Conformity

Question 1

what is social influence

Answer 1

a change in an individuals, thoughts feelings, attitudes or behaviours as a result of an interaction between another individual or group

Question 2

what is conformity

Answer 2

yielding to group pressure

Question 3

types of conformity

Answer 3

complience, identification and internalisation

Question 4

what is complience

Answer 4

when you publically conform to a groups behaviours and views but privately keep your own opinion as soon as the group pressure stops

Question 5

what is identification

Answer 5

when you publically and privately take on the views and behaviours of a group however it is only temporary and isn’t maintained when you leave the group

Question 6

what is internalisation

Answer 6

when you permanently take on the views and behaviours of a group publically and privately

Question 7

what is informational social influence

Answer 7

when we confrom for the desire to be right, we look to other who we belive to be right, to give us infromation

Question 8

what is normative social influence

Answer 8

when we confrom for the desire to be liked, we conform to group norms in order to be accepted by that group

Question 9

Explain the study that supports ISI

Answer 9

Sherif did a study to support ISI called the flick of the wrist study. he got periticpants to guess how far a dot of light moved. when participants were alone they developed their own estimates which varied between participants. when they were put in a group their estimates began to look similar and when they were put on there own again their estimates were more like the group estimate rather then their own one. this supports ISI as the task was difficult so participants looked to other who they thought were right which changed their estimates for the desire to be right

Question 10

Give another strength of explanations of why people conform

Answer 10

Lab experiement for researhch supporting ISI and NSI. this mean that the research has high control, all variables were controlled and no extraneous variables were affecting the results. this means the standardized procedure can be replicated to be tested for reliability.

Question 11

Give a weakness of explanations of why people conform

Answer 11

alternative explanation- social identifity theory, the idea that we identify ourselves as part of an in-group and everyone else is a part of out-group. we are more likely to conform with members of the in-group.
therefore, ISI and NSI may not be the only reason why people conform

Question 12

Give another weakness of explnantion of why people conform

Answer 12

lab experiment- lacks ecological validity
not everyday we asked what lines match each other or how far a dot of light moves
in real life situations people may not act the same so results may not be valid
may also be prone to demand characteristics
this reduces the validity of the results and it may not be NSI and ISI influence why we conform

Question 13

aim of asch study

Answer 13

to see if participants would confrom to the majority by giving incorrect answers even though the answer is obvious

Question 14

method of Asch

Answer 14

123 male participants took part in a study they believed was on visual perception
put in group of 7-9, 1 participant and the rest confederates
12 crititical trials, 18 trials all together
control group who did the test on their own

Question 15

Task of Asch

Answer 15

asked to say which line matched the stimulus line A,B or C

participant sat last or second to last

Question 16

results

Answer 16

36.8% conformity rate in all 12 critical trials 
75% conformed at least once 
25% never conformed 
5% conformed each time 
less than 1% mistake in control group

Question 17

what were the variables affecting confromity

Answer 17

size of group, unanimity and task difficulty

Question 18

results for size of group

Answer 18

1 participant and 1 confederate- low conformity
1p and 2 c- 13% conformity
3 confederates- 32% conformity
after that conformity did not change if more confederates were added

Question 19

results for unanimity

Answer 19

confederate gave right answer- 5.5% conformity

confederate gave different wrong answer- 9%

Question 20

results of task difficulty

Answer 20

conformity increased as the task got more difficult, ISI

Question 21

Strength of Asch

Answer 21

control group
less than 1% mistake in control group
increases validity of study

Question 22

Another strength of Asch

Answer 22

supporting research- crutchfield
does the cricle or star have a bigger area
participant last to guess, results were shown on screen
similar levels found in asch- conformity-30%
makes Asch more reliable and supports NSI

Question 23

weakness of Asch

Answer 23

temporal validity -
1950’s america, confroming was a social norm they were communists
at that time it is likely people would not want to stand out so would easily conform
may not be the case now
may find different results now

Question 24

Another weakness of Asch

Answer 24

unethical
deception
no protection of participants- may have felt distressed
p’s should not be negatively affected by results
harder to replicate study

Question 25

conformity to social roles- Zimbardo

Aim of the study

Answer 25

to see if prison guards behave brutally because they have sadisitic personalities or wether it is the situation that creates this behaviour

Question 26

Zimbardo method

Answer 26

75 univeristy students replied to a newspaper add asking for volunteers to take part in a prison stdufy
24 were chosen, those who were most mentally and physically stable
the randomly assigned role of prisoner or guard- 9 in each group with 3 spare

Question 27

Prisoner procedure

Answer 27

arrested in their homes taken to police station, fingerprinted photographed and booked, then blindfolded and taken to the prison
they were then stripped naked, deloused and all of their possessions were taken
they were given a uniform and referred to as a number
had a strict daily routine

Question 28

Guard procedure

Answer 28

given a khaki uniform and mirrored glasses to deindividuate the prisoners
no violence was permitted

Question 29

results of Zimbardo

Answer 29

experiment was stopped after 6 days, was meant to last 14 days
guards behaved brutally and abusviely to prisoners
one prisoner went on a hunger strike
there was rebellion by the prisoners
5 prisoners had to be related due to negative emotions, one with uncontrollable crying and fits

Question 30

conclusion of Zimbardo

Answer 30

beahviour was situational rather than dispositional as no participants had shown these character traits before

Question 31

strength of Zimbardo

Answer 31

quantitative data showed that 90% of conversations were about prison life.
this increases internal valditiy as if shows that the participants believed that were actually in that situation and they were convinced by their roles

also high control
Zimbardo picked those who were most physically and mentally stable
tried to rule out individual differences to ensure behaviour was due to the pressure of the situation
increases internal validity

Question 32

weakness of Zimbardo

Answer 32

unehtical
protection of participants

lacks ecological valdity- impossible to fully recrate a natural prison environment with all of is situational and environmental variables
participants knew they were taking part in an experiment so behaviour may not have reflected everyday life