5.2 Conformity Flashcards
What are the 3 features to conformity?
- change In behaviour, not necessarily thought though.
- a group. A membership or a reference group which is a group that we do not belong to but consists of people we admire.
- pressure. Real or imagined.
What does conformity explain?
Why a person is doing what everyone else is doing.
What is the study for conformity?
Sherif and asch.
Explain the Sherif study for conformity?
Aim to investigate whether people would be influenced by others in a situation where the answer is not clear. Method: shown a point of light and estimated how far the light moved.(had not moved but may have appeared so). The people were then put into groups. Results where that the answers converged.
What is a criticism of sherifs experiment?
Main criticism: not unusual for people to be influenced when they are uncertain.
What type of pressure is demonstrated by Sherif’s study?
Imagined pressure. This is shown as they were not asked to come to a group estimate.
What is the aim in Asch’s study?
To investigate whether participants would conform to the judgement of others in situations where judgements were clearly wrong.
What was the method of Asch’s study?
Students were asked to take part in a study of visual discrimination. They were tested in groups were only one participant was real. They have to decide which length was equal to the standard line and gave the judgement out loud. Participant was sat second to last.
What were the results in asch’s experiment? Controlled conditions compared to an experimental condition.
In the control conditions where participants made the judgement in Private only 0.7% errors were made this show it was an easy task. In the experimental condition 37% errors are made this is due to social influence.
Four reasons why people come formed in Asch’s study?
- they were asked how they felt and they all felt uncomfortable
- their perception must have been incorrect
- they did not want to be in outcast
- they did not want to stand out.
- they wanted to convey a good impression of themselves.
- they did not want to spoil the experiment.
What is the negative of Asch’s ?
It is in the highly control condition and so it lacks ecological validity.
What are the positives of doing Asch’s study in a highly controlled condition?
They enabled him to carry out statistical analysis. He repeated and similar results were collected.
What did the experiment lead Asch to believe that was a major factor in conformity?
To avoid conflict and social disapproval. When the experiment was repeated and the one stooge gave incorrect answers, the other participants ridiculed him. This shows they were justified in feeling social disapproval for giving the wrong answers.
What are the teased social influences that make people to conform?
- normative social influence.
2. informative social influence.
Explain normative social influence?
Conform because of the need for social acceptance. This is to avoid being rejected and to be liked. This can be by a group which is seen as important to the individual. However it is not likely to change private opinion. As it only lasts as long as the pressure.
