Social Influence

When you choose to go along with the majority (majority influence) We can yield (give in) publicly or privatley

Fashion trends

• Compliance

• Identification

• Internalisation

When you publicly go along with the majority as you want to gain approval, privately you do not change your attitude

following a social norm such as leaving a tip for a waiter even if you have had bad service and don't want to.

When you identify with a group and want to be apart of it. This could e a group of friends or new work colleagues, you act in the same way as the group but don't necessarily believe everything the group believes.

When we take on the majority view because we think the group is right, this leads to public and private acceptance of the groups beliefs.

Becoming a vegetarian because you believe that eating animals in wrong

• informational social influence

• normative social influence

If we are uncertain we follow the group or an individual we think is right, This leads to permanent change in opinion and behavior.

Putting your hand up as the 'clever kid' has

What is normal for a social group, we don't want to appear foolish and we like to be liked, this can be more pronounced in stressful situations but doesn't leas to change in your private opinion.

Liking a post even if you don't really like it

Someone who has a strong need for affiliation and need to be liked and is more likely to conform

Lucas et asked students to give answers to maths problems that were easy and more difficult, He found there was greater conformity to the difficult answers. This is because when the problem were easy the participants 'knew their own minds' but when the problems were hard the situation became unclear and the participants did not want to be wrong so they relied on other people and assumed they new better.

Asch (1951) interviewed his participants, some said they conformed because they felt self-conscience giving the correct answer and they were afraid of disapproval.

• 37% conformed

• 25% did not conform

• 77% conformed at least once

increased conformity

decreased conformity

Increased conformity

participants knew they were in a study artificial task (not true to life) only men tested

supported be research by Lucas et al

Importance of independence and individualism (USA and UK)

Importance of the group (Japan and China)

24 students volunteered and we're divided into 2 groups: prisoners and prison guards. Discovered that a person's behavior in a role is pet determined by the expectations and definitions of that role. Student paying the role of the guard was harsh and unrelenting in some instances.

lack of realism control ethical issues exaggerates the power of roles

Deception Right to withdraw Informed Consent Protection From harm Confidentiality

Deception Right to Withdraw Protection from harm

study was approved by the office of naval research the only desperation was in the arrest they signed consent forms debriefings held

65% went to 450V 100% went to 300V

Low internal validity

• Good external validity

• supporting replication

• Deception

• Right to Withdraw

• Protection from harm

Obedience fell to 47.5%

obedience fell to 20%

A mental state where we feel no personal responsibility for our behaviour because we believe ourselves to be acting for an authority figure

They are free to behave to their own principles and therefore feel a sense of responsibility for their own actions

It explains that we are more likely to obey people who we perceive to have an authority over us. This is justified by the individuals position of power within a social hierarchy.

becomes destructive and grants the power to punish others

When a Legitimate Authority becomes destructive. like Hitler

204 innocent civilians were killed by US troops who where only 'following orders'

A state of complete obedience and submission to those of higher status and submissive of inferiors

• forms in childhood from harsh parenting

• conditional love

Adorno Et al

Studied more than 200 middle class white Americans and their unconscious attitudes towards ethnic groups and developed the F-scale

"homosexuals are hardly better than criminals and ought to be severely punished"

refers to extent to which people think they have control over their life

• Internal

• External

they control their own destiny

Others control their destiny

too simplistic

He measured if participants were high internals or externals. 37% of internals didn't go to 450V 23% of externals didn't go to 450V