Psych Paper 1

• Types of conformity

  Internalisation, identification, compliance
• What is compliance


  when we do a behavior in order to gain a reward or avoid punishment
• What is identification


  Public and Private acceptance of majority influence in order to gain acceptance
• What is internalisation


  Individuals genuiely adjust their behaviour and opinions of the group
• What are explanations for conformity


  normative social influence and informational social influence
• What is informational social influence


  We conform to majority because we believe it is right
• What is normative social influence


  We conform to majority because we want to gain approval
• Asch's Study


  123 American Male Ppts. Line X, confederates answered wrong. 32% conformed to wrong answer
• Evaluation for NSI


  Research support Asch interview - Giving answers privately conformity fell to 12.5%

  Individual differences for perception of line
• Variables affecting conformity


  Group Size: 3% with 1 confederate, 33% 3

  Uanimity: 1 dissenter caused drop to 5.5% (Social support)

  Task difficulty: Conformity increases with difficulty (ISI)
• Evaluation of Asch


  Beta bias - Androcentrism

  Lack of ecological validity (artificial stimuli)

  Ethnocentric

  Deception

  Research support online confederates to questions ppts conformed 50%+
• AO1 of Zimbardo


  21 Male Ppts who were mentally sane

  Deindividuation - Prison uniform, numbered

  Replica of prison with no violence

  Within 2 days, rebellion, stopped within 6 days due to increased brutality by guards
• Evaluation of Zimbardo


  High Internal Validity - Standardised

  Dual role of Zimbardo - Observer bias, lack of objectivity

  Psychological + Physical Harm - Debrief

  Beta Bias
• Explanations for obedience


  Agentic state and legitimacy of authority
• What is agentic state


  No personal responsibility because they are agent of authority
• What is legitamacy of authority


  Higher up the society should be obeyed
• Evaluation of explanations for obedience

  Milgram Ppts continued to shock after harm due to LOA + Uniform - They believed they were agent for experimenter

  Used to justify war crimes
• AO1 of Milgram

  40 males Ppts - Teachers

  E told T to shock Learner when L answered incorrectly

  If refused, prodded with increasing severity - (Please continue — You have no other choice)

  100% did 300V when L made noise, 65% did full 450V

  Displayed signs of anxiety but continued - 84% happy to participate
• Variations of Milgram

  Proximity: Learner in same room, obedience to 40%

  Location: Run down area obedience dropped to 47.5%

  Uniform: Obedience dropped to 20% in normal clothes
• Evaluation of Milgram

  Deception, lack of mundane realism, lack of protection from harm

  Research support 39% picked up litter when security guard 14% milkman

  People disobeyed after 4th Prod - Due to social identity theory - Identifying with science for obedience

  Low internal validity - Demand characteristics as participants may have known shocks were not real
• Adorno Et al


  Authoritarian personality; F-scale
• Results of adorno


  High score F scale, respect for higher social status and anger was displaced on minority groups (freud defence mechanisms) from strict parenting
• Evaluation of adorno


  Those who shocked full 450V in Milgram had high F scale score

  Politically biased - Right wing ideology - Not generalisable to all viewpoints
• Explanations of resistance to social influence


  Social support and locus of control
• What is social support

  Others resisting social influence reduces pressure to conform - Asch Dissenter (Drop to 5.5%)
• What is locus of control


  refers to extent to which people think they have control over their life

  External LOC - Higher power is in control

  Internal LOC: Ability to resist pressure
• Evaluation / Research Support of explanation of resistance to social influence


  Milgram 35% refused to shock 450V

  Asch drop to 5.5% with dissenter

  Research support 88% rebelled against orders due to peer support in smear campaign
• Process of Minority Influence


  Reject majority view and convert to minority view through ISI

  Consistency - Repeat same message over time (diachronic consistency)

  Commitment - Willing to suffer for views (Augmentation principle)

  Flexibility - Able to compromise
• Evaluation of minority influence


  Research support ppt majority more likely to report sides were green rather than blue if a confederate was consistent

  Inconsistency decreased minority influence

  Artificial tasks all lack external validity
• What is social change


  Change that happens in a society and not at an individual level.
• What is snowball effect


  'Social cryptoamnesia' this is where gradully more people convert to the minority, turning it into the majority.

  E.G Women's rights to vote
• Example of social change


  Smoking common in pubs but changed due to law

  Climate change views increase due to ISI
• multi-store memory model


  Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968)

  
• strengths of the MSM


  - supporting evidence: brain scans and case studies of amnesia

  - provides a good understanding of the structure and processes of memory
• limitations of MSM


  - reductionist: ignores factors like motivation and ability to learn and rehearse information

  - incomplete explanation: semantic, episodic and procedural memory is not accounted for
• Shallice and Warrington (1970)


  looked at patient KF, after an accident had damage to STM, but his LTM remained intact. this suggests that there are two different stores
• Glanzer and Cunitz (1966)


  serial position effect, people are more likely to remember the first and last words in a list
• memory


  repeating an experience that you remember to either keep you out of danger or because it is important/emotional
• capacity of sensory register

  very large
• duration of sensory register


  limited (250ms)