Social Influence

• what does conformity mean

  this involves a change in a person's behaviour or opinions as a result of real or imagined pressure from a person or group of people. it is where we choose to go along with the majority (majority influence)
• normative social influence


  this refers to instances where people will change their behaviour in order to fit in and gain approval or avoid disapproval from other group members. this tends to lead to compliance
• informational social influence


  this refers to instances where people conform because they are uncertain about what to do in a particular situation, so they look to others for guidance. this tends to lead to internalisation
• what does normative social influence create

  the desire to be liked
• what does informational social influence create

  a desire to be right
• what does compliance mean

  it is the lowest level of conformity. here a person changes their public behaviour, but not their private beliefs. it is usually short-term change and is often the result of normative social influence
• what does internalisation mean

  it is the deepest level of conformity. here a person changes their public behaviour and private beliefs. it is usually long-term change and is often the result of informational social influence
• what does identification mean

  it is the middle level of conformity. here a person changes their public behaviour and their private beliefs but only while they are in the presence of the group. this is usually a short-term change and often the result of normative social influence
• what was the aim of Asch's (1955) study of conformity

  to investigate the extent to which social pressure from a majority group could affect a person to conform
• what was the procedure of Asch's study

  he got 123 male American participants to state which comparison line (A,B,C) is most like the target line. the answer was always obvious but confederates would state the wrong answer first to see if the participant would actually say the wrong answer or not
• what was the conclusion of Asch's study of conformity

  75% conformed on at least one trial. in a control group with no confederates people only made mistakes 1% of the time
• what are the three reasons why people conform that Asch found

  1. distortion of action- most participants continued to think differently from the group, but changed their public answer to avoid disapproval
  2. distortion of perception- a small number of participants came to see the lines in the same way as the majority
  3. distortion of judgement- they were doubtful/unsure of their own judgment
• what was Zimbardo's aim of the Stanford Prison Study

  to see whether people will conform to new social roles
• what is a social role

  a set of rights, duties, expectations, norms and behaviours that a person has to live by and fulfil. conforming to a social role where you change behaviour to fit the expectations of a certain role
• what was the procedure of Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Study

  24 male American undergraduates were selected. they had no criminal record or psychological disorders. 12 were selected randomly to be prisoners and the other 12 were the prison guards. the guards were given orders to maintain law and order, avoid physical violence, and prevent prisoner escapes by following a set of rules created by Zimbardo.
• what were the prisoners forced to wear

  they were given smocks with no underwear, a lock and chain around one ankle, stocking caps to cover hair and a number as identification
• what were the guards instructed to wear

  they were given uniforms which consisted of khaki shirts and trousers, handcuffs, wooden clubs and reflective mirror sunglasses
• what were the results of Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Study

  over the first few days, the guards became increasingly abusive and sadistic towards the prisoners. some guards were so enthusiastic that they volunteered to do extra hours without pay
• what were the conclusions of Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Study

  that they all conformed to new social roles. the students were given new roles and simply conformed to the behaviour of these roles. therefore, the behaviour was down to situational factors rather than the dispositional
• what is Deindividuation

  this is a state where you become so immersed in the norms of the group that you lose your sense of identity and personal responsibility
• what is obedience

  a form of social influence in which an individual follows a direct order. the person issuing the order is usually a figure of authority, who has the ability to punish when obedient behaviour is not forthcoming
• what was the aim to Milgram's study

  to see if people would obey to persons of authority
• what was the procedure of Milgram's study of Obedience

  the participant was paired with another (confederate). the participant would be the teacher and the other one would be the learner. the 'experimenter' was another confederate. the leaner was attached to an electric shock generator ranging from 15 volts to 450 volts. the learner was to remember pairs of words and if they got one wrong or said nothing at all the teacher was to give them an electric shock. if they refused there were prompts for them to continue
• what were the results of Milgram's study of Obedience

  100% of participants shocked up to 300 volts and 65% of participants shocked all the way up to 450 volts. 14 refused to go on at various levels
• what were some of the consequences of Milgram's study

  some of the subjects suffered extreme nervous tension and nervous laughter occurred. participants were obviously physically sweating and continually asking for reassurance from the experimenter before continuing. one participant had an epileptic shock
• what is an Agentic State


  it means that you are an agent of someone else's ideas or orders.
• what is an Autonomous State

  where we are independent and have free will over our actions
• what are binding factors

  these are factors of the situation which reduce our moral strain such as reassuring ourselves it is not our responsibility
• what is Legitimacy of Authority

  we are taught from an early age who is at the top of the social hierarchy. we trust them to exert their power over us appropriately and are willing to give up our independence if they do so
• what is Destructive Authority

  when some authority figures have exploited their legitimate authority to cause destruction. this is when they order people lower down in the social hierarchy to act in cruel and torturous ways
• what is an Authoritarian personality

  a type of personality that Adorno argued was especially susceptible to obeying people in authority. such individuals are also thought to be submissive to those of higher status and dismissive of inferiors
• what was the procedure of Adorno (1950) study

  he investigated the causes of the obedient personality in a study of more than 2000 middle-class, white Americans and their unconscious attitudes towards other racial groups. they created scales such as the potential for fascism (F-Scale)
• what were the results of Adorno's study

  that people with authoritarian leaning identified with strong people and were generally contemptuous of the 'weak'. they were very conscious about their own status. they showed blind, excessive respect to those with a higher status than themselves. there was a strong positive relationship between authoritarianism and prejudice
• what is independent behaviour

  it refers to the ability to resist pressures to conform to a majority, or resisting pressures to obey the orders given by an authority figure
• Hofling et al study

  22 nurses received telephone calls from a 'Dr Smith', instructing them to give a patient 20mg of a made up drug called astrofen. Dr Smith stated that he was in a hurry and would sign the drug authorisation 10 minutes after the drug had been given. the box stated that the max daily dose was 10mg. if the nurses complied they would be breaking the rules. in reply to earlier questionnaires they said that they would never obey such an order. in reality 21 out of 22 nurses that received the call complied without hesitation and 11 later said they didn't notice the drug discrepancy
• what is the social support explanation for resisting pressures to conform

  the pressure to conform is reduced is others present are not conforming. the answer doesn't have to be right, just that person alone is enough to stop them conforming. follows their own conscience. acts as a 'model'. is not long-lasting-if others start conforming so will the participant
• what is locus of control

  refers to a person's perception of personal control over their own behaviour. it is a personality explanation. you have internal and external locus of control
• what is an internal locus of control

  where you believe that your life is determined by your own decisions and efforts
• what is an external locus of control

  where you believe that your life is determined by fate, luck and external factors
• what relation does having an internal locus of control have to social influence

  they will actively seek out information which will help them personally and are less likely to rely on others. they are more achievement-oriented. they are better at resisting pressures from others