Social Influence recap AQA A level

A deep type of conformity where we take on the majoirty view because we accept it as correct. What is being described?

• Internalisation

• Identification

• Compliance

• Normative social influence

Answer explanation

This change is usually permanent because attitudes have been internalised i.e. become part of the way the person thinks.

People are more likely to conform to the wrong answer if the task is hard. This is support for what type of social influence

• Identification

• Compliance

• Normal social influence (NSI)

• Informational social influence (ISI)

Answer explanation

In Asch's variation study, he found te more difficult the task, the more liekly participants were t conform to the wrong answer. Lucas et al(2006) found the same when participants were asked a difficult maths question.

A confederate is...

• ...someone who does not really want to do the study

• ...someone who already knows the aim of the study and is a 'fake' participant

• ....someone who thinks they know the aim of the participant

• ...the extent to which all the members of a group agree

There were ___ American male participants in Asch's study.

What there the variations of Asch's study?

Draw Asch's line task

Asch's study was an artificial task and situation. This could be seen as a limitation because..

• ...the participants were all male, which is gender bias and can lead to androcentrism in Psychology.

• ...the participants were from the USA which is a collectivist culture.

• ...participants were in an experiment, there may have been demand characteristics

• ...participants were decieved in this study which is an ethical issue in which they should be debriefed.

Jenness (1932) asked 101 psychology students how many beans they thought were in a glass jar.Participants were then divide into groups of three and asked to provide a group estimate through discussion. Following the discussion, the participants were provided with another opportunity individually estimate the number of beans, to see if they changed their original answer. He 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.

• ...that only half of participants changed their original answer because they did not want to conform when another opporunity to estimate the number of beans in the glass bottle.

• ...that only a quarter of participants changed their original answer because they did not want to conform when another opporunity to estimate the number of beans in the glass bottle.

• ...that no participants changed their original answer because they did not want to conform when another opporunity to estimate the number of beans in the glass bottle.

Explain what Zimbardo's study tell us about conformity to social roles?

Social roles are...

• the different expectations we have of the world

• the people we surround ourselves with e.g. parents, friends.

• the people we want to become and have positive expectations for.

• the 'parts' people play as members of various social groups e.g. parent, child.