Social influence flashcards

Social influence explores how other people affect our thoughts, feelings and behaviour. Students must understand the different types of conformity (compliance, identification and internalisation) and the explanations for why people conform, including normative and informational social influence. The research of Asch on conformity and Milgram on obedience to authority are central, along with situational factors that affect obedience levels. Students should also understand minority influence and how minorities can bring about social change through consistency, commitment and flexibility. The role of social influence in real-world social change is important, as is an understanding of how people resist social influence through independent behaviour. Evaluating studies using ethical and methodological criteria is essential throughout.

1. Card 1

   What is conformity in social psychology?

   Conformity is a change in a person's behaviour or beliefs as a result of real or imagined group pressure, even without a direct instruction to do so.

2. Card 2

   What is the difference between compliance and internalisation as types of conformity?

   Compliance is publicly going along with the group while privately disagreeing. Internalisation is genuinely accepting the group's views so that public and private beliefs match.

3. Card 3

   What is identification as a type of conformity?

   Identification occurs when a person adopts the attitudes and behaviours of a group because they value membership of that group, but the change may not last beyond that context.

4. Card 4

   What is normative social influence?

   Normative social influence is conforming to gain social approval or avoid rejection, driven by the desire to be liked and accepted rather than by a need for information.

5. Card 5

   What is informational social influence?

   Informational social influence occurs when a person conforms because they are uncertain and look to others as a source of accurate information about how to behave.

6. Card 6

   What did Asch's line study find about conformity rates?

   Asch found that participants conformed to obviously wrong answers on about 32% of critical trials, showing the power of normative social influence even on unambiguous tasks.

7. Card 7

   What situational factors did Milgram identify as affecting obedience?

   Milgram found obedience fell when the experimenter left the room, when the victim was visible, and when the study moved away from a prestigious university setting.

8. Card 8

   What is the agentic state in Milgram's explanation of obedience?

   The agentic state is when a person sees themselves as an agent carrying out another's wishes, shifting moral responsibility to the authority figure and increasing obedience.

9. Card 9

   What is meant by legitimate authority in the context of obedience?

   Legitimate authority refers to the perceived right of a person or institution to give orders, which increases the likelihood that others will obey their instructions.

10. Card 10

    What are the three key factors Moscovici identified for minority influence?

    Moscovici argued that a minority is most persuasive when it shows consistency over time, demonstrates commitment through personal sacrifice, and shows some flexibility in its position.

11. Card 11

    What is the difference between minority and majority influence in terms of the type of conformity produced?

    Majority influence typically produces compliance (surface-level change), whereas minority influence tends to produce internalisation (deeper, lasting attitude change).

12. Card 12

    What role does social influence research suggest for independent behaviour in resisting obedience?

    Having a disobedient model present, as shown in Milgram's variations, significantly reduces obedience, suggesting social support helps individuals resist authority.

• Students often confuse compliance with internalisation, incorrectly assuming that any behavioural change in a group setting means the person has genuinely changed their private beliefs.
• Many students wrongly describe Milgram's findings as showing that all participants obeyed fully, when in fact obedience rates varied considerably across different situational conditions.
• A common error is treating normative and informational social influence as mutually exclusive, when in reality both can operate simultaneously in the same situation.

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