Asch Conformity+ Explanations Flashcards
Define Conformity
A behavior change
due to real or imagined pressure to avoid rejection
Kelman 1958= 3 types:
Compliance
Identification
Internalisation
Explain Compliance
✅️ public ❌️private
Temporary to avoid rejection
e.g. laughing at unfunny joke
Explain Identification
✅️ public ✅️ private
Temporary
Shared ideas of group only while with group
as values something in them
Explain Internalisation
✅️ public ✅️ private
Permanent
Genuine belief and acceptance of group norms
E.g. religion
Describe Aschs Aim+ Procedure
AIM: See how social pressure from majority could affect behavior
PROCEDURE: 123 USA male students
Last or 2nd last
Thought it was a visual perception task
Say if A B or C most like target
PPTS complete 18 trials
Confederates give incorrect ans on 12
Describe Asch’s findings and conclusions
FINDINGS:
75% PPTS conformed
25% never conformed
group without confederates= less than 1% say wrong answer
Interview PPTS say knew ot was incorrect but conformdd to avoid rejection + fit in
CONCLUSIONS:
Affected by majority
Due to NSI to fit in
Name + Explain all 3 variables affecting conformity
GROUP SIZE:
15 confederates
Increased conformity from 0-3
Past 3 little increase
UNANIMITY:
if 1 confederate says correct answer conformity decreases to 5%
If says wrong answer decreases to 9%
= dissenter decreases conformity
TASK DIFFICULTY:
More ambiguous ans = more conformity
Explain ISI
=informative social influence
- to be right
- cognitive process
- ambiguous answer (or around expert)
- link to internalisation
Explain NSI
=normative social influence
- to avoid rejection
- emotional process
- seek approval of others (new situations)
- compliance
- fashion trends
A03 Asch weakness
Prompt: artificial study…
P: Aschs study= artificial
E: identifying which line matches target is trivial
E: means it lacked mundane realism as not similar to everyday tasks
I: reduces validity as not how people conform IRL
C: Yet it did show people conform to obviously wrong answers to fit into a group = important to know about human behavior
A03: Asch weakness
Prompt: not representative…
P: findings not representative of all genders
E: 123 men, no women used
E: cannot be applied to everyone as conformity rates of men+ women differ
I: this= beta bias as assumes little diff between male + female conformity, suggest male behavior ‘norm’
Eagly + Carli 1981= meta- analysis of conformity= women more likely to conform than men
A03: Asch strength
Prompt: very controlled…
P: a high degree of control in experiment
E: e.g. in task difficulty variation all but line length stayed the same
E: = able to see how variations impact conformity
I: high control= increased internal validity
C: However increasing internal validity decreases external validity as too controlled= not like everyday situations
A03: Strength for NSI
Prompt: research to support…
P: NSI proved through afterwards interview.
E- interview they said they did it to fit in + avoid rejection
E- NSI proved to be accurate, to fit in, not be right
AO3: Strength for ISI
Prompt: research to support…
P: ISI support by Lucas et al 2006 research
E: Ask students for answers to increasingly hard maths QUs. Conform more to incorrect answers with harder QUs.
E: Proving people conform in situations where they feel they don’t know the answer
AO3: Weakness for NSI
Prompt: indiv chara…
P: research shows NSI depends on personality
E: those less concerned about being liked are less likely to be affected by NSI
E: meaning its has less generalisability as does not explain everyones behaviour as may depend on personality
