Chapter 8 - Conformity and Obedience Influencing Behaviour

Question 1

Define conformity, and explain why it occurs.

Answer 1

Conformity - A change in one’s behavior due to real or imagined influence of other people

Under strong social pressure,
individuals will conform to the
group even when this means doing
something immoral.

Question 2

Informational Social Influence

Answer 2

Relying on other people as a
source of information to guide
our behavior, which leads to
conformity because we believe
that others’ interpretation of an
ambiguous situation is correct

Question 3

Public Compliance

Answer 3

Conforming to other people’s
behavior publicly without
necessarily believing in what the
other people are doing or saying

Question 4

When Will People Conform to Informational

Social Influence?

Answer 4

• WHEN THE SITUATION IS AMBIGUOUS (most crucial variable)
• WHEN THE SITUATION IS A CRISIS
• WHEN OTHER PEOPLE ARE EXPERTS

Question 5

Social Norms

Answer 5

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

Question 6

Normative Social Influence

Answer 6

Going along with what other
people do to be liked and accepted
by them, which leads to public
conformity with the group’s beliefs
and behaviors but not always
private acceptance of them

Question 7

Conformity and Social Approval: The Asch

Line-Judgment Studies (1951, 1956)

Answer 7

In a series of studies of normative social influence, participants judged which of the three comparison
lines on the right card was closest in length to the standard line on the card on the left. The correct answer
was always obvious (as it is here). However, members of the group (actually confederates) sometimes
gave the wrong answer out loud. Now the participant faced a dilemma: Give the right answer
and go against the whole group, or conform to their behavior and give an obviously wrong answer?

Question 8

Informational v normative pressures and public/private acceptance

Answer 8

in contrast to informational social influence, normative
pressures usually result in public compliance without private acceptance; people go along
with the group even if they think it is wrong or do not believe in what they are do

Question 9

Why does conformity for normative reasons occur?

Answer 9

conformity for normative reasons can occur simply because we do not want to risk social disapproval, even from complete strangers we will never see again

Question 10

Social Impact Theory

Answer 10

The idea that conforming to social influence depends on the group’s importance, immediacy, and the number of people in the group

Question 11

When Will People Conform to Normative

Social Influence?

Answer 11

According to social impact theory (latane 1981), the likelihood that you will respond to social influence depends on three variables regarding the group in question:
1. Strength: How important to you is the group? The more important a group is to us, the more likely we will be to conform to its normative pressures, according to social impact theory.
2. Immediacy: How close is the group to you in space and time during the attempt to influence you? Conformity is also predicted to increase the closer group members are to us physically.
3. Number: How many people are in the group? As the size of the group increases, so does the normative pressure it exerts, but each additional person has less of
an influencing effect. That is, going from three people to four makes much more of a difference than going from 53 people to 54. In short, it does not take an extremely
large group to create normative social influence, but the larger the group, the stronger the social pressure

Question 12

Idiosyncrasy Credits

Answer 12

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

Question 13

Minority Influence

Answer 13

The case where a minority of group members influences the behavior or beliefs of the majority

Question 14

1. Societal rules regarding acceptable behavior are known as
   a. conformity.
   b. social norms.
   c. minority influence.
   d. convergence.

Answer 14

b. social norms.

Question 15

2. Asch’s line-judgment research indicated that
   a. participants demonstrated public conformity without
   private acceptance.
   b. every single participant conformed at least one time.
   c. conformity was greater when participants wrote down
   their responses rather than said them aloud.
   d. conformity occurs only on a task that is of personal
   importance to the individual.

Answer 15

a. participants demonstrated public conformity without

private acceptance.

Question 16

3. Compared to informational social influence, normative social influence
   a. leads to more internalized, private attitude change.
   b. is more consistent across different cultures.
   c. has less to do with being accurate and more to do with fitting in.
   d. is a tendency about which most Americans hold
   positive attitudes.

Answer 16

c. has less to do with being accurate and more to do with fitting in.

Question 17

4. A 12-person jury is deliberating on a murder trial. Eleven members of the jury want to vote guilty and convict the defendant; only one juror wants to vote not guilty. The holdout juror, Henry, digs in and will not change his mind. According to research, what is the best prediction for how the rest of the group will react to Henry’s deviance?
   a. They will eventually come to ignore him and try to
   punish him by being generally unpleasant toward him.
   b. They will come to appreciate his principled stand the
   longer he holds out in defiance of their position.
   c. They will seek to change his opinion by using
   idiosyncrasy credits.
   d. They will try to use minority influence to change
   his mind.

Answer 17

a. They will eventually come to ignore him and try to

punish him by being generally unpleasant toward him.

Question 18

5. Which of the following conclusions is consistent with the predictions of social impact theory?
   a. Conformity is more likely among groups of strangers
   than within established groups that are important to us.
   b. Social influence increases in a linear fashion as a group grows in size; in other words, each new member added to a group adds the same amount of social influence as the previous member added.
   c. The more immediate a group is, the more social
   influence it tends to exert.
   d. Conformity is less prevalent in collectivist cultures than
   it is in individualistic cultures.

Answer 18

c. The more immediate a group is, the more social

influence it tends to exert.

Question 19

6. The key to minority influence is
   a. normative social pressure.
   b. immediacy.
   c. creativity.
   d. consistency.

Answer 19

d. consistency.

Question 20

Propaganda

Answer 20

A deliberate, systematic attempt to advance a cause by manipulating mass attitudes and behaviors, often through misleading or
emotionally charged information

Question 21

Obedience

Answer 21

A change in one’s behavior due to
the direct influence of an authority
figure
- obedience to authority is one of the strongest forms of social influence

Question 22

Summarize studies that have demonstrated people’s willingness to obey authority figures.

Answer 22

• The milgram study
  Milgram’s participants
  succumbed to the pressure of the authority figure.
  The average maximum shock delivered was
  360 volts, and 62.5% of the participants went
  all the way to the end of the panel, delivering
  the 450-volt shock. A full 80% of the participants
  continued giving the shocks even after the
  learner, who earlier had mentioned that he had
  a heart condition, screamed, “Let me out of here! Let me out of here

Question 23

The Role of Normative Social Influence

Answer 23

normative pressures made it difficult for people in Milgram’s studies
to refuse to continue. As we have seen, if someone really wants us to do something,
it can be difficult to say no. This is particularly true when the person is in a position
of authority

Question 24

Role of Informational Social Influence

Answer 24

when people are in confusing circumstances and unsure
what they should do, they use other people to help define the situation. Informational
social influence is especially powerful when the situation is ambiguous, when it is a
crisis, and when the other people in the situation have some expertise. All three of these
characteristics describe the situation Milgram’s participants faced.

Question 25

Other Reasons Why We Obey

Answer 25

ADHERING TO THE WRONG NORM

- SELF-JUSTIFICATION

Question 26

Other Reasons Why We Obey

Answer 26

• ADHERING TO THE WRONG NORM

- SELF-JUSTIFICATION

Question 27

Why was Milgram’s study of obedience unethical

Answer 27

• deception. Participants were told it was a study on memory and learning, when of course it was not; participants were told the electric shocks were real, when of course they were not.
• not fully informed consent on the part of participants. When they agreed to be in the study, they were not informed as to its true nature, and thus they never really consented to take part in the scenario they eventually experienced.
• their role as teacher caused them psychological distress during the course of the study.
• was not made clear to participants that they had the right to withdraw from the study at any time; in fact, the
  experimenter stated the exact opposite—for example, that they “had to continue.”
• participants experienced inflicted insight. When the study ended, some of them had learned unpleasant things about themselves that they had not agreed to
  beforehand

Question 28

How did Jerry M. Burger change the Milgrim study to have ethics approval?

Answer 28

• First, he reduced the psychological distress experienced by participants by stopping the study after 150 volts, when the learner is first heard yelling that he wants out and refuses to go on
• Second, participants were pre-screened by a clinical psychologist, and those who were identified as even slightly likely to have a negative reaction to the experience were excluded from the study.
• Finally, Burger explicitly and repeatedly told his participants that they could leave the study at any time, as could the learner.

Question 29

How did Burgers findings compare to Milgrams?

Answer 29

Burger found no significant difference in obedience
rates between his participants and Milgram’s. After the critical 150-volt shock had been delivered, 70% of Burger’s participants obeyed and were ready to continue. A few years later, Dariusz Doliński and colleagues (2017) used Burger’s modified procedure in a study in Poland and found that 90% of their participants were obedient through the 150-volt level. These recent rates of obedience observed among American and Polish samples are not statistically different than the 82.5% rate Milgram himself reported at the 150-volt mark.

Question 30

1. Which of the following was a goal of Milgram’s obedience research?
   a. To identify the abnormal personality characteristics
   associated with sadistic behavior
   b. To justify and exonerate the behaviors linked to
   genocide and other inhuman acts
   c. To better understand the social forces that contribute
   to destructive and immoral behavior
   d. To identify cultural differences in aggression

Answer 30

c. To better understand the social forces that contribute

to destructive and immoral behavior

Question 31

2. Which of the following illustrates the role played by normative social influence in the obedience of Milgram’s participants?
   a. When other “teachers” (actually confederates) refused
   to continue with the study, participants’ obedience
   rates declined significantly.
   b. Men and women exhibited similar levels of obedience
   in the research.
   c. The “learner” (actually a confederate) announced
   before the study began that he had a preexisting heart
   condition.
   d. Many participants showed signs of nervous laughter
   during the course of the study.

Answer 31

a. When other “teachers” (actually confederates) refused
to continue with the study, participants’ obedience
rates declined significantly.

Question 32

3. Which of the following was not one of the instruction prods used by the experimenter in the Milgram studies?
   a. “The experiment requires that you continue.”
   b. “Please continue.”
   c. “It is absolutely essential that you continue.”
   d. “If you do not continue, you will not be paid for your
   participation. ”

Answer 32

d. “If you do not continue, you will not be paid for your

participation. ” (check if correct)

Question 33

4. Which of the following is a common ethical concern raised about the Milgram study?
   a. Participants’ compensation was low.
   b. Participants were forced to learn unpleasant things
   about themselves without agreeing to that ahead of
   time.
   c. Participants were never given the chance to serve in
   the role of learner.
   d. Participants had to receive a sample shock of 75 volts
   before the study began.

Answer 33

b. Participants were forced to learn unpleasant things
about themselves without agreeing to that ahead of
time.

Question 34

5. Which of the following is a change that Burger (2009) made from the original Milgram study when he replicated the research several decades later?
   a. He examined only female participants.
   b. The study was stopped once participants went past
   150 volts.
   c. He told participants that the study was part of research on the effects of punishment on learning.
   d. He paid participants for their involvement.

Answer 34

b. The study was stopped once participants went past

150 volts.

Question 35

Define conformity, and explain why it occurs.

• Conformity: When and Why

Answer 35

Conformity occurs when people change their behavior due to the real (or imagined) influence of others. There are two main reasons people conform: informational and normative social influences

Question 36

Explain how informational social influence motivates people to conform.

Answer 36

Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know
What’s “Right” Informational social influence occurs
when people do not know the correct (or best)
action to take. They look to the behavior of others as an important source of information, using it to choose appropriate courses of action for themselves. Informational social influence usually results in private
acceptance, in which people genuinely believe in
what other people are doing or saying.

Question 37

When Will People Conform to Informational

Social Influence?

Answer 37

People are more likely to conform to informational social influence when the situation is ambiguous, when they are in a crisis, or if experts are present.

Question 38

Explain how normative social influence
motivates people to conform.

• Conformity and Social Approval: The Asch Line-

Answer 38

• Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be
Accepted - Normative social influence occurs when we
change our behavior to match that of others because
we want to remain a member of the group in good
standing and continue to gain the advantages of
group membership. We conform to the group’s social
norms, implicit or explicit rules for acceptable behaviors,
values, and attitudes. Normative social influence
usually results in public compliance but not private acceptance of other people’s ideas and behaviors.

Question 39

Conformity and Social Approval: The Asch Line-

Judgment Studies

Answer 39

In a series of classic studies, Solomon Asch found that people would conform,
at least some of the time, to the obviously wrong
answer of the group.

Question 40

The Consequences of Resisting Normative Social

Influence

Answer 40

Resisting normative social influence can

lead to ridicule, ostracism, and rejection by the group.

Question 41

When Will People Conform to Normative Social

Influence?

Answer 41

Social impact theory specifies when normative
social influence is most likely to occur by
referring to the strength, immediacy, and size of
the group. We are more likely to conform when the
group is one we care about, when the group members
are unanimous in their thoughts or behaviors,
when the group has three or more members, and
when we are members of collectivist cultures. Past conformity gives people idiosyncrasy credits, allowing
them to deviate from the group without serious
consequences.

Question 42

Milgrim et al. 1969 - Behavioural contagion

Answer 42

the looking up at the sky (actually 6th floor apartment building) experiment. Percentage of people looking up depended on number of confederates looking up.

Question 43

The autokinetic effect (Sherif, 1935)

Answer 43

• A stationary spot of light in a dark room appears to move
  •
  Method
  •
  Subject in a darkened room required to say how far a pinpoint of light moves. In reality the light doesn’t move at all. Later required to make the same estimate in a group.
  •
  Found
  1.
  In isolation, subjects developed their own idiosyncratic subjective norms (usually 2-6 inches).
  2.
  In subsequent group situation, estimates gradually converged as a shared frame of reference, or social norm, developed.
  3.
  Development of social norms more rapid when initial estimates made in group situation.

Question 44

Asch (1951, 1952, 1956) - classic studies involving group pressure - describe

Answer 44

which line matches the line on the right?
•
Series of experiments most done with 1 participant and 5-8 confederates
•
Real participant would give their judgment after several confederates had already given theirs
•
18 trials, included 12 “critical trials”
•
Control condition with no confederates and one “real participant”
RESULTS
- When alone, 95% of participants got all the answers correct…
- When confronted by the unanimous incorrect majority, participants conformed 37% of the time…in fact 77%c onformed at least once if the group gave a wrong answer

Question 45

Asch’s line studies - why did people conform?

Answer 45

Some participants said they didn’t want to look silly or be rejected by the rest of the group
–
Normative social influence
•
They wanted to “fit in” with the others
•
Some participants said it was because they thought the others must have had better eyesight or be better informed in some way
–
Informational social influence
•
They were basically using others as a source of information

Question 46

What were the relevant variables in Asch’s studies?

Answer 46

> Group size – Asch varied the size of his groups using 1 to 15 confederates in his many studies – Once there were 3 or 4 confederates, the amount of additional influence was negligible
Competence of the individual – Those with poor vision conformed more
Unanimity – More conformity when group is unanimous (presence of an ally reduced conformity by 80%)
Private vs public responding – Less conformity when responding is private
Group status – More conformity in highly attractive groups
Independence – There is variability between participants. Some people less likely to conform. E.g., the movie “Twelve Angry Men”

Question 47

What is the difference between Asch and Sherif studies?

Answer 47

• Sherif: – Because of ambiguity, participants turned to each other for guidance
• Asch: – Participants often found themselves in an awkward position –
It was obvious that group was wrong

Question 48

Miglram’s exp. - what percentage of subjects obeyed until the end?

Answer 48

Approx 65%

Question 49

In replication experiments of Milgrim state what percentage complied in these conditions?

• Legitimacy of authority
• Proximity of authority figure
• emotional distance
• Group influence

Answer 49

• Legitimacy of Authority –
When a “clerk” gave the orders, compliance was 20%
• Proximity of Authority Figure
– When Milgram gave commands by telephone, compliance dropped to 21%
• Emotional Distance
– When learner was in the same room, full compliance dropped to 40%
– When teacher applied learner’s hand to shock plate, compliance fell to 30%
• Group Influence – When two confederates “refused” to keep going, only 10% of real subjects fully complied with the orders

Question 50

Moscovici, Lage, & Naffrechoux(1969)- Conducted a study based on Asch’s paradigm… describe it

Answer 50

Participants were presented with a blueslide (varying in light intensity, but not colour) & asked to name the colour and variation in light intensity
• 36 trials, 3 conditions
1. Control (6 naïve participants)
2. Inconsistent minority (said “green” 2/3 of time + “blue” 1/3 of time)
3. Consistent minority (always said “green”)
RESULTS:
- control 0% said green
- Inconsistent minority - 1% said green
- Consistent minority - 9% said green

Question 51

Moscovici argued consistent minorities were influential because?..

Answer 51

– disrupt majority norm and create uncertainty, doubt, & conflict. Leads majority to take minority seriously and question own views
– draw attention to minority as entity
– draw attention to alternative point of view
– demonstrate certainty and commitment to point of view
– highlight that only solution to conflict is adoption of minority point of view
Consistent minorities make people “think twice”

Question 52

Illustration of a consistent minority: Twelve Angry Men - describe

Answer 52

Film: 12 jurors have to decide guilt or innocence of a young man charged with murder of his father. At the outset, 11 think he is guilty.
• Lone juror, Henry Fonda
– Does not yield to the majority (opposite to Asch experiments)
– Does not passively resist their influence attempts
– Actively persuades the others
• Stands firm, committed, self-confident, unwavering

Question 53

Subjective validity

Answer 53

Confidence in one’s beliefs, opinions and attitudes.
- compare yourself to other humans (eg. belief in climate change)
- Depends on reality testing (either physical reality or social reality) - social reality testing only used when physical reality unavailable or ambigious
- People only compare with similar others.
• To the extent people need to evaluate themselves, they will tend to be attracted to similar others.
- conforming means they are better able to offer subjective validation