AQA A-level Psychology - 4.1.1 Social Influence
Summarized all the topics in social influence, but the last topic on the resistance on minority influence is not complete.
CONTENT
CONTENT ........................................................................................................................................ 1
CONFORMITY ................................................................................................................................. 2
Types of conformity ........................................................................................................................... 2
Explanation for conformity ................................................................................................................ 2
Research by Asch................................................................................................................................ 3
OBEDIENCE ..................................................................................................................................... 4
Research by Milgram.......................................................................................................................... 4
Situational variables affecting obedience .......................................................................................... 5
Evaluation of Milgram’s research....................................................................................................... 5
EXPLANATIONS FOR OBEDIENCE ..................................................................................................... 8
Dispositional explanation for Obedience ......................................................................................... 10
Features of authoritarian personality .............................................................................................. 10
Development of authority personality ............................................................................................. 10
EXPLANATIONS OF RESISTANCE TO SOCIAL INFLUENCE ................................................................ 12
Social support ................................................................................................................................... 12
,CONFORMITY
Conformity: Conformity is a form of social influence where the majority of the group influences an
individual to change their thoughts or behaviour so that they are the same as the group.
Types of conformity
Compliance: Compliance occurs when a person publicly changes their behaviour to agree with the
group but privately continues to believe their own views. The person’s change of view is short term.
Identification: Identification occurs when a person changes their public behaviour to agree with the
group that they want to be associated with. They also privately change their beliefs when they are in
the presence of the group. This is a short-term change as group membership is valued.
Internalisation: Internalisation occurs when a person changes their behaviours and beliefs and that
has become a part of their personal belief, even without the presence of the group. The person’s
change of view is long term.
Is there a change in Is there a change in Is the change short
public behaviour private beliefs term/long term?
COMPLIANCE
Yes No Short term
(occurs due to NSI)
Yes Typically short term
IDENTIFICATION
Yes (but only in the presence while in a presence of
(occurs due to NSI)
of the group) group.
INTERNALISATION
Yes Yes Long term
(occurs due to ISI)
Explanation for conformity
Normative social influence explains that individuals conform because they want to be liked and
accepted by a group. This is because they want to avoid embarrassment or don’t want to be left out
by the group.
Informational social influence explains that individuals conform because they want to be right and
don’t look foolish by getting it wrong. Individuals often look to others to help them to decide the
right choice when they are uncertain of the situation.
,Research by Asch
Procedure:
• 123 male American students
• 6 to 8 confederates (1 real participant)
• The task was to say out loud which line of the 3 lines match with the target line.
• Confederates were instructed by Asch to say the wrong answers in 12 out of 18 trials.
• Asch observed whether the participant agreed with confederates or not.
Findings:
• Conformity rate was 32% in 12 critical trials = participants conformed 1/3 of the trials.
• 74% of the participants agreed with the wrong answers on critical trials at least once.
• 5% conformed on all critical trials.
• Most participants said that they agreed with the wrong answers because they want to avoid
disapproval from others during debriefing.
, OBEDIENCE
Obedience: Obedience is a form of social influence when are ordered by an authority figure and we
do as we are told.
Research by Milgram
Procedure:
• Used volunteer sampling of 40 male participants.
• Mr Wallice (a confederate) would always draw the learner and the real participant always draw
the role of teacher.
• Mr Wallice task was to remember a list of word pairs.
• Participants was instructed to activate the electric shock each time Mr Wallice made a mistake
and increases the shock (from 15 to 450 volts).
• Researcher gave scripted instructions to continue when the participants wanted to end the
experiment.
Findings:
• 65% of the participants gave the maximum electric shocks (450v).
• 100% of the participants gave the electric shocks at least at 300v.
• Throughout the study, the participants show behaviours of nervous laughter and feeling uneasy
and tense.
• In post-study questionnaire, 84% of the participants said that they were glad to have taken part
of the study.
Conclusion:
Milgram concluded that people decided to obey someone who is a legitimate authority figure. This
is someone who is in a higher position than us in the social hierarchy.
He also concluded that people enter agentic state when being order by an authority figure and they
ignore their usual moral values. In this state, people believe that they are not responsible for their
actions as they believe that the responsibility should be belong to the authority figure.
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