Chapter 8 - Conformity

Question 1

Define conformity

Answer 1

A change in one’s behavior due to the real or imagined influenced of other people.

Question 2

What is Informational Social Influence?

Answer 2

The influence of other people that leads us to conform because we see them as a source of information to guide our behavior; we conform because we believe that others’ interpretation of an ambiguous situation is more correct than our and will help us choose an appropriate course of action.

Question 3

What do we mean by “Private acceptance” versus “Public compliance”

Answer 3

Private acceptance is conforming to other people’s behavior out of a genuine belief that what they are doing or saying is right.
Public compliance is conforming to other people’s behavior publicly without necessarily believing in what the other people are doing or saying.

Question 4

Why do we find that conformity is stronger when the choice is of high importance?

Answer 4

Because we want to make sure, in those conditions, that we are right - so we look to our peers or experts.

Question 5

Gustav Le Bon (1895) was the first researcher to document an effect called contagion. What is this?

Answer 5

Contagion is the rapid spread of emotions or behaviors through a crowd. The “War of the World” radio incident is an example of contagion - as listeners tuned in and became confused they turned to each other - showing their own distress and seeing the others’.

Question 6

What is meant by a mass psychogenic illness?

Answer 6

The occurrence in a group of people of similar physical symptoms with no known physical cause.

Question 7

When will people conform to informational social influence?

Answer 7

• When the situation is ambiguous
• When the situation is a crisis (haste)
• When other people are experts

Question 8

Define social norms.

Answer 8

The implicit or explicit rules a group has for the acceptable behaviors, values, and beliefs of its members.

Question 9

What is normative social influence?

Answer 9

The influence of other people that leads us to conform in order to be liked and accepted by them; this type of conformity results in public compliance with the group’s beliefs and behaviors but not necessarily in private acceptance of those beliefs.

Question 10

What was Asch’s (1951,1956) famous studies?

Answer 10

The line-judgment studies.

Question 11

What type of social influence make the participants in Asch’s study conform?

Answer 11

Normative social influence.

Question 12

When the participants in a replication of Asch’s line-judgement study were measured on an fMRI - what happened in their brains when the chose not to conform?

Answer 12

The amygdala (negative emotionality and fear) and the right caudate nucleus (modulation of social behavior) were activated.

Question 13

Give a powerful example of a normative social influence that kills.

Answer 13

Body image norms

Question 14

When will people conform to normative social influence?

Answer 14

• Strength: how close the group is to you (HIGH)
• Immediacy: How close the group is to you in space and time during the attempt to influence you (HIGH)
• Number: How many people are in the group (If it’s a small group, each member’s opinion carries more weight)

Question 15

What are idiosyncrasy credits?

Answer 15

The tolerance a person earns, over time, by conforming to group norms; if enough idiosyncracy credits are earned, the person can, on occasion, behave deviantly without retribution from the group.

Question 16

How can a minority influence change the majority?

Answer 16

Trough consistency:

• Members of the minority must express this same view over time.
• All members of the minority must agree with each other.

Question 17

Robert Cialdini, Raymond Reno and Carl Kallgren have developed a model of normative conduct in which social norms can be used to subtly induce people to conform to correct, socially approved behavior. They say that a culture has two types of social norms. Which?

Answer 17

Injunctive and descriptive norms.

Question 18

What are injunctive norms?

Answer 18

Injunctive norms are people’s perceptions of what behaviors are approved or disapproved by others.

Question 19

What are descriptive norms?

Answer 19

Descriptive norms are people’s perceptions of how people actually behave in given situations, regardless of whether the behavior is approved or disapproved of by others.

Question 20

Cialdini and colleagues study injunctive norms and descriptive norms. They deviced a study on littering, what was its design and results?

Answer 20

In a field experiment patrons of a city library were returning to their cars int he parking lot when a confederate approach them. In the controll group the confederate just walks by. In the descriptive norm condition, the confederate litters when he walks by. In the injunctive norm condition, the conferedate picks up litter from ground while passing.

These three conditions happened in two environment, a littered parking lot or a clean one.

They would then find a handbill slipped under the windshield. Do they throw it on the ground, or take it with them to dispose of later?

(x% of people littering)
CONTROL
Littered: 36%
Clean: 37%
DESCRIPTIVE
Littered: 30%
Clean: 11%
INJUNCTIVE
Littered: 7%
Clean: 4%

Question 21

You can use norms to change behavior. In recent years, university administrators have tried a new technique for decreasing alchohol binge drinking on their campuses. The idea is that students typically overestimate how much their peers drink each week. So, telling them how many drinks their peers drink on average should lead them to decrease their own alchohol intake as they conform to this lower level. Problem?

Answer 21

You might set up a “boomerang effect”. Whilst heavy bingers might conform to a lower drinking level, those who were underneath the average drinks per week (it IS after all, an average number) are likely to conform as well - increasing their drinking habits.

Question 22

P. Wesley Shultz and colleagues (2007) tested the different combinations of inducing descriptive or injunctive norms in a Californian neighborhood’s power consumption. What was the most effective way to make them reduce their power consumption?

Answer 22

A mix of descriptive and injunctive norm information. They were told how much power they had used, compared to the average (descriptive). If they lay below average, the researchers drew a smiley next to the scoreboard (injunctive).

Question 23

Using what you know about conformity, explain why so many (62,5%) of the participants in Millgram’s original study (1963) went all the way to the end and delivered the 450-volt shock.

Answer 23

Normative Social Influence:
- Milgram’s participants problably believed that if they refused to continue, the experimenter would be disappointed, hurt or maybe even angry.
- The experimenter also told them actively to continue.
- In a follow-up study, another person was in on the trial and started protesting at 210 volts. Only 10% continued in this condition.
Informational Social Influence:
- The absurdity of the study made the situation very ambiguous, leading the participants to use an expert - the experiementer to help them decide what was the right thing to do.
- In a follow-up study, a teacher was in on the study and the experimenter left the room. The teacher tries to convince the participant to incease the levels of shock. Compliance dropped from 62,5% to 20% in this condition.
- In another follow-up study there were two experimenters, and they started disagreeing whether to continue or not after 150volts. 100% of the participants stopped responding in this condition.

Conforming to the wrong norm
- The norms of not hurting people conflicted with obeying legitimate authority figures. The obey-norm was already in place before the real situation appeared.

Self-justification
- Since they administered shocks that only slightly increased, it was easy to convince oneself that “just one level up” won’t make a difference.

The Loss of Personal Responsibility
- Because you’re obeying an authority figure, you feel like you don’t have responsibility for your actions.

Question 24

In Milgram’s study, which actor seems to have the least influence over the participants?

Answer 24

The victim… disturbing? yah!

Question 25

What are injunctive norms?

Answer 25

Injunctive norms are people’s perceptions of what behaviors are approved or disapproved by others.

Question 26

What are descriptive norms?

Answer 26

Descriptive norms are people’s perceptions of how people actually behave in given situations, regardless of whether the behavior is approved or disapproved of by others.

Question 27

Cialdini and colleagues study injunctive norms and descriptive norms. They deviced a study on littering, what was its design and results?

Answer 27

In a field experiment patrons of a city library were returning to their cars int he parking lot when a confederate approach them. In the controll group the confederate just walks by. In the descriptive norm condition, the confederate litters when he walks by. In the injunctive norm condition, the conferedate picks up litter from ground while passing.

These three conditions happened in two environment, a littered parking lot or a clean one.

They would then find a handbill slipped under the windshield. Do they throw it on the ground, or take it with them to dispose of later?

(x% of people littering)
CONTROL
Littered: 36%
Clean: 37%
DESCRIPTIVE
Littered: 30%
Clean: 11%
INJUNCTIVE
Littered: 7%
Clean: 4%

Question 28

You can use norms to change behavior. In recent years, university administrators have tried a new technique for decreasing alchohol binge drinking on their campuses. The idea is that students typically overestimate how much their peers drink each week. So, telling them how many drinks their peers drink on average should lead them to decrease their own alchohol intake as they conform to this lower level. Problem?

Answer 28

You might set up a “boomerang effect”. Whilst heavy bingers might conform to a lower drinking level, those who were underneath the average drinks per week (it IS after all, an average number) are likely to conform as well - increasing their drinking habits.

Question 29

P. Wesley Shultz and colleagues (2007) tested the different combinations of inducing descriptive or injunctive norms in a Californian neighborhood’s power consumption. What was the most effective way to make them reduce their power consumption?

Answer 29

A mix of descriptive and injunctive norm information. They were told how much power they had used, compared to the average (descriptive). If they lay below average, the researchers drew a smiley next to the scoreboard (injunctive).

Question 30

Using what you know about conformity, explain why so many (62,5%) of the participants in Millgram’s original study (1963) went all the way to the end and delivered the 450-volt shock.

Answer 30

Normative Social Influence:
- Milgram’s participants problably believed that if they refused to continue, the experimenter would be disappointed, hurt or maybe even angry.
- The experimenter also told them actively to continue.
- In a follow-up study, another person was in on the trial and started protesting at 210 volts. Only 10% continued in this condition.
Informational Social Influence:
- The absurdity of the study made the situation very ambiguous, leading the participants to use an expert - the experiementer to help them decide what was the right thing to do.
- In a follow-up study, a teacher was in on the study and the experimenter left the room. The teacher tries to convince the participant to incease the levels of shock. Compliance dropped from 62,5% to 20% in this condition.
- In another follow-up study there were two experimenters, and they started disagreeing whether to continue or not after 150volts. 100% of the participants stopped responding in this condition.

Conforming to the wrong norm
- The norms of not hurting people conflicted with obeying legitimate authority figures. The obey-norm was already in place before the real situation appeared.

Self-justification
- Since they administered shocks that only slightly increased, it was easy to convince oneself that “just one level up” won’t make a difference.

The Loss of Personal Responsibility
- Because you’re obeying an authority figure, you feel like you don’t have responsibility for your actions.

Question 31

In Milgram’s study, which actor seems to have the least influence over the participants?

Answer 31

The victim… disturbing? yah!