Choose relevant theories from social psychology and use them to provide an evaluative essay about how social influence processes affect real-world behaviours.

Social Psychology Assignment Guidance November 24

Assignment task

Choose relevant theories from social psychology and use them to provide an evaluative essay about how social influence processes affect real-world behaviours.

Your essay should describe and discuss historical and contemporary perspectives outlining how your chosen theories are understood, how they have developed through time and how they can be applied to the study of social influence today. You should also reflect on the influence of social influence on individual behaviour, relevance to the real world, ethical considerations and socio-cultural differences in research related to social influence.

(3000 words)

(100 marks) 

(Need to pass learning outcomes 1, 2, 3 & 4) 

Learning Outcomes:

1. Describe and discuss historical, contemporary, and socio-cultural factors in social psychology.
2. Explain core theories and approaches within social psychology as a core domain in the field of Psychology.
3. Identify the relevance of social psychology in real-world scenarios.
4. Interpret scientific evidence to support your work.

Assignment question broken down:

Choose relevant theories from social psychology and use them to provide an evaluative essay about how social influence processes affect real-world behaviours.

Your essay should describe and discuss historical and contemporary perspectives outlining how your chosen theories are understood, how they have developed through time and how they can be applied to the study of social influence today. You should also reflect on the influence of social influence on individual behaviour, relevance to the real world, ethical considerations and socio-cultural differences in research related to social influence.

The key parts of the question are in bold and underlined.

• Relevant theories: The theories must be from psychology and have some relation to the topic.
• Social psychology: The scientific study of how individuals’ thoughts, feelings, and behaviours are influenced by the presence, actions, or perceptions of others.
• Evaluative essay: A type of essay that assesses, analyses, and appraises theories, concepts, or evidence, providing strengths, weaknesses, and applications.
• Social influence: The process by which an individual’s behaviours, attitudes, or beliefs are shaped by others, including conformity, compliance, and obedience.
• Real – world behaviours: Actions and responses of individuals in everyday life.
• Historical and contemporary perspectives: How has the theory developed since it was created? Has there been research to support or discredit the original theory?
• Be applied to the study of social influence today: does modern research still support this theory? Are there any ‘real-life’ situations that are happening that would support this theory?
• Influence of social influence on individual behaviour: Social influence can affect many individual behaviours (HINT: things such as personal decisions, beliefs, and actions, as seen in conformity to group norms or obedience to authority).
• Influence of social influence on the ‘real world’: Social influence can have a huge effect on the real world – can you think of any? (HINT: policies, consumer behaviours, and collective actions, war etc.).
• Ethical considerations: when thinking about the theories and the corresponding research it is important to thing about ethical issues such as the potential for harm, deception, informed consent, and how to respect cultural diversity.
• Socio-cultural differences in research related to social influence: Variations in how social influence manifests and is studied across different cultures (HINT: is there a difference in the effects of social influence across different culture types such as individualistic and collectivistic cultures).

Social influence processes and examples of real-world applications you can use for this assignment (this is not a definitive list; you can choose other RELEVANT examples that are not on this list)

• Conformity (e.g. fashion trends, peer pressure)
• Compliance (e.g. sales techniques, signing a petition)
• Obedience (e.g. following workplace rules, soldiers in war following orders)
• Group influence/Groupthink (e.g. choosing where to eat, workplace meetings)
• Social learning (e.g. aggression and the media)
• Cultural influence (e.g. individualist versus collectivist cultures)
• Mass media/social media (e.g. viral challenges, spreading of fake news, cancel culture)
• Authority and hierarchy (e.g. military orders, parenting, religious settings)

Example theories and theoretical work you can use for this assignment (this is not a definitive list; you can choose other RELEVANT theories that are not on this list)

• Agency theory (Milgram, 1974): This theory tries to explain obedience by suggesting people switch between two states (autonomous and agentic state). The key idea in this theory is that people obey authority figures because they enter the agentic state and believe the authority is accountable for the outcomes.
• Social Identity theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1979): This theory explains how people define themselves based on the groups they belong to, such as their nationality, gender, or team. Furthermore, it suggests how group membership and identification influence behaviour’s, with people conforming to group norms to maintain a positive social identity.
• Social Impact theory (Latane, 1981): This theory explains how people are influenced by others based on three factors (strength, immediacy, and number) the idea being that social influence is stronger when the influencer is closer, powerful and more people.
• Groupthink Theory (Janis, 1972): This theory describes how group decision-making can go wrong when a desire for group unity overrides critical thinking leading to conformity within decision-making groups.
• Social Learning theory (Bandura, 1977): This theory suggests people learn behaviours by observing others and that learning occurs through observation, imitation, and reinforcement, and how this contributes to conformity and the spread of social norms.
• Triandis’s Theory of Individualism and Collectivism (1995): This theory helps to explain some cultural differences in behaviours and attitudes. For example, how collectivist cultures promoting conformity and group harmony, while individualist cultures emphasise autonomy.
• Social Norm Theory (Cialdini, Reno, & Kallgren, 1990): explains social influence by showing how individuals` behaviours are shaped by their perception of the social norms (what is considered typical or acceptable within a group or society).
• Self-Categorisation Theory (Turner et al., 1987): explains how people classify themselves into groups (in-groups and out-groups) based on shared characteristics, shaping their behaviour to align with group norms. This links to social influence by showing that individuals conform to in-group norms to reinforce their social identity and maintain group cohesion.
• Asch’s Line Experiment (1951): Demonstrated conformity by showing that individuals often agree with a group`s incorrect judgment about line lengths, even when the answer is obvious.
• Milgram’s Shock Experiment (1963): Revealed the power of obedience, as participants were willing to administer potentially lethal shocks to a stranger under the instructions of an authority figure.
• Deutsch and Gerard`s (1955) conformity research: Identified two key influences on conformity: normative social influence (desire to be liked) and informational social influence (desire to be correct).
• Moscovici’s Blue-Green Study (1969): Showed that a consistent minority could influence the majority’s perception, such as convincing others to mislabel blue slides as green.
• Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment (1971): Explored the effects of situational power dynamics, with participants adopting abusive roles as guards and submissive roles as prisoners in a simulated prison environment.
• Hofling’s Nurse Study (1966): Highlighted obedience in real-life settings, as nurses were willing to follow an unethical order from a doctor over the phone without questioning it.
• Latane and Darley’s Bystander Effect (1968): Demonstrated that people are less likely to help in emergencies when others are present, due to diffusion of responsibility.
• Referent Informational Influence (Turner, Wetherell, & Hogg, 1989) explains how people are influenced by the norms and behaviours of groups they identify with (their in-group). It suggests that individuals conform to group norms because these norms define what is appropriate and expected for group members

Steps for how to structure your points:

For this example, you have chosen the social influence process obedience and will discuss relevant theories/theoretical work to support your points.

Then repeat this process for the other social influences processes you have chosen to focus on (for example conformity, compliance) 

How to structure an essay

Introduction (suggested word count of 250-300 words)

• Introduce the question. 
• Define social influence and why it is still important today.
• Introduce the social influence processes you are going to be focusing on with the supporting research and literature.

Good practice introduction example (254 words)

Main body (suggest word count 2,400 words)

 

Referencing help

APA referencing

APA or American Psychological Association referencing is usually used in such subjects as social work, psychology, sociology, anthropology, nursing research, and other behavioural and social sciences. It was introduced in the 1920s and has established itself as one of the most widespread formats for citing research produced by  other authors.

For APA-style in-text references, you need to provide:

1. Author surname.
2. Publication date.

E.g. “(Miller, 2018)” or “(Miller, 2018, 17).

For references in parentheses (brackets), you should include the ampersand sign (&) when citing two authors of a certain work. For three or more authors, you need to use ‘et al.’ citing only the first author for in-text references. E.g. “(Simmons et al., 2017) instead of “(Simmons, Covey, & Parker, 2017)”.

For APA-style reference lists, you need to provide:

1. Author(s) surname(s) and initials (all authors without et al.).
2. Publication date in parentheses with a full stop after the closing bracket.
3. Publication name in APA 7th format with doi for journal articles and books.

E.g. Covey, S. (2013). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful lessons in personal change. New York: Simon & Schuster.

or

Achieng, M., & Malatji, M. (2022). Digital transformation of small and medium enterprises in sub-Saharan Africa: A scoping review. Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa, 18(1), 1-13. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/td.v18i1.1257

Referencing websites and other online sources:

Marr, B. (2023, February 17). The Top 5 Education Trends in 2023. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2023/02/17/the-top-5-education-trends-in-2023/?sh=42c39dcd4d39

Harvard referencing

The Harvard referencing system was originally popularised by Harvard University and is widely applied in all areas of science. Similar to APA, it is an author-date system utilising in-text references as well as reference lists or bibliographies provided at the end of the document.

For in-text references, you need to provide:

1. Author surname.
2. Publication date.
3. Page number with “p.” (optional).

E.g. (Achieng and Malatji, 2022) or (Achieng and Malatji, 2022, p.5).

You can use ‘et al.’ for citing four or more authors, e.g. “(Simmons et al., 2017) instead of “(Simmons, Jones, Covey and Parker, 2017)”.

For Harvard-style reference lists, you need to provide:

1. Author surname and initials (for any number of authors).
2. Publication date.
3. Publication name in Harvard format.

E.g. Achieng, M. and Malatji, M. (2022) “Digital transformation of small and medium enterprises in sub-Saharan Africa: A scoping review”, Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa, 18 (1), pp. 1-13.

Referencing websites and other online sources:

Marr, B. (2023) “The Top 5 Education Trends in 2023”, [online] Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2023/02/17/the-top-5-education-trends-in-2023/?sh=42c39dcd4d39 [Accessed on 22 January 2024].

Common essay dos and don’ts 

Do’s	Don’ts
Use appropriate formatting. Spilt your essay into paragraphs, this makes it much easier to read than one solid text.	Including an abstract. Essays do not need or typically have abstracts – instead write an introductory paragraph like the example.
Including references. Do include references and in-text citations as evidence for your work.	Use non-academic sources.Stick to credible sources such as peer-reviewed journal articles, textbooks, and academic publications. Avoid using Wikipedia or non-academic websites.
Proofreading. Proofread your work, getting rid of small errors such as spelling mistakes will make the essay more professional.	Plagiarism. Always write in your own words and cite sources correctly. Directly copying text is academic misconduct.
Follow Referencing Guidelines. Use the correct citation style (e.g., APA 7 or Harvard) for in-text citations and your reference list.	Leave it till the last minute.Writing under time pressure can lead to rushed, lower-quality work. Start early to give yourself time to review and improve your essay.
Plan Before You Write. Create an outline to structure your essay logically. Use sections like an introduction, main body, and conclusion.	Ignore word limits. This essay has a limit of 3000 words, after this the marker will stop reading.
Keep focused. Avoid going off-topic or including irrelevant information. Keep your writing focused on answering the question.	Overcomplicate writing. Avoid trying to sound overly academic or using unnecessarily complex vocabulary. Clarity is more important than showing off your thesaurus skills.

Sample Answer

Describe and discuss historical, contemporary, and socio-cultural factors in social psychology.

Social psychology explores how individuals` thoughts, feelings, and behaviours are influenced by others, providing critical insights into the dynamics of social influence. Social influence encompasses conformity, compliance, and obedience, each of which significantly shapes real-world behaviours. This essay evaluates key theories of social influence, examining their historical origins, development, and modern applications. The analysis highlights their impact on individual behaviour, real-world relevance, ethical considerations, and socio-cultural variations, offering a comprehensive understanding of social influence in today`s context.

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Historical and Contemporary Perspectives

Conformity: Historical and Modern Insights

Conformity refers to individuals aligning their behaviours, attitudes, or beliefs with group norms. Solomon Asch`s (1951) seminal experiments on conformity demonstrated how group pressure could lead individuals to give incorrect answers to simple questions. The historical significance of Asch`s work lies in its ability to quantify social influence within controlled settings.

Modern perspectives expand Asch`s findings by incorporating technology and digital platforms. For instance, social media algorithms often reinforce conformity through echo chambers, where users are exposed to like-minded opinions. Research by Bond et al. (2012) demonstrated how online social networks influence voter turnout, highlighting conformity`s evolving relevance in the digital age.

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Compliance: Evolution of Understanding

Compliance involves agreeing to a request from another person or group. The work of Cialdini (1984) on persuasion and compliance introduced six principles: reciprocity, commitment, social proof, authority, liking, and scarcity. These principles form the foundation of marketing strategies, from loyalty programs to social media influencers promoting products.

Contemporary studies explore how compliance operates in diverse cultural contexts. For example, collectivist societies may show higher compliance levels due to an emphasis on group harmony, as demonstrated in research by Kim and Markus (1999). In contrast, individualistic cultures prioritize autonomy, affecting compliance strategies` effectiveness.

Continued...