Chapter 1 Social Influence - Conformity Flashcards
Conformity - Asch´s research - Baseline procedure?
123 men judged line lengths. Confederates deliberately gave wrong answers.
Conformity - Asch´s research - Findings?
Naive pts conformed on 36.8% of trials. 25% never conformed.
Conformity - Asch´s research - Variations?
- Group size - Varied group size from 2 to 16. Conformity increased up to 3, then levelled off.
- Unaminity - Placed a dissenter (conf) in the group. Conformity rate reduced.
- Task difficulty - Made line lengths more similar. Conformity increased when task was harder (ISI).
Conformity - Evaluation of Asch´s research - Artifical situation & task? L
Pts knew this was a study so they just played along with a trivial task.
Conformity - Evaluation of Asch´s research - Limited application? L
Research only conducted on American men.
Conformity - Evaluation of Asch´s research - Research support? S
Lucas et al found more conformity when maths problems were harder.
Conformity - Evaluation of Asch´s research - Ethical issues? X
Research may help avoid mindless conformity, but pts were decieved.
Conformity - 4 Evaluations of Asch’s research? (LLSX)
L - Artifical situation & task
L - Limited application
S - Research support
X - Ethical issues
Types & Explanations - Types of conformity - Internalisation?
Private & public acceptance of group norms.
Types & Explanations - Types of conformity - Identification?
Change behaviour to be part of a group we identify with, may change privately too.
Types & Explanations - Types of conformity - Compliance?
Go along with group publicly but no private change.
Types & Explanations - Explanations of conformity - Informational social influence (ISI)?
Conform to be right. Assume group knows better than us.
Types & Explanations - Explanations of conformity - Normative social influence (NSI)?
Conform to be liked or accepted by group.
Types & Explanations - Evaluation - Research support for NSI? S
When no normative group pressure (wrote answers), conformity down to 12.5% (Asch).
Types & Explanations - Evaluation - Research support for ISI? S
Pts relied on other people´s answers to hard maths problems (Lucas et al).
Types & Explanations - Evaluation - Individual differences in NSI? L
nAffiliators want to be liked more, so conform more (McGhee & Teevan).
Types & Explanations - Evaluation - Is the NSI/ISI distinction useful? X
NSI/ISI distinction may not be useful but Asch´s research supports both.
Types & Explanations - 4 Evaluations? (SSLX)
S - Research support for NSI
S - Research support for ISI
L - Individual differences in NSI
X - Is the NSI/ISI Distinction useful?
Conformity to social roles - Zimbardo´s research - The Stanford prison experiment?
- Mock prison with 21 student volunteers, randomly assigned as guards or prisoners.
- Conformity to social roles created through unforms (e.g. loose smocks, carrying wooden club) & instructions about behaviour (e.g. guards have power).
Conformity to social roles - Zimbardo´s research - Findings related to social roles?
- Guards became increasingly brutal, prisoners´rebellion put down & prisoners became depressed.
- Study stopped after 6 days.
Conformity to social roles - Zimbardo´s research - Conclusions related to social roles?
Pts strongly conformed to their social roles.
Conformity to social roles - 3 Evaluations of Zimbardo’s research? (SLL)
S - Control
L - Lack of realism
L - Exaggerates the power of roles
Conformity to social roles - Evaluation of Zimbardo´s research - Control? STRONG
Random assignment to roles increased internal validity.
Conformity to social roles - Evaluation of Zimbardo´s research - Lack of realism? WEAK
- Pts play-acted their roles according to media-derived stereotypes (Banuazizi & Movahedi).
- Counterpoint - evidence prisoners thought prison was real to them e.g. 90% conversations about prison (McDermott).
Conformity to social roles - Evaluation of Zimbardo´s research - Exaggerates the power of roles? WEAK
Only 1/3 of guards were brutal so conclusions exaggerated (Fromm).
