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Social influence, Resisting Social Influence, Minority Social Influence,…

- - - - Obedience level drops from 65% to 10% of participants administering the full 450 volts
  - - - Resistance and social support (IV) are manipulated by introducing 2 more confederates who play the role of teacher alongside the naïve participant
        
        Each take it in turns to ask questions but only naïve participant administers the shock
        
        Confederate 1 instructed to disobey and leave experiment at 150 volts
        
        Confederate 2 instructed to disobey and leave experiment at 210 volts
        
        This aimed to show the effect that manipulation of resistance has on obedience (DV)
        
        Measured by counting the number of participants who still went to the full 450 volts
- - - - However, when a confederate was asked to dissent (go against) from the unanimity of the majority, conformity rate dropped to 5.5%
  - - - However, by breaking unanimity and having a dissenter go against the majority, it made it easier for the naïve participant to have more independence of mind and confidence to pursue their own answers
        
        Dissenting voices provide a form of social support, enabling people to resist conforming to a majority view
  - - - Participants were shown 2 cards with lines. One card had a test/standard line and the other card had 3 comparison lines
        
        Participant had to say out loud which of the 3 lines matched the test line
        
        Some confederates were instructed to give the same wrong answer
        
        In other trials, confederates were instructed to break unanimity and give different wrong answers
        
        Asch wanted to see the effect that manipulating unanimity had on conformity
        
        Did this by counting the number of times that the naïve participants conformed to the wrong answer
      - Between 7 - 10 participants per group. 1 naïve participant and 9 confederates
- - - - Participants from the old experiment who were able to resist obedience were interviewed
        
        Findings:
        
        They found that the participants who resisted had a high internal LOC as they also scored highly on a social responsibility scale
        
        This finding along with other studies suggest that people with high internal LOC are able to take responsibility for their actions which allows them to resist obedience
- - - - 30 students assessed for LOC
        
        Findings:
        
        No difference in conformity rates between students who had high internal or high external LOC
        
        Those who did conform however were significantly less assertive, suggesting that assertiveness may be as important in resistance to conformity as LOC
  - - - Groups were mixed, some with peers who had conservative anti-drug taking attitudes and another group that expressed liberal, flexible attitudes towards drug taking
        
        Groups were observed interacting and discussing drugs
        
        Findings:
        
        People with a high internal LOC and held conservative attitudes towards drug use conformed less to expressing pro-drug taking attitudes
        
        This supports the idea that internal control is a factor in resisting conformity
- - - - Findings:
        
        People have become more resistant to obedience but also more external.
        
        This Challenges the link between internal LOC and increasing resistant behaviour
        
        Results could have also been affected by changing society which is out of personal control
  - - - 157 undergraduate students used
        
        Findings:
        
        Significant correlation between locus of control and predisposition to normative social influence. External LOC more likely to conform than internal LOCs
        
        However, no such relationship between predisposition and informational social influence was found. LOC not a significant factor in ISI
        
        Conclusion:
        
        Externals are more likely to conform than internals in NSI but will not conform more in ISI
  - - - Findings:
        
        Strong correlation between scores of internal/external LOC and scores on measure of persuasion, social influence and conformity
        
        Individuals who scored higher on external LOC tend to be more easily persuaded, influenced & more conforming than internal LOCs
- - - - German women protested against the Gestapo holding 2000 Jewish men, most of whom were married to non-Jewish partners, hostage
        
        Despite threats to open fire, the womens' persistence prevailed and the men were set free
        
        The women were able to successfully resist and have courage due to the collective action of their peers
  - - - Individuals that had friends who drank alcohol were significantly more likely to engage in drunkenness over the previous 12 months.
        
        However, individuals were also found to resist pressures to drink alcohol when they had 1 or 2 friends who also resisted
        
        Consistent with lab-based experiments on social influence. Shows that social support offered by non-drinking friends can decrease the odds of a non-drinker deciding to consume alcohol, even in the presence of the drinking majority
  - - - Allen & Levine (1971): found that conformity decreased when there was one dissenter, even if the dissenter said he had difficulty with his vision (which would make his judgement of the lines unreliable)
        
        This shows that resistance is not just motivated by following what someone else says but it enables someone to be free from the pressure of the group
- - - - People see themselves as having a lot of personal control over their own behaviour. They believe they have the ability to influence events in their life
        
        These people take responsibility for their own actions and therefore are more able to resist pressures to obey
    - - People have a fatalistic attitude. They believe events in their life are caused by external factors which they are unable to control
        
        People with high external LOC are less able to resist pressures to obey
- - - - The Snowball Effect
        
        Members of the majority slowly move to the minority. Social change gradually picks up momentum
        
        Eventually minority grows so large that it becomes the majority, leading to social change
        
        Social Crypto-Amnesia
        
        Forgetting the source of social change
        
        After social change has occured, the once minority opinion becomes an integral part of society's culture
        
        Over time, people forget the individual or group that was the source of the change as the new idea has now become the social norm
        
        e.g: Women rarely think about the Suffragettes each time they vote. Women voting is now a norm and an expected part of society
      - Moscovici uses the word conversion to describe the process of moving from a majority-held belief/viewpoint to the minority belief/viewpoint
        
        When a individual or group move from a position of compliance to internalisation where the new idea is accepted publicly and privately
    - - Information has to be processed at a much deeper level so that they will consider the consequences of conforming to the minority
        
        Consequences include: Persecution or abuse for their views
- - - - Individuals with a high internal locus of control may be more suited to minority social influence & initiating social change
- - - - Control group:
        
        0% called slides green
      - Consistent minority
        
        8.42% of naïve ptts called slides green when they were clearly blue (minority position)
      - Inconsistent minority:
        
        1.25% of naïve ptts called green (minority position)
    - - 8.42% is still small BUT much bigger than 1.25% from inconsistent condition
        
        Shows that consistency is an important variable in minority influence
    - - Investigate the role that a consistent minority would have on the opinions of a majority in an unambiguous situation (obvious right answer)
        
        Procudure
        
        Independent measures design
        
        172 ptts
        
        Groups of 6. 4 naïve & 2 confederates
        
        Colour slides were projected onto a screen
        
        Ptts asked to identify & say out loud what colour the slide was
        
        All 36 slides were blue but intensity was varied using filters
        
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- - - - Procedure
        
        123 male volunteers divided into groups
        
        Each group had 7-9 ptts
        
        1 naïve participant
        
        Rest were confederates who were briefed by Asch
        
        Ptts shown 2 cards with vertical lines
        
        Standard line
        
        Ptts asked to say out loud which of the lines (A,B or C) matched the standard line
        
        12/18: (Critical trials) Confederates asked to give same wrong answer
        
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        6/18: (Non-critical trials) Confederates asked to give different wrong answers
        
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        Control group: 36 ptts tested with NO confederates. Tested accuracy of individual judgments
        
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        3 comparison lines
  - - - Asch used an experimental method, meaning he was able to control and manipulate variables
        
        Specific factors that affect conformity can be isolated and tested easily
        
        Experiments are therefore considered replicable. Study can be repeated and results checked --> high reliability
    - - Comparing lines does not replicate real life conformity
        
        Groups were made from complete strangers. Conformity usually takes place when people are in groups of friends/family
        
        Complex social situations such as conformity cannot be reduced to a simple lab experiment
        
        Results therefore cannot be generalised to situations of real life conformity
    - - Naïve ptts may have anticipated that Asch wanted them to conform with the confederates
        
        Ptts may have changed their behaviour to please Asch
        
        This reduces internal validity of the experiment as Asch may have accidentally ended up measuring demand characteristics
    - - Asch's findings might be unique because research took place in a period of time in US history where conformity was very important
        
        Perrin & Spencer (1980) repeated Asch's study with students in the UK
        
        Only 1 student conformed in 396 trials
        
        Possible that since society has changed, people are less conformist now
    - - Only males were selected for the study
        
        Unable to generalise findings to wider female population
- - - - 21 male student volunteers were selected through newspaper advertisements
        
        Participants were tested for emotional stability and physical health then allocated the role of prisoner (11x) or guard (10x).
        
        Experiment day:
        
        'Prisoners' were arrested by real police
        
        Charged with suspicion of armed robbery, fingerprinted, strip-searched and issued prison uniform
        
        9 prisoners were placed 3 to a cell
        
        Guards had regular routine of shifts
        
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        Prisoners were allowed meal times & visiting times
        
        Independent variable:
        
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        Dependent variable:
        
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  - - - Guards:
        
        Some guards became increasingly aggressive as the experiment went on and acted beyond the minimum requirements
        
        E.g: 1/3 of the guards taunted prisoners and gave them meaningless and sadistic tasks to do (cleaning toilets with their bare hands)
      - Prisoners:
        
        Prisoners became submissive and showed extreme signs of stress such as uncontrolled crying and depression
        
        One prisoner was released 36 hours in because of his fits of rage and crying
        
        3 more released later after suffering the same symptoms
        
        Zimbardo ended the experiment early on day 6 as the extent of the harm was more than anticipated
        
        Conclusion:
        
        Individuals conformed to the social roles demanded by the situation
        
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  - - - Zimbardo hoped that findings would lead to prison reforms
        
        Study Question: To what extent would people conform to the roles of prisoner and guard?
        
        Planned study duration: 2 weeks
        
        Actual study duration: 6 days
  - - - Role play experiments can lack everyday realism
        
        BUT study has contributed to our understanding of the effects of imprisonment and how social role expectations influence conformity
    - - Abu Ghraib was an military prison famous for torture and abuse of Iraqi prisoners by US soldiers (2003-2004)
        
        Zimbardo believed that abuse behaviour by guards was caused by situational factors e.g: extreme boredom, no accountability to higher authority etc.
        
        Factors were present in Stanford Prison Experiment & Abu Ghraib
    - - Fromm (1973) suggested that Zimbardo exaggerated the impact situational factors had on conformity
        
        Dispositional factors (personality) not taken into account
        
        e.g: only 1/3 (minority) of the guards behaved aggressively. Most stuck to the rules and even supported the prisoners
        
        Conclusion that ptts conformed to their social roles may be overstated
    - - Normally, researchers should give ptts full information about the study and should not mislead or deceive them in any way
        
        Ptts were briefed and signed an 'informed consent' form BUT were not informed that they would be arrested in public
        
        Ptts should not experience any greater harm in the experiment than what they would find in everyday life
        
        'Prisoners' were subjected to degrading treatment and emotional harm
        
        Zimbardo accused of failing to protect ptts from psychological harm
    - - 21 males were selected
        
        Low population validity making it hard to generalise to rest of the target population
        
        No female representation - Cannot generalise results to female population
- - - - When placed in a novel or ambiguous situation, we look to others for information regarding how to behave.
        
        Information given off by others helps us conform. e.g: if there's a flood and people are running away, you would naturally run in the same direction as everyone else since you don't know how to behave in a flood
  - - - We constantly seek approval from others and are motivated to avoid rejection
        
        Groups of people usually have norms that (explicit & implicit) that guide their behaviour. People like to act the way the group expects them to
  - - - It's hard to tell if participants are genuinely believing in what they are conforming to (internalisation) or just a public show
    - - Often assumed that either informational social influence or normative social influence causes behaviours. However, both processes are usually involved
    - - Jenness' Jelly Bean Experiment (1932):
        
        Method and Procedure:
        
        Participants were asked individually and in private to estimate the number of jellybeans in a jar
        
        They were then asked to discuss their estimates with other participants
        
        Groups sizes varied from small to large and each group was to present a group estimate
        
        Jenness privately asked each participant for the number jellybeans again
        
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        Findings:
        
        Individual's 2nd estimate moved towards the estimate arrived at in their group discussions
        
        Aims:
        
        Will individual judgments of the number of jellybeans in a jar be influenced by information gained from group discussion?
    - - Research in US has supported the important role played by normative social beliefs in shaping behaviours such as smoking and energy conservation
        
        Found that adolescents exposed to the message that the majority of their peers didn't smoke were subsequently less likely to take up smoking
        
        Hotel guests exposed to the normative message that 75% of their guests reuse their towels each day (energy saving behaviour) reduced their own towel use by 25%
- - - - Dispositional explanation: This suggests that a person who is born with or develops certain personalities/characteristics predisposes them to be particularly brutal or harsh towards others.
        
        Adorno believed that the dispositional factors will cause a person to form an authoritarian personality type.
        
        This means they will either blindly follow authority or will be excessive in exerting power and authority over those in a lower position of power.
    - - The F-Scale: Adorno constructed an attitude questionnaire (psychometric test) to measure anti-Semitism.
        
        The F-Scale measured different aspects of personality that were considered features of an authoritarian personality e.g: "obedience and respect for authority are the most important virtues children should learn"
        
        Agreeing with such statements was indicative of an Authoritarian Personality
        
        Findings
        
        Adorno found that those who scored highly on the F-Scale tended to identify with individuals they deemed to be 'strong' & show contempt towards the 'weak'.
        
        People with Authoritarian personalities also appeared to have fixed and distinctive stereotypes about different groups of people
        
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  - - - Milgram and Elms (1966) conducted a follow up study with a small sample of fully obedient participants
        
        Many scored highly on the F-Scale, suggesting that there might be a link between obedience and personality
        
        Since this is only a correlation, it's impossible to draw the conclusion that authoritarian personality causes obedience
    - - F-Scale only measures tendency towards extreme right-wing ideology
        
        Christie and Jahoda pointed out that left-wing authoritarianism had a lot in common with extreme right-wing ideologies.
        
        Adorno's theory is limited as it's not a comprehensive dispositional explanation. The link between obedience and authority may not be true across the whole political spectrum
    - - Psychometric tests lack validity. What a person states in a questionnaire may not be an accurate measurement of their attitude or behaviour in real life
    - - Trying to associate authoritarian personality type with obedience hasn't been successful
        
        Obedience has shown to be associated with people with extreme left and right wing views
        
        Psychologists consider the obedient behaviour to be caused by a mix of social, situational and psychological influences
- - - - Autonomous state: Independence and can make decisions for themselves
        
        Individual obeys authority figure
        
        Agentic state: Individual sees themselves as an agent of authority and shift the responsibility of their actions to the authority figure
        
        Milgram saw that many of his participants wanted to quit but didn't. Why did they stay in the agentic state?
        
        Binding factors: Aspects of a situation which allow the person to feel less of a moral strain they are feeling when doing their actions e.g: shifting responsibility to the victim or denying the damage they were doing to the victims
        
        Individuals are used to the agentic state as they have been socialised from an early age to be obedient to rules
        
        Disadvantages
        
        Individuals can become deindividuated and lose a sense of what it is to be an individual in society
        
        Individuals can be vulnerable to obey orders that go against their moral code
        
        Advantages
        
        Obedience to rules helps maintain a "safe and secure society"
    - - Limitation - Agentic shift or just plain cruel?:
        
        Scientists believe some of Milgram's participants were using the study to express their sadistic impulses
        
        Suggests that for some people, 'obedient behaviour' may be due to a desire to inflict harm on others
      - Limitation - Real life obedience:
        
        The claim that people shift between autonomous state and agentic state cannot explain very gradual and irreversible transition.
        
        Lifton (1986) found in his study of German doctors working in Auschwitz that they had changed gradually and irreversibly from ordinary medical professionals, into people capable of carrying out vile and lethal experiments in prisoners
        
        Staub (1989) suggested that rather than agentic shift being responsible for the transition, it is the experience of carrying out acts of ovil over a long time that changes the way in which individuals think and behave
      - Strength - Supporting evidence:
        
        In the Proximity to Authority condition in his experiment, instructions from the authority figure were given via telephone.
        
        Obedience dropped from 65% to 20% giving full 450 volts. Milgram suggested that due to the absence of the authority figure, participants were able to enter an autonomous state more easily and were able to see themselves as responsible for their own behaviour
  - - - Many cultures' members that are socialised to accept that certain key figures in society have legitimate power and authority
        
        They therefore believe this figures have the right to issue orders and tell its members how to behave
        
        In his experiment, the professor was the authority figure. The scientific status legitimised his authority so when he issued orders, participants were willing to obey his authority without question
    - - Strength - Supporting evidence:
        
        Milgram reported that throughout the experiment, many participants ignored the distress of the confederate and chose to focus on the authority figure instead
        
        This shows that participants recognised and accepted the legitimate authority of the authority figure
      - Strength - Supporting evidence. Tarnoe (2000):
      - Strength - Cultural differences:
        
        This explanation is a useful account of cultural differences. Many. countries differ in the degree to which people are traditionally obedient.
        
        E.g: Kilham and Mann (1974) replicated Milgram's study in Australia and found that only 16% of participants went to 450 volts but when Mantell (1971) did the study in Germany and found that 85% of participants went to 450 volts
        
        This shows that in some countries, authority is more likely to be accepted as legitimate and entitled. It reflects the ways in which different societies are structured and how children are raised to preserve authority
        
        Cross cultural research increases validity of the Legitimate Authority explanation