Social Influence - Psychology A Level

Overview of Social Influence

• Social influence examines how people's beliefs and behaviors are impacted by those around them.
• Key aspects:
  • Conformity: Adapting behaviors or beliefs to align with a group.
  • Obedience: Following orders from an authority figure.
• Other topics:
  • Resistance to social influence
  • Minority influence
  • Social change

Conformity

• Definition: Majority influence leading to changes in beliefs and behaviors.

Types of Conformity

1. Compliance: Superficial public change in behavior, but private beliefs remain unchanged.
   • Example: Pretending to like a film disliked internally to fit in.
2. Identification: Public and private change in behavior and beliefs, but temporary.
   • Example: Adopting group’s music and fashion but reverting when alone.
3. Internalisation: Genuine and permanent change in beliefs and behaviors.
   • Example: Religious conversion with lasting belief.

Solomon Asch: Conformity Experiments

• Conducted to measure extent of conformity to a majority consensus.
• Procedure:
  • 123 male participants in a study on visual perception with confederates providing wrong answers.
  • Results showed 32% conformity to incorrect group consensus.
  • Interviews revealed explanations like distortion of perception, judgement, and action.

Variables Affecting Conformity

• Unanimity: Reduced conformity when one confederate gave the correct answer.
• Group Size: Conformity increased with group size but plateaued.
• Task Difficulty: Increased difficulty led to increased conformity.
• Other Factors: Mood, gender, and culture can impact conformity.

Explanations of Conformity

• Informational Social Influence (ISI): Desire to be correct.
• Normative Social Influence (NSI): Desire to be accepted.

Conformity to Social Roles

• Behavior guided by social norms in different contexts.
• Philip Zimbardo: Stanford Prison Study: Significant role conformity observed in simulated prison.

Obedience

• Definition: Following orders from an authority figure.

Stanley Milgram: Obedience Experiments

• Investigated obedience to authority using electric shock experiments.
• Results showed high obedience despite moral conflicts.

Variables Affecting Obedience

• Proximity: Closer proximity to victim lowered obedience.
• Location: Prestige of location increased obedience.
• Uniforms: Authority figure’s appearance influenced obedience.

Explanations of Obedience

• Agentic State: Individuals see themselves as agents of authority, not responsible for actions.
• Legitimacy of Authority: Acceptance of authority’s right to command.
• Authoritarian Personality: Dispositional tendency towards obedience.

Resistance to Social Influence

• Importance of asserting free choice against negative social influence.

Explanations of Resistance

• Social Support: Presence of allies reduces conformity and obedience.
• Locus of Control: Internal locus correlates with reduced conformity and obedience.

Other Factors Affecting Resistance

• Status, ironic deviance, systematic processing, moral beliefs, and reactance impact resistance.

Social Change

• Minority Influence: A minority can change majority norms over time.
  • Examples: Spread of Christianity, suffragettes’ impact.
  • Factors: Consistency, commitment, and flexibility of the minority.

Variables Affecting Minority Influence

• Consistency and Commitment: Increases impact of minority.
• Flexibility: Willingness to compromise enhances influence.