Summary
Social Influence AO1 & AO3 AQA Summary
- Module
- Social Influence
- Institution
- AQA
Provides an overview of main concepts in AQA AS and A Level Social Influence section.
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Specification- Types of conformity: internalisation, identification and compliance. Explanations for
conformity: informational social influence and normative social influence, and
variables affecting conformity including group size, unanimity and task difficulty as
investigated by Asch.
- Conformity to social roles as investigated by Zimbardo.
- Explanations for obedience: agentic state and legitimacy of authority, and situational
variables affecting obedience including proximity and location, as investigated by
Milgram, and uniform. Dispositional explanation for obedience: the Authoritarian
Personality.
- Explanations of resistance to social influence, including social support and locus of
control.
- Minority influence including reference to consistency, commitment and flexibility.
- The role of social influence processes in social change
,Types of conformity: internalisation, identification and compliance. Explanations for
conformity: informational social influence and normative social influence
Conformity - a type of social influence that describes how a person changes their attitude or
behaviour in response to perceived/real group pressure
Compliance - is the first/shallowest level of conformity. A person changes their public
behaviour, but not their personal beliefs. This is a short term/superficial change and is often
the result of normative social influence (NSI).
E.g. you might say you like pop music because people in your class like it, however privately
you can’t stand it but you want to receive a favourable reaction from those around.
Identification - middle level of conformity. A person changes their public behaviour and their
private beliefs, but only whilst in the presence of the group. E.g. a
person might become vegetarian because everyone else in their flat is vegetarian. However,
if the person walks past a mcdoanlds alone they can’t resist buying a Big Mac.
Internalisation - is the deepest level of conformity. Here a person changes their public
behaviour and private beliefs. This is usually a long term change and often the result of
informational social influence (ISI).
When exposed to the views of other members, individuals are encouraged to engage in a
validation process, examining their own beliefs to see if their or the others are right. Close
examination of the group’s position may convince the individual that they are wrong snf the
group is right. This can lead to acceptance of the group's point of view both publicly and
privately.
E.g. an individual is influenced by a group of buddhists and converts to this faith, then their
new religious way of life will continue without the presence of the group as there have
internalised this belief
What is the difference between them?
If the motivation is to fit in, people are more likely to comply. If the prime motivation is to
behave appropriately people are more likely to internalise.
Public behaviour Private beliefs short/long term?
change? change?
Compliance yes no Short term
Identification yes yes Short term
Internalisation yes yes Long term
, Normative social influence (NSI) -
- when a person conforms to be accepted
- When a person wants to feel that they belong
- Because it’s socially rewarding
- To avoid social rejection
- Associated with compliance and identification
- Short term, which is motivated by the majority
- Compliance
Informational social influence (ISI) -
- When a person wants to gain knowledge
- They believe someone else is right
- Internalisation
- Result of a person adopting a new belief system
- Internalisation
AO3
Extension Key Study:
Jenness (1932)
Aim: To examine whether individuals will change their opinion in an ambiguous (unclear)
situation, in response to group discussion.
Method: Jenness used an ambiguous situation that involved a glass bottle filled with 811
white beans. His sample consisted of 26 students, who individually estimated how many
beans the glass bottle contained. Participants were then divided into groups of three and
asked to provide a group estimate through discussion. Following the discussion, the
participants were provided with another opportunity to individually estimate the number of
beans, to see if they changed their original answer.
Results: Jenness found that nearly all participants changed their original answer when they
were provided with another opportunity to estimate the number of beans in the glass bottle.
On average, male participants changed their answers by 256 beans and female
participants changed their answers by 382 beans. Furthermore, the range of the whole
group went from 1875 before the discussion to 474 afterward, a decrease of 75 per cent,
which demonstrates the converging opinions of the participants, after their discussions.
Conclusion: These results suggest that individuals changed their initial estimate due to
informational social influence, as they believed that the group estimates were more likely to
be correct, in comparison to their own.
Alternate AO3 points - Asch, Methodological criticisms, Temporal validity - jenness
Variables affecting conformity including group size, unanimity and task difficulty as
investigated by Asch.
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