Pysch Social influence

• Define social influence


  Ways in which people's thoughts, feelings & behaviors are affected by other people
• Define conformity


  Tendency to change behavior & beliefs

  as result of pressures from others
• Name different types of conformity

  Identification

  Internalisation

  Compliance
• Who suggested there are 3 ways people conform?

  Herbert Kelman (1958)
• Define Internalisation


  Genuine change in public behaviour & private beliefs to accept the norm

  that persists w/o presence of group
• What study supports internalisation?

  Jenness
• Define identification


  Temporary change in public behaviour & beliefs

  to accept the norm of a group that is valued

  that persists only in presence of group
• Define compliance


  Temporary change in public behaviour but not in private beliefs

  in order to fit in
• What study supports compliance?

  Asch Line study
• State two explanations for conformity

  Normative SI

  Informative SI
• Who proposed the two process theory of social influence?

  Deutsch & Gerard (1955)
• Define normative social influence

  Emotional process - Conformity in order to be accepted & belong to a group
• What central human need is NSI based on?

  Need to be liked
• What type of conformity is associated with NSI

  Compliance - Behaviour of group is followed to fit in & to avoid social rejection even if we disagree privately
• State a study that supports NSI

  Asch Line study
• Define informative social influence

  Cognitive process - Conformity to beliefs & behaviour of majority due to the belief that the group has correct info
• What type of conformity is associated with ISI

  Internalisation - Looks to group for information & conforms due to unsurety regarding how to behave
• What central human need is ISI based on?

  Need to be right
• State a study that supports ISI

  Jenness' (1932) study
• Evaluate the explanations of conformity

  + NSI & ISI supported by research - Asch & Jenness, Lucas et al (difficult math problems)

  
  

  - Indiv diffs. not explained by theory - MchGhee & Teevan, nAffiliators more likely to conform, NSI more present for some
• Outline the aim of Asch's (1951) study

  Extent to which social pressure from majority group could affect conformity
• Outline the procedure of Asch's (1951) study


  Groups of 7-9 male students shown 1 standard line & 3 lines varying in length

  Asked to verbally say which line matched standard

  Confederates gave agreed answer while naïve answered last

  
• Describe how the trials for Asch's (1951) study were laid out

  18 trials

  12/18 = confederates gave wrong, unanimous answer
• Outline the findings of Asch's (1951) study

  Ppts gave wrong answer 36.8% of the time

  75% conformed at east once

  25% never conformed
• Explain the findings of Asch's (1951) study


  Most didn't agree with group but conformed out of fear of ridicule or standing out (NSI)

  Few believed group more informed (ISI)
• Evaluate Asch's (1951) study


  + Methodology - standardises procedure = reliability, no ambiguity so conformity was being measured = high internal validity, shows how powerful majority can be

  
  

  - Artificial task - low external validity task with low mundane realism = low ecological validity

  
  

  - Limited application - only males = beta bias (Eagly & Carli), Indivualist culture, low temporal validity (Perrin & Spencer)

  
  

  - Ethical issues - deception = no informed consent
• Outline the aim of Jenness' (1932) study

  Whether individuals change their opinion in ambiguous situation, in response to group discussion
• Outline the procedure of Jenness' (1932) study

  Ppts made estimate on no. beans in jar

  In groups of 3, ppts then discuss no. beans in jar

  Ppts give another estimate to see if answer changed
• Outline the findings of Jenness' (1932) study

  Nearly all ppts changed answer

  Male ppts changed by 256 beans

  Female ppts changed by 382 beans
• Explain the findings of Jenness' (1932) study

  Most conformed due to ambiguity of situation - believed group estimate more likely to be right
• State variables affecting conformity

  Group size

  Unanimity

  Task difficulty
• State the effect of group size on conformity

  Conformity increases w size, but only to a certain point
• Outline Ash's findings regarding the effect of group size on conformity

  1 confed = 3%

  2 confeds = 13.6%,

  3 or more = 31.8%

  Little change after 4-5
• Suggest why rates of conformity doesn't increase in groups larger than 3

  Brown and Byrne (1997) - people might suspect collusion (conspiracy) if group size rises beyond 3/4
• State the effect of unanimity on conformity


  Conformity more likely if all group members give same answer
• Outline Ash's findings regarding the effect of unanimity on conformity

  1 confederate disagreeing = conformity dropped to 9%
• State the effect of task difficulty on conformity

  Harder task = more uncertainty, so conformity increases due to ISI
• What effect does answering in private have on social conformity?

  Answer private to group = conformity decreases

  Less group pressure as there's no fear of rejection
• Define social roles


  Expected patterns of behaviours for specific statuses & positions
• Outline the aim of Zimbardo's (1973) study

  How readily people would conform to roles of guard & prisoner in role-playing exercise that simulated prison life