PSYCHOLOGY - SOCIAL INFLUENCE

PSYCHOLOGY - SOCIAL INFLUENCE

1. TYPES OF CONFORMITY AND EXPLANATIONS FOR CONFORMITY

   • TYPES OF CONFORMITY
   • EXPLANATIONS FOR CONFORMITY
     • Normative Social Influence - conformity based on the desire for approval
     • More likely to occur when individual believes they are under surveillance by the group
   • EVALUATION
     • Difficulties distinguishing between compliance and internalisation
     • Research support for normative influence, e.g. smoking take-up (Linkenbach and Perkins)
     • Research support for informational influence, e.g. attitudes about African Americans (Wittenbrink and Henley)
   • FURTHER EVALUATION
     • Nolan et al. - people underestimate the impact of normative influence on their behaviour
     • Informational influence is moderated by type of task (Laughlin)

2. VARIABLES AFFECTING CONFORMITY

   • KEY STUDY (ASCH, 1956)
   • VARIABLES AFFECTING CONFORMITY
   • EVALUATION
   • FURTHER EVALUATION

3. CONFORMITY TO SOCIAL ROLES

   • KEY STUDY: THE STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT
   • BBC PRISON STUDY (REICHER AND HASLAM)
   • EVALUATION
   • FURTHER EVALUATION

4. RESEARCH ON OBEDIENCE

   • KEY STUDY: MILGRAM (1963)
   • SITUATIONAL FACTORS IN OBEDIENCE
   • EVALUATION
     • Ethical issues due to deception and lack of informed consent
     • Internal validity - Orne and Holland claim many participants saw through the deception
     • Individual differences - 8 out of 9 replications found no gender differences in obedience (Blass)
   • FURTHER EVALUATION
     • External validity - the obedience alibi (Mandel)

5. EXPLANATIONS FOR OBEDIENCE

   • THE AGENTIC STATE
   • LEGITIMACY OF AUTHORITY
   • EVALUATION
   • FURTHER EVALUATION

6. THE AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY

   • THE AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY
   • KEY STUDY: ELMS AND MILGRAM (1966)
   • EVALUATION
   • FURTHER EVALUATION

7. RESISTANCE TO SOCIAL INFLUENCE

   • SOCIAL SUPPORT
   • LOCUS OF CONTROL
   • EVALUATION
   • FURTHER EVALUATION

8. MINORITY INFLUENCE

   • MINORITY INFLUENCE AND BEHAVIOURAL STYLE
   • KEY STUDY: MOSCOVICI ET AL. (1969)
   • EVALUATION
   • FURTHER EVALUATION

9. SOCIAL INFLUENCE PROCESSES IN SOCIAL CHANGE

   • SOCIAL CHANGE THROUGH MINORITY INFLUENCE
   • SOCIAL CHANGE THROUGH MAJORITY INFLUENCE
   • EVALUATION
   • FURTHER EVALUATION