Social influence



AS Psychology:

Unit 2 PSYA2 (May exam)

Social Psychology – Social Influence

Booklet 1 (of 2): Social Influence

Types of Conformity:

including Internalisation and Compliance

First of all we need to answer the question - What is conformity?

Conformity: The tendency to change what we do (behaviour) or think and say (attitudes) in response to the influence of others or social pressure. This pressure can be real or imagined. There are two main types of conformity; compliance and internalisation.

There are different types of conformity:

1. Compliance:

This is the most superficial type of conformity. Here, the person conforms publicly (out loud) with the views or behaviours expressed by others in the group but continues privately to disagree. For example they may laugh at a joke that others are laughing at while privately not finding it very funny. Their personal views on the subject do not actually change. Compliance is also used to describe the process of going along with the requests of another person while disagreeing with them.

2. Internalisation:

This is the deepest level of conformity. When the views of the group are internalised, they are taken on at a deep and permanent level, and they become part of the person’s own way of viewing the world. For example, a student who becomes a vegetarian whilst sharing a flat with animal rights activists at university may retain those views and continue to be a vegetarian for the rest of their life. Internalisation is also known as ‘conversion’.

Real-life examples of Compliance and Internalisation

Research into Compliance and Internalisation

1. Research study showing ‘compliance’: Asch (1951)

Asch devised a straightforward (unambiguous) task which involved judging the length of lines. The ambiguity was tested in a pilot study, during which participants made a total of only three mistakes in 720 trials (showing how unambiguous the task was).

In the full study, 123 American male undergraduates were shown a series of lines (The ‘standard line’ and 3 comparisons, one of which was the same length as the standard line) to participants seated around a table. All but one of the participants were “confederates”. Asch instructed the confederates to give the same incorrect answer on 12 out of the 18 trials – he called these “critical trials”. The true (naïve) participant was always the last or last but one to answer.

Asch found a mean conformity rate of 37%, i.e. Participants agreed with the incorrect majority answer on just over one-third of the critical trials. This is very high especially given the unambiguous and easy nature of the task. Within the 37%, there were wide individual differences as 5% conformed on every critical trial (these could be seen as the most conformist) yet 25% remained completely independent, going against the majority and giving the correct answer on all 12 critical trials.

Asch’s participants explained that one of the reasons that they agreed with the majority on an obviously wrong answer was so as not to stand out from the crowd - this is clearly an example of compliance.

AO2 Evaluation: Methodological issues:

Use your psychological knowledge to now explain as many evaluation points for Asch’s study as you can… Remember, once you’ve learned a study you can often use your previous knowledge (and you common sense) to evaluate it!

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There was a high degree of control over variables: This means that because the Asch experiment was set within a laboratory, the setting was highly controlled and extraneous variables could be minimised. For example, noise and lighting could be easily controlled. This is positive because it suggests that the IV was the only variable affecting the DV allowing a cause and effect relationship to be established and giving the study high internal validity.

However, in defence of Asch, he would not have been able to obtain realistic results if he had not used deception.

2, Research study showing ‘internalisation’:Sherif (1936).

Sherif used the “autokinetic effect” (an optical illusion in which a stationary spot of light in a dark room appears to move) to test conformity.

During the experiment, each participant was taken individually into a dark room and asked to focus on a single spot of light. Sherif asked each participant to estimate how far the light moved and in what direction (as the light doesn’t actually move this is an ambiguous task). Sherif found that the participants’ estimates of distance and direction varied quite dramatically. Several days later, participants were asked to repeat the perceptual task. This time they were placed in groups of 3 (made up of individuals with quite different estimates). Again, Sherif asked each participant to estimate the distance and direction of the ‘moving light’ several times.

Sherif found that individuals changed their individual views and converged or agreed on similar answers to the other participants. Those with high estimates lowered them and those with low estimates increased them so that by the third trial each individual in the group produced a very similar answer.

Rohrer et al (1954) replicated the study and found that when participants were re-tested (individually) up to a year later they continued to use the group answer rather than reverting to their initial individual answers. Therefore individuals had ‘taken on’ the views of the group (internalised them) and privately changed their beliefs,

AO2 Evaluation: Methodological issues:

There was a high degree of _________ over variables: This means that because the Asch experiment was set within a laboratory, the setting was highly controlled & ___________ variables could be minimised. For example, unintended lighting changes could be easily controlled. This is positive because it suggests that the IV was the only variable affecting the DV allowing ________ & ________ to be established and giving the study high __________ validity.

However, this study can also be criticised as lacking …………………… validity: This means the research was conducted in the artificial setting of a laboratory. For example, participants in this experiment were being asked to perform an ………………………………. task in a strange setting that is not reflective of real-life situations (i.e. making judgements about how far a light moves). This is problematic as the findings can’t be _____________ to real-life settings.

The study can also be criticised for using …………………………… which is an ethical issue: This means the participants were deliberately mislead regarding the true aims of the experiment. Evidence for this comes from the fact Sherif lead participants to believe that the light …………………………. when in fact it didn’t. This is a problem as it goes against the ethical guidelines which suggest that deception should be avoided.

Furthermore, this also means that the participant were denied …………………………….. consent as they could not have been fully informed about the true nature of the study and their role within it. This also goes against the ………..……… guidelines about how to conduct an ethical investigation.

Explanations of why people conform, including ‘normative social influence’ and ‘informational social influence’

People conform for one of 2 reasons:

1. Normative social influence (NSI)

2. Informational social influence (ISI)

1. Normative Social Influence (NSI) relates to an individual adapting to a group position in order to be accepted and gain approval and not be perceived as deviant by the other members of the group. It is based on the desire to be liked. This type of influence also occurs as it is rewarding to be accepted and be a part of a group. This usually involves public compliance – in a group we may ‘go along’ with the behaviour and the attitudes of others without truly believing or accepting it. In this instance, we do not privately accept what we are saying or doing publicly.

Evaluation: Normative Social Influence.

Can you think of research we have looked at where ‘normative social influence’ occurred? Explain your answer.

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2. Informational Social Influence (ISI) In this case, people are usually unsure what to do in a situation, they may not know what is the right or correct way to act so they look to others for guidance. Thus if a situation is ambiguous (no obvious right or wrong answer), we look to others as a source of information to help us perceive the situation accurately and reduce ambiguity. We tend to seek guidance from people who we see as being better informed than ourselves. It is based on the desire to be right. This usually involves private acceptance (internalisation) – in this case people conform to the norms of others because they genuinely believe that they are right. This can result in a change in private beliefs and attitudes.

AO2 Evaluation: Informational Social Influence

Explain how Shrerif’s (1936) research supports the theory of ‘informational social influence’..

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Differences between Normative Social Influence and

Informational Social Influence

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Exam-style Questions

1) What is meant by the term conformity? (2 marks)

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2) Two of the following are descriptions of types of conformity.

[A] Publically conforming to views of others, but maintaining one’s own private views.

[B] Movement neither away from nor towards group norm.

[C] True conversion of public and private views to match those of a group. These views are not dependent on group membership.

(a) In the table below, write down which examples, A, B or C matches each type of conformity listed in the table. (2 marks)

|Type of conformity |Example |

|Internalisation | |

|Compliance | |

(b) Outline a real-life example of:

(i) Internalisation (2 marks)

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(ii) Compliance (2 marks)

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(3) It is the first week of Sam’s new job. He arrives at work to find the other till operators all drinking coffee in the rest room, even though it is past the store opening time. He knows that this is frowned upon by the management but even so he joins them. Later in the day, he is asked to move from the tills to the shelf-stacking team as they are short staffed. He has not been trained for this, so at first he hangs back and watches what the others do and then follows their lead.

(a) From the description of Sam’s behaviour above, identify one example of normative social influence. Explain why you think this is an example of normative social influence. (3 marks)

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(b) From the description of Sam’s behaviour above, identify one example of informational social influence. Explain why you think this is an example of informational social influence. (3 marks)

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(c) Explain the difference between normative and informational social influence.

(3 marks)

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(4) Ali and Nadine are at a peace march in London. Ali has spent much of the day talking to other marchers about their views and beliefs and has agreed to march with them again the following week. Nadine has enjoyed the company of other marchers and is beginning to feel as if she is part of the group. When they discuss marching the next week, she does not commit herself and sign up for the march until she sees that most of the others are going to march again, whereas Ali is one of the first to sign up for the march next week.

Explain how social influence research can help us to understand Ali and Nadine’s

behaviour. (6 marks)

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(5) Discuss explanations of why people conform (12 marks).

6) Many investigations into conformity have raised the ethical issue of deception.

a) Explain why deception is an ethical issue. (2 marks)

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(b) Outline a strategy for dealing with this ethical issue. (2 marks)

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7) Discuss the extent to which research supported the view that the majority exerts a significant degree of influence over the individual? (12 marks)

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Obedience including Milgram’s work and explanations of why people obey

Obedience: A type of social influence whereby someone acts in response to a direct order from a perceived figure of authority. There is also the implication that the person receiving the order is made to respond in a way that he or she would not otherwise have done.

Obedience to Authority Research – Milgram (1963).

Milgram aimed to test the ‘Germans are different’ Hypothesis with his study at Yale University (a prestigious setting). 40 male participants were selected to take part in the study.

Milgram used a confederate and fixed the selection of roles so that the confederate was always the ‘learner’ and the participant was always the ‘teacher’. He used a fake set up whereby the teacher was instructed by an authority figure (the experimenter) to punish the learner (by electric shock) for incorrect responses on a memory test. The shocks ranged from 15V (labelled ‘slight shock’) and increasing in 15V increments to 450V (labelled XXX). Milgram was interested to see how far the participants would go in order to comply with an unreasonable order (to deliver an electric shock to another human) from an authority figure.

During the experiment many of the participants showed signs of extreme tension. They shook, sweated and stuttered. Many of the participants repeatedly argued with the experimenter yet all participants continued to deliver the shocks up to 300V, and a staggering 65% continuing to 450V. This was unexpected, as before conducting the research, people had estimated that most would stop at 100V. Milgram was therefore able to conclude that Germans are not different and in fact we are all capable of blind obedience to unjust orders.

AO2 Evaluation: Methodological Issues

Use the 4 point rule to outline a strength of Milgram’s research:

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However, Milgram’s research can be criticised for lacking ecological validity:

➢ This means that…

➢ For example. …

➢ This is problematic because…

Furthermore, the artificial setting of the laboratory and lack of mundane realism of the task (administering electric shocks is not an everyday event) may encourage demand characteristics: This means participants may have realised the experimental set-up was fake and were just behaving as they thought they were expected to. Evidence for this comes from Orne who suggested that the participants did not believe that the electric shocks were real and they were therefore not really obeying the experimenter’s demands to hurt the learner. This is a problem as it means the research may, in actual fact, lack internal validity.

AO2: Ethical Issues:

Explanations of why people obey

In order to further explore the factors that influenced obedience, Milgram replicated his experiment, making slight changes each time to assess how the environment, power of the experimenter and the proximity of the ‘learner’ and the ‘teacher’ can effect whether a person obeys or disobeys an authority figure.

Situational Factors in Obedience:

AO1: The ‘Agentic Shift’:

It is easy to deny personal responsibility when orders come from a figure

of authority because it can be assumed that they will take ultimate

responsibility. In these instances, we become ‘agents’ of an external authority.

According to Milgram, obedience occurs as a result of a conflict

between 2 opposing sets of demands:

1. The external authority – authority of the experimenter or authority figure

2. The internal authority – authority of our own conscience

The fully obedient person undergoes a psychological adjustment or ‘shift’ whereby they see themselves as an agent of external authority (assuming ‘the agentic state’).

AO2: Evidence to Support: ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………………………………………………………………………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………………….……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………………….…………………………………………………………………………………………

AO1: Legitimate Authority: An important factor in obedience refers to the amount of social power held by the person who gives the instruction. We may obey people with legitimate authority because we trust them. Alternatively we may obey them because they have the power to punish us. Either way, the perception is that their authority should not be questioned.

AO2: Evidence to Support: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………………………….………………………………………………………………………………………..………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………….……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

AO1: Gradual Commitment:

This means that in the experiment participants become locked into

obedience in small stages. This is also known as the ‘foot in the door

technique’ and means that once you have made some form of

commitment it is hard to go back on it.

AO2: Evidence to Support: ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………………………………………………………………………..……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Personality Factors in Obedience:

The Authoritarian Personality:

Psychologists have investigated whether certain types of people are more likely to be obedient than others. E.g. a person with low self esteem may not feel confident to speak out against an authority figure even if they don’t agree with the order.

AO2: Evidence to Support:

Adorno found that, in a study of 2000 American students, people who had been brought up by strict parents who used harsh, physically punishments, often grew up to be very obedient. It was concluded that individuals with an ‘authoritarian personality’ have a tendency to be extremely obedient. This supports the idea personality is a key factor in whether someone will obey.

Milgram and Elms: Carried out interviews with a sub-sample of participants from the original Milgram experiment and found that those participants who were fully obedient and went to 450 volts scored higher on test of authoritarianism and lower on scales of social responsibility than those who did not obey. This supports Adorno’s claims that individuals with an authoritarian personality are more likely to obey.

Exam-style Questions:

1) “Milgram’s research is of no value because it was conducted in a laboratory.” Discuss the methodological difficulties faced by social psychologists conducting their research in a laboratory. (5 marks)

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2) Outline one explanation of why people obey (4 marks)

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(2) When a teacher tells you to do something, it is usual for you to obey.

a) Using your knowledge of factors that have been found to affect obedience, explain why you might obey in this situation. (6 marks)

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(3) Give two explanations of why people obey, and offer one criticism of each of these. (12 marks)

Plan your answer in the space provided:

(4) Milgram carried out an experiment investigating obedience. One criticism of this study is that it was unethical. Discuss one ethical issue raised by this research. (4 marks)

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Imagine this:

You have agreed to take part in a psychology study into the effects of punishment on learning, for which you will be paid a small fee. The study takes place at Yale University. When you arrive you are greeted by the experimenter, who is a young man wearing a lab coat. With him is Mr Wallis, who has also agreed to take part in the study, he’s an accountant in his late 50’s, slightly overweight and average in appearance.

The experimenter explains that one of you will be the ‘Teacher’ and the other the ‘Learner’. After drawing straws it is determined that you are to be the ‘Teacher’ and Mr Wallis is the ‘Learner’.

You then watch Mr Wallis get strapped into a chair, and electrodes are attached to his arms, which will deliver electric shocks. You overhear Mr Wallis mention that he has heart problems. The experimenter replies that although the shocks will be painful they will not cause ‘permanent tissue damage’. You’re given a shock at 45V so you know what it feels like and you are reassured that the University is liable, if anything should go wrong. The experimenter then leads you to a generator in the next room. It has a number of switches clearly marked with voltage levels and verbal descriptions:

15 – 60v Slight shock

75 – 120v Moderate shock

135 – 180v Strong shock

195 – 240v Very strong shock

255 – 300v Intense shock

315 – 360v Intense to extreme shock

375 – 420v Danger: Severe shock

435 – 450v XXX

You are then asked to read out a series of word pairs (e.g. Blue-girl, nice-day, fat-neck). You are to test Mr Wallis’s memory on each of these pairs. Mr Wallis answers from the next room by pressing one of four switches, which lights up a panel in front of you. If he answers correctly you move on to the next question, if not you must give him a shock, with each mistake being punished by a shock 15v higher than the previous. You are to treat no response as an incorrect answer.

You can hear Mr Wallis protesting from the next room and somewhere along the line you turn to the experimenter (who is watching over you) for guidance. He responds with statements such as ‘Please continue’, ‘It is absolutely essential that you continue’, ‘You have no other choice, you must go on!’

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Activity: You need to be able explain the main differences between the 2 types of conformity. Have a go now:

Deception:

This means Asch’s study can be criticised for deliberately misleading the participants. Evidence for this comes from the way in which Asch told his participants that all of the people sat around the table were participants when they were really confederates. This is a problem as it goes against the BPS ethical guidelines which suggest that deception should be avoided.

Specification

• Types of conformity, including internalisation and compliance.

• Explanations of why people conform, including informational social influence and normative social influence.

• Obedience, including Milgram’s work and explanations of why people obey.

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A diagram of the line judgement task used by Asch:

What Key Skills will I cover in this booklet?

• C2.1a

• C2.2

• IT2.1

• C3.1a

• C3.2

Can you think of a real-life example of internalisation?

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Discussion Activity

Discuss the following points in small groups.

( Do people always think and act independently?

(Give examples to illustrate your answer)

( Give an example of when you have acted independently.

( Have you ever felt under pressure to behave in a particular way because of group pressure? What was it about the situation that caused you to change your behaviour? Was the pressure real (were you told to do something) or was it imagined (you felt that you should act in a certain way)?

( What reasons could there be for not acting independently in any given situation?

• In your own words, define what you understand by the term “conformity”

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Furthermore, by using deception, it is also not possible to gain full informed consent for the experiment until afterwards during a debriefing (this is known as retrospective consent).

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AO2

AO2

AO1

AO1

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Can you think of a real-life example of compliance?

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Furthermore, the participants were denied …………………………….. consent as they could not have been fully informed about the true nature of the study and their role within it. This also goes against the ………..……… guidelines about how to conduct an ethical investigation.

The study can also be criticised for using …………………………… which is an ethical issue: This means the participants were deliberately mislead regarding the true nature of the experiment. Evidence for this comes from the fact Milgram led participants to believe that the …………………………………………....…………..…………………when in fact they were not. This is a problem as it goes against the ethical guidelines which suggest that deception should be avoided.

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