Social influence

• What is social influence

  The effect others have on our behaviour
• What is obedience

  Following orders of a perceived authority
• Explain how expertise affects conformity

  If someone knows a lot about a subject they’re less likely to conform that someone who isn’t an expert
• What is an issue for the expertise factor for conformity

  No single factor to explain conformity
• What is conformity

  A change in a persons behaviour or opinions as the result of real or imagined group pressure
• What is social factor 


  Factors that influence us from the social situation
• What do we mean by external locus of control 


  these people have a tendency to believe that things happen without their own control
• What is an internal locus of control

  The belief that the things that happen are largely controlled by themselves
• How does locus of control affect conformity

  People who have an internal locus of control are more likely to be able to resist the pressure to conform. If a person takes personal responsibility they’re more likely to base decisions on their beliefs not conform
• Explain research to support the relationship between locus of control and conformity

  Internal locus of control leads to lower conformity. When asked to rate cartoons, Burger and Cooper found that participants with a high desire for control were less likely to agree with confederates ratings
• What is an issue for the locus of control factor for conformity

  1966, locus of control does not seem to have an effect on conformity in familiar situations. Ritter found when you are in a new situations then your locus of control will be important. However, in a familiar situations levels of conformity are less affected.
• Cognitive style

  Like things to be black and white, rigid cognitive style
• What is normative social influence

  Conformity for social approval and acceptance and to avoid rejection
• What is informational social insurance

  Changing your behaviour to fit the group because you assume they have a better knowledge
• What is prosocial behaviour

  Acting in a way that promotes the welfare of others
• What is the evaluation for similarity to others in prosocial behaviour

  Similarity may increase helping but for example if someone in a football shirt needs help, people who support the same team will probably help
• What is meant by cost of helping in pro social Behaviour

  Decision of whether to help depends on cost. Cost of helping includes, danger to self or embarrassment. Cost of not helping includes, guilt, blame, leaving another in need. cost-reward model, balance between costs and rewards of helping
• What is it ment by presence of others in prosocial behaviour 


  Bystander effect states that the more people present the less likely people are to help. Darley and Hatańe asked participants to have a discussion on an intercom with others. one had an epileptic seizure and asked for help, if alone 85% reported but only 31% if they thought others were there
• What is the evaluation for cost of helping prosocial behaviour

  Help also depends on how the situation is interpreted, e.g. A man and women argued in public and 65% intervened when the women shouted I don’t know you but only 19% when shouting I don’t know why I married you
• what Do we mean by social factors 


  Explanation for conformity in terms of the social world around us. your social world is the group of people you identify with
• What is genetic state

  We feel No responsibly as we’re doing what we’ve been asked to do
• What is an autonomous state 


  Making your own decisions so feeling responsible for your actions
• What is an agenic shift

  The change from an autonomous state to an agent is state
• What is dispositional factor

  factors that come from within us
• Dispositional factor


  Attributes of an individual which can be used to explain why they behave in a particular way this could be their personality, genes or their political ideals
• What is a dispositional explanation 


  Use these factors such as personality or a disorder to explain behaviour and why some people will behave in a particular way which others won’t
• What does bystander behaviour mean

  help won’t be given in an emergency situation around other people because they think someone else will do it
• Authoritarian personality 


  Someone who is independent, obedient, has rigid views, hostile towards lower status
• What is scapegoating

  Freud suggested that people who have hostility displace this onto others who are socially inferior In a process called scapegoating you offload anger only something else reliving anxiety and hostility
• What do we mean by the term confederate

  someone who knows the aim of the short and acts as a participant to help the study
• What are the aims of Milgrams study

  To see if people would obey an unreasonable order
• What was the method of Milgrams study

  40 males volunteered for a study in memory aged 20-50. The learner was strapped in a chair and wired with electrodes which could give an electric shock. Every time the leaner got it wrong they were shocked and each time it went up 15, it went from 15-450
• What was the results of Milgrams study

  No participants stopped before 300V, 5 people stopped at 300V because the learner pounded on the wall, 65% continued to 450V participants showed extreme tension And 3 had seizures
• What was the conclusion of Milgrams study

  Obedience has little to do with disposition. Factors in the situation made it difficult to disobey
• One strength of Milgrams agency theory

  His theory has supporting evidence as his study proved that people will go along as long as they’re not responsible for what happened due to a shift in state
• One weakness of Milgrams agency theory

  It doesn’t explain why there isn’t 100% obedience. 35% of people didn’t fully obey
• One weakness of Milgrams agency theory

  It excuses people who blindly follow orders. David Mandel claims it is offensive to holocaust survivors to suggest the Nazis were just following orders and ignored the racism
• What were the aims of Piliavins study

  To investigate if characteristics affect wether people help
• What is Piliavins method

  A team of 4 student did 103 trials and boarded at the same stop at New York City subway. In 38 trials the victim was an alcoholic, 65 trials they app disabled. The victim would stand next to a pole in the middle of the critical area then collapse after 70 seconds and wait. Two researches would watch and record how long it took for people to help and then the other would be the model that would step in and help if nobody helped after 70-150 seconds
• What were Piliavins results

  When he appeared disabled 95% of the time he got help when drunk only 50%. When disabled the victim got helped within 70 seconds 80% of the time but only 17% of the time when drunk