Social influence

• What are the types of conformity

  • Compliance
  • identification
  • internalisation
• What are the explanations for conformity

  • Normative social influence
  • informational social influence
• What was the sample of Asch’s study

  123 US males
• What were the findings from Asch’s study

  • Conformity occurred on 33% of trials
  • 75% of participants conformed at least once
• What was the procedure used for Asch study

  • 1 participant is grouped with 7 confederates
  • They are asked a simple line judging task - which line is the same length as a comparison line (control group showed that the answer was easy - 99% correct)
  • 12/18 trials the confederates gave the same wrong answer
• What was the sample of Zimbardo’s study

  24 US males (uni students)
• What were the findings of Zimbardo’s study

  • The experiment had to be stopped at 6 days when it was planned to be 14 days
  • 1/3 of guards became aggressive towards the prisoners
• What are the situational explanations for obedience

  • legitimacy of authority
  • agentic state
• What is the dispositional explanation for obedience

  Authoritarian personality
• What is the dispositional explanation for resistance to social influence

  Locus of control
• What is the situational explanation for resistance to social influence

  Social support
• What are the characteristics of minority influence

  • Consistency
  • commitment
  • flexibility
• Who carried out a study on consistency

  Moscovici
• Who carried out a study on flexibility

  Nemeth
• Explain Moscovici’s study

  • Participants were asked to name the colour of a piece of blue card
  • 36 trials
  • there were 2 confederates in a group of 6
  • condition 1 - the minority called the slides green every time (consistency)
  • condition 2 - the minority called the slides green 24/36 times (inconsistent)
  • they found that the consistent group led to 8% green answers from the majority compared to only 1.25% from the inconsistent group
• Explain Nemeth’s study

  • Participants sat in a mock trial and had to negotiate the amount of compensation a person who suffered a ski lift accident was owed
  • condition 1 - the confederate juror decided a figure and stuck on it
  • condition 2 - the confederate juror showed compromise from his original suggestion
  • they found the flexible juror was more successful in convincing others
• What was the sample of Milgrams study

  Volunteer sample of 40 US men, aged 20 - 50
• What was the findings from Milgram’s study

  65% of people obeyed right to the end 450V
• In relation to conformity, in Asch’s study what did task difficulty do

  When lines were closer, conformity increased
• In relation to conformity, in Asch’s study what did unanimity of the majority do

  When given an ally confederate who gave the right answer, conformity was only 5%
• In relation to conformity, in Asch’s study what did answers in private do

  When allowed to write their answers down in private rather than saying them out loud, conformity dropped to 12.5%
• Define consistency

  The minority must be willing to make compromises and be reasonable
• Define commitment

  The minority must be willing to make sacrifices
• define consistency

  The minority must stick to their values
• Explain the Milgram variation - proximity of the victim

  • Milgram repeated the experiment with the learner in the same room
  • obedience dropped to only 40% of participant shocking all the way too 450v
• Explain the milgram variation - proximity of the authority

  • In this variation, the second confederate (the experimenter) left the room and gave his verbal prods over the phone
  • obedience dropped to 20%
• Explain the milgram variation - location

  • The original experiment took place at the prestigious Yale university
  • in a variation the study took place in a run down office
  • obedience dropped to 48%
• Explain the milgram variation - uniform

  • In the original experiment the experimenter wore a lab coat
  • in the variation he wore normal clothing
  • obedience dropped to 20%
• Evaluate milgrams study

  • Limitation - ethics (caused psychological harm to participants)
  • limitation - gender bias
  • strength - lab setting