difficulty influence conformity?

  Conformity increases when the task is more difficult and the lines are more similar in length.
• What are the two explanations of why people conform according to the dual-process model?

  1. Informational Social Influence (ISI): Conforming based on the desire to be correct, leading to internalisation.
  2. Normative Social Influence (NSI): Conforming based on the need for social approval, leading to compliance.
• What was the aim of Jenness's study (1932)?

  To investigate how people are influenced by others' views in a situation with no clear right answer.
• What did Jenness find in his study regarding group estimates?

  Participants' second private estimates were closer to the group estimate, showing convergence towards the group norm.
• What is a limitation of Jenness's study?

  The study does not tell us about conformity in real-life situations due to its artificial nature.
• What did Lucas et al. (2006) find regarding conformity and confidence in maths skills?

  Participants lacking confidence in their maths skills were more likely to conform to wrong answers on hard problems.
• What are the issues with the dual-process theory of conformity?

  • Difficult to judge whether NSI or ISI are operating in real life.
  • Normative social influence is linked to emotional processes.
  • Informational social influence is linked to cognitive processes.
• What did Perrin and Spencer find regarding conformity in different groups?

  Different groups showed different levels of conformity, with engineering students showing very low conformity.
• How do individualist and collectivist cultures differ in terms of conformity?

  Individualist cultures prize individual achievement, while collectivist cultures emphasize group achievement and cooperation.
• What did Bond and Smith find regarding conformity in collectivist cultures?

  Collectivist cultures had higher rates of conformity compared to individualist cultures.
• What was the aim of the Stanford Prison Experiment by Haney, Zimbardo et al. (1973)?

  To investigate how readily people would conform to the roles of guard and prisoner in a simulated prison environment.
• How many male college students participated in the Stanford Prison Experiment?

  24 male college students.
• What roles were assigned to participants in the Stanford Prison Experiment?

  Participants were randomly assigned to the roles of 'prisoner' or 'guard'.
• What was the outcome of the Stanford Prison Experiment?

  Both groups adapted quickly to their roles, with guards becoming sadistic and prisoners becoming depressed.
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of Zimbardo's research?

  Strengths:

  • Insight into situational factors affecting behavior.
  • Real-life applications to power imbalances.

  
  

  Weaknesses:

  • Difficult to generalize from the sample.
  • Ethical issues due to psychological harm.
• What did Zimbardo conclude about the brutality observed in the experiment?

  The brutality was due to situational factors rather than the sadistic personalities of the guards.
• What ethical issues were present in the Stanford Prison Experiment?

  Participants experienced psychological harm and were not fully informed about the nature of the study.
• What is deindividuation in the context of the Stanford Prison Experiment?

  Deindividuation refers to the loss of self-awareness and individual accountability in group situations, exacerbated by uniforms.
• What did Zimbardo's role as 'prison warden' affect in the experiment?

  His involvement compromised the validity of the study as he could not remain objective.
• What did Zimbardo find regarding individual differences among the guards?

  Only 1/3 of the guards were described as sadistic, while the rest maintained good relations with prisoners.
• What did later studies, like the BBC Prison Study, find in contrast to Zimbardo's findings?

  They produced very different results, suggesting that situational factors alone do not account for behavior.
• What real-life situations did Zimbardo's study relate to?

  It relates to situations where power imbalances lead to brutal abuses, such as the Abu Ghraib prison scandal.