Social Influence

• What is internalisation in conformity?

  Genuine acceptance of group norms - permanent, private and public change
• What is the outcome of internalisation?

  Permanent change in opinions and behavior
• What is identification in conformity?


  Publicly changing opinions to fit a valued group
• How does identification differ from internalisation?

  Identification is public change without private agreement
• What is compliance in conformity?

  Going along with others ONLY publicly
• What happens to opinions during compliance?

  Opinions remain unchanged privately
• What is informational social influence (ISI)?

  Conformity due to a desire to be right
• In what situations is ISI most likely to occur?

  Ambiguous or new situations
• What is normative social influence (NSI)?

  Conformity due to a desire to be liked.
• When does NSI typically occur?

  In unfamiliar situations with known individuals
• What is a strength of ISI according to research?


  Research support from Lucas et al (2006)
• What did Lucas et al (2006) find about conformity?(ISI Evaluation)

  More conformity on difficult problems
• What is a strength of NSI according to Asch (1951)?

  Participants felt self-conscious about giving answers, proving NSI to be shown in Asch's research. When they wrote answers down, conformity dropped (12.5%)
• What did Asch (1951) find when participants wrote answers down?

  Conformity rates fell to 12.5%
• What is a limitation of ISI according to Asch (1955)?

  Individual differences affect conformity levels - students were less conformist
• What did Perrin and Spencer (1980) find about conformity?(ISI Evaluation)

  Less conformity in confident engineering students
• What is a limitation of the two-process approach to conformity?

  Oversimplifies the reasons for conformity
• How did dissenting partners affect conformity in Asch's experiment?

  Dissenters reduced conformity rates
• What is a limitation of NSI regarding individual differences?

  nAffiliators conform more due to social needs
• What was the procedure of Asch's (1951) study?

  123 Participants judged line lengths with 6-8 confederates
• What was the Asch effect?

  High level of conformity in unambiguous situations
• What were the findings of Asch's (1951) study regarding conformity rates?

  75% conformed at least once
• What did Asch (1955) find about group size and conformity?

  Conformity increased with more confederates
• How did unanimity affect conformity in Asch's study?

  Dissenting confederates reduced conformity rates
• What was the effect of task difficulty on conformity?

  Conformity increased with task difficulty
• What is a limitation of Asch's findings regarding time period?

  Findings may be a 'child of its times' - Perrin and Spencer
• What did Perrin and Spencer (1980) find about conformity in their trials?

  Only one conforming response in 396 trials
• What is a limitation of the artificiality of Asch's study?

  Participants may have responded to demand characteristics
• What did Neto (1955) suggest about gender differences in conformity?

  Women may be more conformist than men
• What did Williams and Sogon (1984) find about conformity?

  Conformity was higher with friends than strangers
• What ethical issue arose in Asch's research?

  Participants were deceived about confederates
• What was the aim of Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment?

  To test the influence of situational factors on behavior
• How were participants assigned roles in Zimbardo's study?

  All 24 were randomly assigned as guards or prisoners
• What was the procedure for the prisoners in Zimbardo's study?

  Prisoners were arrested and stripped of identity
• What is de-individuation in the context of Zimbardo's study?

  Losing a sense of personal identity
• What were the findings regarding the guards' behavior in Zimbardo's study?

  Guards became brutal and aggressive
• What happened to the prisoners after the rebellion in Zimbardo's study?

  Prisoners became subdued, anxious, and depressed
• What was the conclusion of Zimbardo's study?

  Situation influences behavior significantly
• What is a strength of Zimbardo's study regarding control over variables?

  Participants were emotionally stable and randomly assigned
• What is a limitation regarding the realism of Zimbardo's study?

  Participants may have been play-acting their roles - one guard based his role on a character from a film