Psychology flashcards 6

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Social influence
Process whereby a person's attitudes, beliefs or behaviours are modified by the presence or actions of others. When you change how you act/feel because of the influence of those around you. Eg: conformity and obedience.
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Conformity (majority influence)
A result of social influence where people adopt the behaviours, attitudes and values of the majority members of a reference group
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Reasons people conform
Normative and informational social influence
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Normative social influence
Occurs because of the desire to be liked, because others will approve and accept us. Can lead to people holding different beliefs to what they might say/do in public.
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Example of normative social influence
To phone a friend to ask what they are wearing to a party, and wearing something similar to fit in.
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Informational social influence
Occurs because of the desire to be right, we look to others because we believe them to be correct.
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Example of informational social influence
Changing an answer on a test to be the same as other people, because you think they are more likely to have the right answer.
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Evidence for informational social influence
Sherif (1935): autokinetic effect (person placed in dark room, light appears to move)-ambiguous situation, asked individual participants, how far light moved. Individually-varied answers, groups of 3-group norm emerged.
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Evidence for normative social influence Asch's procedure
Asch (1951): match line with 3 possibilities-obvious answer.Control-3mistakesin 720.50 male college students.Groups of 7/8/9.Others-confederates, gave same wrong answers on critical trials.Participant last/second to last.12 critical trials, 8 neutral
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Evidence for normative social influence Asch's findings
32% conformed on every critical trial. 74% conformed at least once. 26% did not conform on any critical trials.
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Types of conformity
Internalisation and compliance
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Internalisation
A conversion or true change of private views to match those of the group. New attitudes/behaviours will continue when person is no longer with group.
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Compliance
Public ally conforming to behaviour/view in group but privately maintaining ones own views.
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Example of internalisation
A person being converted to a religious faith in the search for deeper meaning, and will keep up the belief system and behaviours even when away from others.
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Example of compliance
Saying you like a band when with a group of friends when you secretly don't like them.
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Normative conformity leads to
Compliance
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Informational conformity leads to
Internalisation
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Obedience
A type of social influence whereby a person follows the direct orders or requests of another person, often of a perceived higher authority. It is thought that without such an order a person would not have acted in this way.
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Evidence of obedience Milgram's procedure part 1
Milligram (1963): lab experiment, 40 male volunteers-20-50, told aim was punishment and learning, allocated roles teacher, other (confederate) was learner. Showed learner being strapped to chair. Sample shock. 'Learner' had to memorise pairs of words
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Evidence of obedience Milgram's procedure part 2
When learner gave incorrect answer-teacher had to electric shock, voltage increased. Learner gave mainly wrong answers. At 300 volts-pounded wall. No response to next question. After 350 silence. If teacher asked to stop-experimenter gave prods like
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Evidence of obedience Milgram's procedure part 3
"It is absolutely essential that you continue"/ "you have no other choice, you must go on" prods identical. Continued to 450 volts, debriefed after.
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Evidence of obedience Milgram's findings
65% continued to 450 volts (despite being marked danger:sever shock), only 5 participants (12.5%) stopped at 300, most found stressful, wanted to stop, extreme anxiety (trembling, sweating, stuttering),-still continued 3 seizures
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Applications of Milgram's study
Applied to WW2, Germans not different 'just following orders'
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Variations of Milgram's study - seedy offices downtown
Obedience rate (to 450 volts) - 48%
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Variations of Milgram's study - teacher and learner in same room
Obedience rate (to 450 volts) - 40%
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Variations of Milgram's study - teacher had to force learner's hand on plate to give shock
Obedience rate (to 450 volts) - 30%
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Variations of Milgram's study - teacher given support from two other 'teachers' (confederates) who refuse
Obedience rate (to 450 volts) - 10%
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Variations of Milgram's study - experimenter left room, instructed teacher by telephone from other room
Obedience rate (to 450 volts) - 21%
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Variations of Milgram's study - teacher paired with assistant (confederate) who threw switches
Obedience rate (to 450 volts) - 92.5%
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Ethical issues of Milgram's study 1
Deception-wrong aim, learner-confederate, shocks not real. Defence-debriefed at end, results wouldn't have been valid without deception, increases internal validity, wouldn't have worked otherwise.
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Ethical issues of Milgram's study 2
Right to withdraw-pressured by experimenter not to. Defence-told at start they could, nothing stopping them, obeyed experimenter in staying-relevant to study
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Ethical issues of Milgram's study 3
Informed consent-wrong aim. Defence-had to tell wrong aim, results would have been invalid.
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Ethical issues of Milgram's study 4
Protection of participants from harm-electric shock, severe stress-3 seizures, extreme anxiety, could be left emotionally damaged. Defence-shock-experimental realism, stress came from situation, necessary to study as result of obedience+short
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Reasons why we obey
Buffers, legitimate social authority, agentic shift, gradual commitment
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Buffers
Any aspect of a situation that prevents us from seeing the consequence of obedience. Larger buffer --> more likely obedience. Eg: gun instead of stabbing someone.
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Legitimate authority
Obey those with authority because we assume they know what they are doing. If someone has legitimate authority they have a role that is defined by society that gives them a right to exert their control over others, eg: Milgram's-experimenter, at UnI
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Milgram's agency theory, 2 levels
1) as autonomous individuals where they behave voluntarily and are aware of the consequences of their actions. 2) one the agentic level where they see themselves as agents of higher authority and so are not responsible for their actions
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Agentic shift
When we move to the agentic level, shift responsibility for our actions on to someone else. Eg: 'I was only carrying out orders' -in agentic state
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Why agentic shift happens - Milgram
Socialization (especially young children) encourages obedience to authority, eventually learn to accept authority. Once in agentic state- stay in it, fear appearing rude by disrupting social situation + increasing anxiety by challenging authority
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Second study on obedience
Hofling et al (1966): nurses, phone call from unknown doctor, asked her to give 20 milligrams of astroten(not known to nurses) to patient. BreakrulesTwice maximum dose, taking telephone instruction from unfamiliar person, no signed order from doctor.
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Hofling et al- findings
21 out of 22 participants started to give medication, obeyed because legitimate social authority-doctor, agentic shift-calller held responsibility
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Gradual commitment
If people begin to obey fairly small, harmless requests and then are asked to obey steadily larger and more harmful ones, but serenity increases in gradual increments, hard to refuse more harmful requests-foot in the door effect eg: Milgram:voltage
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

Conformity (majority influence)

Back

A result of social influence where people adopt the behaviours, attitudes and values of the majority members of a reference group

Card 3

Front

Reasons people conform

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

Normative social influence

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

Example of normative social influence

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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