Social context and behaviour

1. In Milgram's original study, what percentage of participants continued to 450 volts?

1. 10%
2. 35%
3. 65%
4. 100%

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C: 65%. Nearly two thirds obeyed to the maximum level.

2. What did Asch's line study investigate?

1. Obedience
2. Conformity to a majority
3. Memory accuracy
4. Bystander behaviour

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B: Conformity to a majority. Participants often gave obviously wrong answers to match the group.

3. What is normative social influence?

1. Conforming because others are believed to be right
2. Conforming to be liked and accepted by the group
3. Obeying an authority figure
4. Ignoring the group

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B: Conforming to be liked and accepted by the group. Informational influence is about believing others know better.

4. What is diffusion of responsibility?

1. Everyone helping at once
2. Individuals feeling less responsible to act when others are present
3. Obeying orders
4. Conforming to a minority

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B: Individuals feeling less responsible to act when others are present. It helps explain the bystander effect.

5. Which factor increases obedience?

1. The authority figure being distant
2. The authority figure wearing a uniform and being close by
3. A low-prestige location
4. Peers refusing to obey

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B: The authority figure wearing a uniform and being close by. Uniform and proximity both increase perceived legitimacy.

6. What did Milgram's study suggest about obedience?

1. People rarely obey authority
2. A majority of ordinary people will obey an authority figure even against their own conscience
3. Obedience only occurs in unusual individuals
4. Authority has no effect on behaviour

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B: A majority of ordinary people will obey an authority figure even against their own conscience. 65% of participants obeyed to the maximum voltage.

7. In Asch's line study, what proportion of participants conformed to the wrong answer at least once?

1. About 75%
2. About 100%
3. About 25%
4. About 50%

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A: About 75%. About 75% conformed at least once, even though the correct answer was obvious. This shows that group pressure can change behaviour.

8. A trainee copies colleagues' way of using a machine because she is unsure and assumes they know better. This is:

1. Deindividuation
2. Informational social influence
3. Normative social influence
4. Obedience to authority

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B: Informational social influence. She conforms because she believes the others are right, which is informational social influence. Normative influence is conforming to be accepted.

9. In a repeat of Asch's study, one confederate gives the correct answer. What is the likely effect on conformity?

1. It falls, because unanimity is broken
2. It rises, because the group is split
3. It stays the same
4. It rises, because the task seems harder

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A: It falls, because unanimity is broken. Conformity is higher when the majority is unanimous. One dissenter breaks unanimity and gives the participant support, so conformity drops.

10. Asch found that task difficulty affects conformity. When the lines were harder to judge, conformity:

1. Decreased, as people felt more confident
2. Vanished completely
3. Stayed the same
4. Increased, as people relied more on others

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D: Increased, as people relied more on others. When the task is difficult, people are less sure of their own answer and look to others, so conformity increases (informational influence).