Social influence

• Agentic state 


  An explanation of obedience where an individual carries out the orders of an authority figure, acting as their agent. the shift from autonomy to agency is referred to as 'agentic shift'
• Asch


  Conducted a series of studies in 1950's to examine the extent to which people would conform to the opinions of others in an unambiguous situation
• Authoritarian personality


  Identified by Adorno (1950) and refers to a person who has extreme respect for authority and is more likely to be obedient to those who hold power over them
• Commitment 


  Refers to the way minority influence is more likely to occur if the minority show dedication to their position
• Compliance


  The lowest level of conformity, where a person changes their public behaviour but not their private beliefs. this is a short term change and is often the result of NSI
• Conformity


  Occurs when someone changes their behaviour of beliefs due to real or imagined pressure from others
• Conformity to social roles


  Social roles are the parts people play when belonging to a social group, and conformity to social roles occur when people behave in certain ways because they feel that is expected of them in that role
• Consistency


  Refers to the way in which minority influence is more likely to occur if the minority members share the same belief and retain it over time.
• Dispositional explanations for obedience

  These focus on the internal characteristics that lie within an individual (e.g., personality) that lead them to be more or less likely to follow orders of an authority figure
• Flexibility


  Refers to the way in which minority influence is more likely to occur if the minority is willing to compromise
• Group size 


  Asch identified group size as a variable that influences conformity. Asch found that as he increased the size of the majority, conformity levels increased. With two confederates, conformity occurred on 12.8% of trials, rising to 32% for trials with three confederates
• Identification 


  The middle level of conformity, where a person changes their public behaviour and their private beliefs only while they are in the presence of the group they are identifying with. This is usually a short-term change and is the result of NSI
• Informational Social Influence


  Where a person conforms to gain knowledge or because they believe that someone else is 'right' - the need to be right
• Internalisation


  The deepest level of conformity, where a person changes their public behaviour and their private beliefs. This is usually a long-term change and is often the result of ISI
• Legitimacy of authority 


  An explanation of obedience which suggests we are more likely to obey a person who has a higher position or status in a social heirachy
• Location


  Milgram found that location affected the level of obedience in his research. When conducting a variation in a run down office block he found the percentage of participants who went to 450 volts fell from 65% to 47.5%
• Locus of control


  Rotter (1966) proposed the idea of LoC which is the extent to which people believe they have control over their own lives. People with an internal LoC believe that what happens in their life is largely the result of their own behaviour, and are more likely to resist pressure to conform or obey
• Milgram


  Conducted research into obedience
• Minority influence


  Occurs when an individual or small group influence the attitudes and behaviours of a larger group
• Normative Social Influence


  Where a person conforms in order to be accepted and belong to a group. They do this because it is socially rewarding and to avoid social rejection - the need to be liked
• Proximity


  A situational variable affecting obedience and refers to how close you are to someone or something. In Milgram's experiment proximity worked on various levels; how close the teacher was to the learner, how close the teacher was to the experimenter. When the teacher and learner were in the same room obedience dropped to 40%. When the experimenter left the room obedience fell to 20.5%
• Situational explanations for obedience

  These focus on the external factors that affect the likelihood that someone will obey orders. e.g., proximity, location and uniform
• Social change


  Refers to the way in which a society develops over time to replace beliefs, attitudes and behaviour with new norms and expectations
• Social support


  One way people can resist pressure to conform is by having an ally, someone supporting their point of view. Having an ally can help to build confidence and allow individuals to remain independent
• Task difficulty


  Asch identified task difficulty as a variable that affects conformity. He found that when he made the line judgement task more difficult, conformity levels increased as the participants were more likely to believe the confederates were right
• Unanimity


  Refers to the extent that members of a majority agree with one another, identified by Asch as a variable that affects conformity. He found that if one of the confederates dissented and gave the correct answer, conformity levels dropped to 5%. He found that if one confederate gave a different incorrect answer conformity dropped to 9%
• Uniform 


  A situational variable affecting obedience. This is because authority figures often wear clothes that symbolise their position of authority. In Milgram's research, the percentage of participants who were fully obedient fell to 20% when the experimenter wore his own clothes rather than a lab coat
• Zimbardo


  Conducted the Stanford Prison Experiment. His aim was to examine whether people would conform to the social roles of a prison guard or a prisoner, when placed in a mock prison environment