Social Influence Types and Explanations

This page introduces key concepts related to social influence in psychology. Conformity is defined as changing one's attitude or behavior due to group pressure. Three types of conformity are outlined:

1. Compliance - agreeing publicly but disagreeing privately
2. Identification - agreeing publicly and privately only when with the group
3. Internalization - agreeing both publicly and privately

Two main explanations for conformity are provided:

• Normative social influence - conforming to fit in with a group
• Informational social influence - conforming due to a desire to be correct

Definition: Conformity is when someone changes their attitude or behavior due to group pressure.

Example: The Jenness study on estimating beans in a jar demonstrates informational social influence, as participants changed their estimates to align with the group.

Highlight: Understanding different types of conformity and the reasons behind it is crucial for social influence psychology A level studies.

Milgram's Shock Study

This page details Stanley Milgram's famous obedience experiment:

Milgram investigated whether people would obey an authority figure's instructions to harm another person. Key aspects:

• Lab experiment with participants as "teachers" administering shocks to "learners"
• Shocks increased with wrong answers, with standardized prompts for hesitation
• All participants went to 300 volts, 65% to maximum 450 volts

Variations:

• Obedience dropped to 20% when experimenter not in uniform
• Moved to run-down offices, obedience fell to 47.5%
• Phone instructions lowered obedience to 20.5%, with participants often lying

Evaluation:

• Lacks ecological validity
• Androcentric sample
• Provides insight into historical events like Nazi obedience
• Standardized and replicable
• Ethical concerns due to deception, but participants were debriefed

Highlight: Milgram's study is crucial for understanding obedience in social influence psychology, showing how ordinary people may follow harmful orders from authority figures.

Example: The Milgram obedience study summary shows that a majority of participants were willing to administer potentially lethal shocks when instructed by an authority figure.

Stanford Prison Experiment

This page summarizes Philip Zimbardo's controversial Stanford Prison Experiment:

Zimbardo aimed to investigate how readily people conform to social roles of prisoners and guards. Key aspects of the study include:

• 24 male volunteers randomly assigned as prisoners or guards
• Planned for 2 weeks but stopped after 6 days due to escalating abuse
• Prisoners given uniforms and numbers, guards given uniforms and accessories
• Both groups quickly settled into roles, with guards harassing prisoners and prisoners becoming submissive
• Some prisoners had to leave early due to distress

Evaluation points:

• Possible demand characteristics - participants may have been acting
• Lacks population validity
• Significant ethical issues
• Low face validity - could be investigating obedience rather than conformity
• Zimbardo's involvement may have influenced results
• Led to improved ethical guidelines for psychological research

Highlight: The Stanford Prison Experiment is a crucial study in social influence psychology, demonstrating the power of situational factors in shaping behavior.

Vocabulary: Demand characteristics refer to cues that may cause participants to behave in a way they think the researcher expects.