Social Influence

Social Influence

Conformity
1. a change in a person's behaviour as a result of pressure from an individual or group of people
  1. Compliance
    1. agreeing with majority to fit in (gain social approval)
  2. Internalisation
    1. accepting the group norm (changing public & private opinion)
  3. Indentification
    1. adjusting opinion to fit in (agreeing with desirable people)
Explanations for Conformity
1. Normative Social Infuence
  1. following the 'norm' (to gain social approval)
2. Informational Social Influence
  1. agreeing with majority (desire to be right / liked)
Asch (1951)
1. social pressure affecting conformity
2. 123 American male undergraduates
3. 1 participants vs. 6-8 confederates
4. 1 standard line vs. 3 comparison lines
5. 32% conformed to incorrect answer
6. 75% conformed at least once
7. 25% didn't conform
8. Variations
  1. Group Size
    1. adding more confederates
  2. Unaminmity
    1. adding confederate who gave correct answer ( disagreed with majority, reduced conformity)
  3. Task Difficulty
    1. increased conformity (questioned own ability, look to others for guidance when unclear)
9. Evaluation (AO3)
  1. - biased sample (gender, cultural)
  2. - artificial task / situation (no real life application, demand characteristics)
  3. - application to modern society (cannot be generalised to now)
  4. - ethical issues (deception etc.)
Zimbardo (1960)
1. Stanford prison experiment
2. conformity to social roles
3. male volunteers
4. random allocation (guard vs. prisoner)
5. strictly divided roles (uniforms etc.)
6. prisoners rebelled after 2 days
7. prisoners became depressed /anxious (1 released after 1st day, 2 on 4th)
8. social roles change behaviour / attitudes
9. people readily conform to social roles (especially stereotypes)
10. Evaluation (AO3)
  1. - ethical issues (humiliation / distress, lack of fully informed consent etc.)
  2. + increased internal validity (controlled variables, prison environment)
  3. - lack of realism (stereotypes)
  4. - lack of research support (other findings)
Milgram (1963)
1. obeying commands of authority figure (despite negative consequences)
2. 40 male volunteers (university students)
3. teacher (participant) learner (actor)
4. teacher reads of pairs of words, learner asked to recall correctly (if incorrect, shocks given)
5. participants unaware of fake shocks
6. "it's essential that you continue" - experimenter (authority figure)
7. 65% continued to 450 volts
8. people will obey authority even when asked to perform in an inhumane way
9. Variations
  1. Proximity (of participant)
    1. e.g. teacher & learner in same room (40%)
  2. Location
    1. e.g. experimenter leaves room & gives orders over the phone (20%)
  3. Uniform
    1. e.g. experimenter played by member of public (20%)
10. Evaluation (AO3)
  1. - ethical issues (deception, incorrect informed consent, no right to withdraw etc.)
  2. - lacks ecological validity (lab experiment)
  3. - biased sample (gender, cultural, volunteer, demand characteristics)
Locus of Control
1. Internal LOC
  1. belief that life is determined by own behaviour, decisions & efforts (takes responsibility, less likely to rely on others)
2. External LOC
  1. belief that life is determined by fate, luck & external factors (more likely to rely on others)
3. a person's perception of personal control over their own behaviours (explanation of personality)
Minority Influence
1. minority of people persuade others to adopt their opinions, attitudes / behaviours
  1. Process of Change
    1. snowball effect, increasing numbers who convert
2. Consistency
  1. committed to view, allows other people to re think their views
  2. Synchronic = within the group
  3. Diachronic = over time
3. Commitment
  1. extreme ways, willing to risk life, draws attention
4. Flexability
  1. consistency may be interpreted negatively (rigid, prepared to remain open, compromising & reasonable)
Social Change
1. society adopts a new way of behaving which becomes widely accepted as the "norm"
2. bring significant changes to society (usually results in conflict)
3. Draw Attention to Issue
  1. different view causes conflcit
4. The Role of Conflict
5. Consistency
  1. taken more seriously
6. The Augmentation Principle
  1. willing to take consequences, risks attract media attention
Social-Psychological Factors of Obedience
1. Agentic State
  1. no responsibility for actions (acting on behalf of authoritative figure)
2. Autonomous State
  1. responsibility for actions (opposite to agentic)
3. Agentic Shift
  1. obeying authority (autonomous - agentic)
4. Moral Strain
  1. guilt / anxiety for wrongful behaviour (powerless to disobey authority figure)
5. Binding Factors
  1. ignoring responsibility (reduces moral strain)
Legitimacy of Authority
1. society structured in hierarchy
2. allows society to function smoothly
3. we are taught to accept the authority from a young age
4. The Authoritarian Personality
  1. conventional / inflexible views e.g. gender, sexuality, race etc.
  2. submissive to those with higher social status, dismissive of inferiors
  3. belief that we need stronger leaders to enforce traditional views
5. F-Scale
  1. Adorno (1950)

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	Created by Lauren Soper over 7 years ago