Topic 5: Social influence Revision Notes

Obedience to Authority

Obedience is a type of social influence where an individual acts in response to a direct order from an authority figure. It differs from conformity as it involves a hierarchical power dynamic. Factors influencing obedience include proximity to the authority figure, legitimacy of the authority, and proximity to the victim. Classic studies like Milgram's obedience experiment demonstrate the powerful effect of direct commands. However, Milgram's research faced significant ethical criticisms regarding psychological harm and deception, raising questions about generalisability and the welfare of participants.

Conformity to Group Norms

Conformity is the tendency for individuals to align their attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours with those of a group. This can be due to informational social influence (desire to be right) or normative social influence (desire to be liked or accepted). Asch's line judgement studies (e.g., Asch, 1951; 1955) showed how individuals might conform even when the group's judgement is clearly incorrect. Group size, unanimity, and task difficulty are key factors affecting conformity. Criticisms of Asch's work include its 'child of its time' nature, potential for demand characteristics, and limited ecological validity due to the artificial task.

Deindividuation in Groups

Deindividuation is a psychological state in which an individual loses their sense of personal identity and self-awareness within a group, often when anonymity is present. This can lead to a reduction in self-restraint and an increase in impulsive, sometimes anti-social, behaviour. Factors contributing to deindividuation include anonymity, diffused responsibility, and arousal due to group activity. While Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment (SPE) demonstrated the power of social roles and situations, some aspects of participant behaviour in the SPE have also been interpreted through the lens of deindividuation, particularly with the anonymity provided by uniforms and roles.

The Bystander Effect

The bystander effect describes the phenomenon where individuals are less likely to offer help to a victim when other people are present. The probability of help decreases with the number of bystanders. This effect is often attributed to diffusion of responsibility, where each person feels less accountable because others are also present, and pluralistic ignorance, where individuals look to others for cues but everyone is doing the same, leading to inaction. The report of the Kitty Genovese murder in 1964 prompted Latane and Darley's systematic investigation into why bystanders sometimes fail to intervene, leading to their experiments demonstrating the bystander effect.