Conformity Flashcards
What is conformity?
A change in behaviour as a result of real or imagined pressure from a group- Myer 1999
What are the 3 types of conformity?
- compliance
- identification
- internalisation
What is compliance?
-a person changes their public behaviour, but their private opinions may remain the same
What is compliance?
-a person changes their public behaviour, but their private opinions may remain the same
What is identification?
With identification the person may take on the views of the group, whilst in that group, but changes them back again after they leave the group
What is internalisation?
Internalisation is where a person permanently adopts the behaviour or beliefs of the group, carries these out away from group situations, and even continues if they stop being a member of the group
What are the two reasons why people conform?
- normative social influence
- informational social influence
- Deutsch and Gerrard 1955
normative social influence
-people conform due to normative social influence when they conform to be liked or approved by a group
-to avoid ridicule/rejection or being laughed at
We want to feel accepted and feel part of the group
Informational social influence
- people conform due to informational social influence when they conform to be right or do the right thing
- this usually happens when we are in a new or ambiguous situation and are not sure how to behave
- we look to other people because we assume they have more knowledge than us and know how to behave in the situation and therefore copy their behaviour
What are the three factors affecting conformity?
Individual-something about the person themselves
Situational-something about the situation the person is in
Cultural-something about the culture the person has been brought up in
Individual differences
Self esteem- people with low self esteem are more likely to conform than those with high self esteem (santee and Maslach 1982)
Gender- females are more likely to conform than males, Mori and Arai (2010) found that females conformed in a replication of Asch but males did not
Strong beliefs- if people feel strongly about something they are less conforming (Hornsey et al 2003)
Situational factors
Privacy of response- Asch found that when people can write down their answers privately they don’t conform but if they have to say their answers out loud then they tend to conform with the rest of the group
Unanimity- if a group is unanimous in giving the same responses then conformity will be high, however if even just one person gives a different answer and breaks the unanimity then conformity falls drastically
Size of group- Asch found that with a group of two there is no conformity but once you have a group size of three or four people you have conformity. It then doesn’t make any difference if the group is larger as the level of conformity is the same for a large group or a group of three to four people
Task difficulty- Asch found that the more difficult the task (the more similar the lines) the more people conform
Cultural
Collectivist
-collectivist cultures are more conforming as harmony is a priority in Asian cultures (Smith and bond, 1993)
-collectivist cultures put group needs before their own individual needs and so don’t want to go against the group
-they tend to show higher levels of conformity
Individualist cultures
-independence is more valued in individualistic cultures, such as USA and UK, therefore there is less conformity as they value individualism and fulling their own needs before the groups
Study Asch (1951)- Aim
Asch carried out research to build upon previous research. This research investigated ambiguous tasks and found individuals conform in order to be correct. Therefore Asch wanted to see if participants would yield to majority influence in an unambiguous situation by giving incorrect answers in a test where the correct answers were always obvious
Study Asch (1951)- Method
He did this by recruiting 50 male sociology. They were told they were taking part in a study into perception. Individually each participant was taken into a room where 6 male accomplices were sat around a table. The true participant always sat second to last around the table. The participants then looked at two cards; the test card showed one vertical line and the other card showed three vertical lines of differing lengths. In turn they had to call out which length of line matched the test card. They did 18 of these tests. On 12 of these trials (called critical trials) the accomplices were instructed to give incorrect answers. After the trials the participants were debriefed and interviewed.
Study Asch (1951)- Results
Participants conformed to the incorrect answer on 32% of the trials. 74% of participants conformed at least once. 26% of participants did not conform at all. Some participants stated during the interviews that they actually saw the lines are being correct. Others said they conformed to avoid ridicule or exclusion from the group.
Study Asch (1951)- Conclusions
The results showed even in unambiguous situations people feel a strong pressure to conform. Asch found people conform for different reasons some because of normative social influence and some because of informational social influence
Study Mori and Arai (2010)- Aim
To improve on the Asch study as Asch’s finding may have been affected by the fact that some of the confederates were more convincing than others. Mori and Arai adapted the MORI technique (Manipulation of Overlapping Rivalrous images by Polarising filters), using filter glasses similar to those used for watching 3-D movies where participants can view the same display and yet see different things.
Study Mori and Arai (2010)- Method
- Mori and Arai replicated in all other ways almost exactly Asch’s line comparison task with 104 participants (Japanese Psychology students both males and females) tested in groups of four at a time (on successive trials participants said aloud which of three comparison lines mactched a single target line).
- In each group, three participants wore identical glasses, with one participant wearing a different set, thereby causing them to observe that a different comparison line matched the target line.
- As in Asch’s studies, the participants stated their answers publicly, with the minority participant always going third.
What gender is used in Mori and Arai’s study?
Whereas Asch used male participants only, the new study (Mori and Arai) involved both men and
Study Mori and Arai (2010)- results
For woman only, the new findings closely matched the original research, with the minority participant being swayed by the majority on an average of 4.41 times out of 12 key trials (compared with 3.44 times in the original). However, the male participants in the new study were not swayed by the majority view.
Study Mori and Arai (2010)- conclusions
- There are possible reasons why men in the new study were not swayed by the majority as they were in Asch’s studies, including cultural differences (the current study was conducted in Japan) and generational changes.
- Mori and Arai highlighted another reason - the fact that the minority and majority participants in their study knew each other, whereas participants in Asch’s study did not know the confederates.
- The researchers argue that this is a strength of their new approach: ‘conforming behaviour among acquaintances is more important as a psychological research topic than conforming among strangers’ they said.
- ‘conformity generally takes place among acquainted persons, such as family members, friends or colleagues, and in daily life we seldom experience a situation like the Asch experiment in which we make decisions among total strangers’.
Study Mori and Arai (2010)- Evaluation❌❌❌need better S&W
Strengths
-lab study, participants knew each other, no confederates
Weaknesses
-lab study, meaningless task, unrepresentative sample
