SOCIAL INFLUENCE
Types of conformity: internalisation, identification and compliance
Compliance: Compliance is the weakest type of conformity. It is where a person
publicly changes their behaviour and beliefs to fit that of a group and avoid disapproval.
However, privately, the person does not accept the behaviours and beliefs of the group
– they just comply with them.
Identification: Identification is a stronger type of conformity than compliance because it
involves the person both publicly and privately changing their behaviour and beliefs to fit
that of a group they want to be part of. However, the person only identifies with these
beliefs as long as they are associated with the group – upon leaving the group, the
original behaviours and beliefs return
Internalisation: Internalisation is the strongest type of conformity. It is where a person
both publicly and privately changes their behaviour and beliefs to those of a group – but
permanently. So, unlike identification, individuals who internalise beliefs and behaviours
maintain those beliefs and behaviours even after leaving the social group.
Explanations for conformity: informational social influence and normative social
influence, and variables affecting conformity including group size, unanimity and
task difficulty as investigated by Asch.
Informational social influence: People like to feel that their opinions and beliefs are
correct.
Normative social influence: People want to be accepted by others and not be rejected
Explanations for obedience: agentic state and legitimacy of authority, and
situational variables affecting obedience including proximity and location, as
investigated by Milgram, and uniform.
Autonomous state: When an individual is freely and consciously in control of their
actions and thus takes responsibility for them.
Agentic state: When an individual becomes de-individuated and considers themselves
an agent (tool) of an authority figure and thus not personally responsible for their
actions.
Dispositional explanation for obedience: the Authoritarian Personality
Authoritarian personality: people whose disposition makes them submissive to
authority and dominating of people with lower status within the hierarchy and members
of an out-group.
Explanations of resistance to social influence, including social support and locus
of control.
Social support: Having another person on your side.
, Locus of control: The extent to which they believe they are in control of their life
Internal locus of control: The person believes their own choices shape their life
External locus of control: The person believes their life is controlled by things outside
their control – such as luck, fate, and circumstance
MEMORY
The multi-store model of memory: sensory register, short-term memory and long-
term memory. Features of each store: coding, capacity and duration.
Coding: The format the information is stored as.
Capacity: How much information can be stored.
Duration: How long the information is stored for.
The working memory model: central executive, phonological loop, visuo-spatial
sketchpad and episodic buffer. Features of the model: coding and capacity.
Central executive: Component that filters and co-ordinates the various components of
working memory
Phonological loop: System that deals with information coded in auditory (sound –
particularly words) format
Phonological store: A short-term store that briefly retains words and the order they
appeared in (sometimes called the inner ear)
Articulatory loop: Repeats (rehearses) words to keep them within the phonological
loop (sometimes called the inner voice)
Visuo-spatial sketchpad: The mind’s inner eye – it stores visual and spatial
information. Information within the visuo-spatial sketchpad is coded as mental pictures.
Episodic buffer: A temporary store for information coded in all forms (auditory, visual,
etc.).
Types of long-term memory: episodic, semantic, procedural.
Episodic memory: Episodic long-term memory covers the story of our lives – things
like memories of specific events and the order they occurred in
Semantic memory: Semantic long-term memory covers meaning, understanding, and
general knowledge.
Procedural memory: Procedural long-term memory covers how to do things – actions,
skills, abilities, etc
Explanations for forgetting: proactive and retroactive interference and retrieval
failure due to absence of cues.
Types of conformity: internalisation, identification and compliance
Compliance: Compliance is the weakest type of conformity. It is where a person
publicly changes their behaviour and beliefs to fit that of a group and avoid disapproval.
However, privately, the person does not accept the behaviours and beliefs of the group
– they just comply with them.
Identification: Identification is a stronger type of conformity than compliance because it
involves the person both publicly and privately changing their behaviour and beliefs to fit
that of a group they want to be part of. However, the person only identifies with these
beliefs as long as they are associated with the group – upon leaving the group, the
original behaviours and beliefs return
Internalisation: Internalisation is the strongest type of conformity. It is where a person
both publicly and privately changes their behaviour and beliefs to those of a group – but
permanently. So, unlike identification, individuals who internalise beliefs and behaviours
maintain those beliefs and behaviours even after leaving the social group.
Explanations for conformity: informational social influence and normative social
influence, and variables affecting conformity including group size, unanimity and
task difficulty as investigated by Asch.
Informational social influence: People like to feel that their opinions and beliefs are
correct.
Normative social influence: People want to be accepted by others and not be rejected
Explanations for obedience: agentic state and legitimacy of authority, and
situational variables affecting obedience including proximity and location, as
investigated by Milgram, and uniform.
Autonomous state: When an individual is freely and consciously in control of their
actions and thus takes responsibility for them.
Agentic state: When an individual becomes de-individuated and considers themselves
an agent (tool) of an authority figure and thus not personally responsible for their
actions.
Dispositional explanation for obedience: the Authoritarian Personality
Authoritarian personality: people whose disposition makes them submissive to
authority and dominating of people with lower status within the hierarchy and members
of an out-group.
Explanations of resistance to social influence, including social support and locus
of control.
Social support: Having another person on your side.
, Locus of control: The extent to which they believe they are in control of their life
Internal locus of control: The person believes their own choices shape their life
External locus of control: The person believes their life is controlled by things outside
their control – such as luck, fate, and circumstance
MEMORY
The multi-store model of memory: sensory register, short-term memory and long-
term memory. Features of each store: coding, capacity and duration.
Coding: The format the information is stored as.
Capacity: How much information can be stored.
Duration: How long the information is stored for.
The working memory model: central executive, phonological loop, visuo-spatial
sketchpad and episodic buffer. Features of the model: coding and capacity.
Central executive: Component that filters and co-ordinates the various components of
working memory
Phonological loop: System that deals with information coded in auditory (sound –
particularly words) format
Phonological store: A short-term store that briefly retains words and the order they
appeared in (sometimes called the inner ear)
Articulatory loop: Repeats (rehearses) words to keep them within the phonological
loop (sometimes called the inner voice)
Visuo-spatial sketchpad: The mind’s inner eye – it stores visual and spatial
information. Information within the visuo-spatial sketchpad is coded as mental pictures.
Episodic buffer: A temporary store for information coded in all forms (auditory, visual,
etc.).
Types of long-term memory: episodic, semantic, procedural.
Episodic memory: Episodic long-term memory covers the story of our lives – things
like memories of specific events and the order they occurred in
Semantic memory: Semantic long-term memory covers meaning, understanding, and
general knowledge.
Procedural memory: Procedural long-term memory covers how to do things – actions,
skills, abilities, etc
Explanations for forgetting: proactive and retroactive interference and retrieval
failure due to absence of cues.
