Social Influence

• Asch’s Baseline Study Procedure

  • 50 American male student volunteers took part in what they thought was a vision test
  • Aim: to see if people would conform even in clear/ unambiguous situations
  • Experiment was carried out in a lab whereby each group was made up of 5 to 7 confederates and one naive participant who was always seated second to last or last
  • Each person in the group was asked to judge which comparison line matched the standard line
  • in the first six trials all confederates gave the right answers. In the next 12 trials all confederates were instructed to give the wrong answer
• Asch’s Baseline Study Findings

  • On average, the naive participant agreed with the confederates incorrect answers 37% of the time, with at least 75% conforming to at least one wrong answer
  • there were individual differences
• Asch’s Baseline study: Variation 1 (group size)

  • Asch varied the number of confederates (from 1 to 15)
  • Asch found a curvilinear relationship between group size and conformity rate
  • With 3 confederates conformity rose to 31.8%
  • There is no need for a majority of more than 3
• Asch’s Baseline study: Variation 2(Unanimity)

  • Asch wondered if the presence of a non- conforming person(dissenter) would affect the naive participant’s conformity
  • He introduced a confederate who disagreed with the others
  • Rate of conformity decreased to less than 1/4 of what it was before
  • The presence of the dissenter allowed the naive participant to behave more independently
• Asch’s Baseline Study: Variation 3 (Task difficulty)

  • Asch increased the difficulty by making the stimulus line and the comparison lines more similar
  • Conformity increased
  • It might be that the situation is more ambiguous when it becomes harder
  • In these situations it is natural to look at other people for guidance and to assume that they are right and you are wrong- Informational social influence
• What is beta bias in Asch's research?

  It refers to the male sample potentially not representing female behavior.
• According to Neto (1995), why might women conform more in Asch's study?


  Women might conform more due to concern for social relationships and acceptance.
• How does the volunteer sample in Asch's research affect its generalizability?


  Volunteers are generally more eager, which may not represent the wider population.
• What did Smith et al. (2006) find regarding conformity rates in collectivist cultures?

  They found that the average conformity rate for collectivist cultures was much higher than for other cultures.
• What impact do artificial situations and tasks have on Asch's study?

  They lead to high demand characteristics, as participants know they are in a study and may conform due to this awareness.
• Why might Asch's groups not generalize to real-life situations?

  Asch's groups were not friends, which may not reflect conformity among people we know.
• What ethical issues were present in Asch's study?

  Participants were deceived and lacked protection from psychological harm.
• What is the conclusion regarding the benefits and costs of Asch's study?

  The benefits outweigh the costs in this study.
• What did Lucas et al. (2006) find about conformity in relation to math problems?

  Participants conformed more often to incorrect answers given by confederates when the math problems were harder.
• How does confidence in math abilities affect conformity according to Lucas et al. (2006)?

  Individuals with high confidence in their math abilities conformed less on hard tasks than those with low confidence.
• Compliance


  Involves simply going along with others in public, but privately not changing personal opinions/behaviours. Compliance only results in superficial change
• Identification

  Conforming to the opinions/behaviours of a group because there is something about the group we value. We publicly change our opinions/behaviour and may somewhat change private beliefs when we are in the presence of our group
• Internalisation

  Genuinely accepts the group norms. Private as well as public changes of opinion/ behaviours. It is usually permanent as the attitudes have internalised and the change persists in absence of group members
• Informational Social Influence

  • based on the idea that when we are uncertain about what behaviours/beliefs are right or wrong, we look to others for guidance. We agree with the opinions of the majority as we want to be right.
  • ISI is most likely to happen in novel situations or situations that are ambiguous.
  • It also occurs in stressful situations where decisions have to be made quickly
  • Another reason why it may occur is when the person may be seen as an expert
  • this may lead to internalisation
  • it is a cognitive process because it is to do with what you think
• Normative Social Influence

  • about norms
  • we want to gain social approval and agree with others to be liked
  • NSI is most likely to happen in situations with strangers where individuals are fearful of rejection and don’t want to appear foolish
  • People would rather seek to gain social approval than be rejected
  • As a result, NSI is an emotional process - to do with how you feel
  • This may lead to compliance
• Support for NSI

  • Asch interviewed participants, some of which said they were self- conscious and afraid of disapproval
  • Privately writing down answers - conformity fell to 12.5%
  • Schultz et al (2008) changed behaviour of hotel guests with hotel cards about other guests using fewer towels. Social norm- behaviour that would be approved by others
  • Means NSI can explain at least some situations when people conform
• Support for ISI

  • Lucas et al (2006) - hard and easy maths problems
  • When problems were easy participants knew the answer and so conformed less
  • When problems became difficult it became ambiguous and participants did not want to be wrong they conformed more
  • demonstrates people will conform in situations where they feel uncertain
• Individual difference in NSI

  • NSI does not affect everyone’s behaviour in the same way
  • some people are less concerned with being liked than others
  • people who feel pressured to associate with others are called nAffiliators
  • McGhee and Teevan (1967) found that students in high need of affiliation were more likely to conform
  • desire to be liked underlies conformity for some people more than others
• Support for ISI

  • Jenness provides research support for the role of ISI
  • Participants were asked to initially make private judgements about the number of jelly beans contained in a jar then discuss their estimate in a group
  • Participants then made another individual private estimate
  • Jenness found that this second private estimate moved closer to the group estimate
  • ISI will occur in unfamiliar and ambiguous situations
• Zimbardo’s Stanford prison experiment procedure

  • Researcher put an ad in the newspaper asking for volunteers for a prison study paying $15 per day
  • 21 students rated the most physically and mentally stable were chosen and randomly assigned the roles of prisoners or guards
  • basement of Stanford university converted into a mock prison
  • Prisoners were ‘arrested’ from their homes without knowledge by county police to be delivered to the ‘prison’
  • When arrived they were stripped and deloused
  • They were given a loose smock and identified by number
  • Guards wore military uniform and mirrored sunglasses
• Zimbardo’s prison experiment findings

  • Guards took their role enthusiastically from day one
  • after 2 days prisoners rebelled - ripping uniforms and shouting at guards, who retaliated with fire extinguishers
  • Guards used divide and rule tactics
  • Harassed prisoners, administered punishments, woke them in the middle of the night
  • Prisoners became distressed and anxious
  • 1 prisoner allowed to leave due to signs of psychological disturbance
  • 2 more released on fourth day
  • One prisoner went on hunger strike
  • Had to stop experiment after 6 days of the intended 14
• Zimbardo’s prison experiment conclusion

  • Social roles have a strong influence on individual behaviour
  • The ‘prison environment’ was an important factor in creating these behaviours
  • Roles were easily adopted by participants as everyone found themselves behaving as if they were in a prison - including Zimbardo
• Zimbardo positives

  • controlled environment - high control over extraneous variables
  • participants randomly assigned - effects of ppt variables reduced
  • increases internal validity
  • 90% of prisoners conversations was about prison life
  • They discussed it being impossible to leave before their ‘sentences‘ were over
  • high internal validity
• Cons of Zimbardo’s experiment

  • Fromm (1973) accused Zimbardo of exaggerating the power of the situation
  • dispositional factors
  • Only 1/3 of guards were brutal
  • 1/3 tried to apply rules fairly
  • 1/3 actively tried to help prisoners
  • Zimbardo may have over-stated his conclusion
  • Banauzizi and Mohavedi (1975) argued participants were play-acting
  • high demand characteristics
  • performances based on stereotypes
  • claims the study in fact had low internal validity
• Ethical issues in Zimbardo’s experiment

  • lack of informed consent - not told all the information
  • Lack of protection from psychological harm
  • Right to withdraw questionable - participants were pressured to continue
• Aims of Milgram’s baseline procedure

  • sought an answer to the question of why such a high proportion of the German population obeyed Hitler’s commands.
• Methods of Milgram’s baseline procedure

  • 40 males between the ages of 20 and 40
  • one learner and one teacher
  • the learner was a confederate - and had prerecorded responses to the shocks
  • teacher asked learner to repeat words, if the confederate got the answer wrong the participant was asked to shock them
  • every time the confederate got the answer wrong the shock level increased
  • participants pressure to continue
  • 15V increments up to 450V
  • confederate claimed to have a heart condition
  • volunteer sample - paid for participating
• Results of Milgram’s baseline procedure

  • 100% of participants went up to 300 volts
  • 65% of participants went all the way to 450 volts
• Obedience


  A form of social influence in which an individual follows a direct order. The person issuing the order is usually a figure of authority, who has the power to punish when the obedient behaviour is not forthcoming
• Supporting replications of Milgram’s study


  Le Jeu de la mort (2010) believed they were contestants for a new game show and paid to give (fake) electric shocks when ordered to do so by the presenter in front of audience. 80% of them gave the maximum of 460V to an unconscious man

  Hofling 1966 - studied nurses on a hospital ward and found levels of obedience to unjustified demands by doctors were very high 21/22

  - These support Milgram’s study and show that findings were not due to special circumstances - high ecological/ temporal validity
• Alternative interpretations of findings from Milgram’s study 


  Haslam et al (2014) Milgram’s participants obeyed when the experimenter delivered the first three verbal prods but every participant who was given the fourth prod disobeyed. Social Identity theory (SIT) the participants only obeyed when they identified with the scientific aim of the research

  Rank and Jacobson (1977) addressed limitations of Hofling et al’s study and created a more realistic situation. 16/18 nurses disobeyed direct orders. Crucial factor may have been social support.
• What was the internal validity of Milgram's study according to Sheridan and King (1972)?


  High
• What did Sheridan and King (1972) demonstrate about participants in their study?


  Participants gave real shocks to a puppy, indicating genuine reactions.
• What percentage of males administered what they believed was a fatal shock in Sheridan and King's study?


  54%
• What percentage of females administered what they believed was a fatal shock in Sheridan and King's study?


  100%