Essay
Social Influence 16 Mark Plans
- Module
- Social Influence
- Institution
- AQA
Social Influence 16 Mark Plans
[Show more]
Seller
Follow
Content preview
Paper 1Social Influence
Question: Outline and evaluate explanations for conformity.
AO1: • Definition of conformity --> form of social influence that results
6 from exposure to the majority position and leads to compliance
with that position.
• Kelman (1958)’s three types of conformity:
- Compliance --> individuals go along with the group to gain
approval/ avoid their disapproval (views are only public, doesn’t
change their underlying attitude)
- Internalisation --> individuals go along with the group because
they accept their views, they engage in a validation process,
examining their own beliefs to see if they or others are right
(public and private views > short term)
- Identification --> individual might accept the influence because
they want to be associated with another person or group, they
adopt to the group's attitudes and behaviours (public and private
views > long term)
• Explanations for conformity:
- Normative social influence --> go along with the majority without
accepting their point of view (compliance), humans need social
companionship and have a fear of censure and rejection, they use
NSI to gain approval and acceptance, to avoid censure and
disapproval. The individual must believe they are under
surveillance by the group.
- Informational social influence --> an individual accepts
information from others as evidence about reality & having a need
to be accepted. Individuals rely on the opinions of others; ISI is
more likely if the situation is ambiguous or where others are
experts. The individual complies in behaviour and changes their
behaviour in line with the group position (internalisation).
AO3: • Difficulties in distinguishing between compliance and
10 internalisation
- Relationship between compliance and internalisation is complicated
by how we define and measure it. Ex: person who publicly agrees
with a majority yet disagrees with them in private is
demonstrating compliance. However, possible that acceptance has
occurred in public yet dissipates later when in private, because
they have forgotten information from the group or received new
information.
• Research support for normative social influence by Asch (1951)
- Many participants went along with the (obviously) wrong answers of
the other group members. In post-interviews, the participants said
they changed their answer to avoid disapproval from the rest of
the group, shows compliance had occurred as the participants
conformed to ‘fit in’.
• Supporting evidence for informational social influence by Jenness
(1932)
- Participants asked to make independent judgements about number of
beans that were in a jar and then discuss their estimates with a
group, then made a second private estimate. Jenness found the
second private estimate was closer to group estimate because they
believe the others were right, especially in an unfamiliar,
ambiguous task.
2
, • Conformity can help abandon bad habits
- Ex: always arriving late for a meeting/ event, then the peer
pressure placed by the group can help make changes in life to stop
this issue and make positive changes to behaviours. Shows
conformity is used in the real world, good external validity.
3
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller harrison2. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for £5.49. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
73918 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy revision notes and other study material for 14 years now