Conformity Flashcards
What are the types of conformity
Compliance
Internalisation
Identification
who argued the types of conformity
Kelman 1958
What is compliance
weak and temporary, change our behaviour but dont agree with it- superficial. “i comply”
what is identification
temporary, unlikely to last. understand but has not bought about complete change. “i identify”
what is internalisation
permanent, most significant deep rooted change. “i internalise”
what is conformity
type of social influence involving a change in belief or behaviour in order to fit with a group. this change is in response to real or imagined group pressure
what is normative social influence
where a person conforms to fit in with the group because they don’t want to be left out. associated with compliance as they will change public behaviour but not private beliefs.
what is informational social influence
where a person conforms because they have a desire to be right and look to people who they believe may have more information. associated with internalisation
Describe the Jenness (1932) experiment
glass bottle filled with 811 white beans, 101 participants estimated how many were in there. Then they were divided into groups of 3 and asked to estimate again.
results of Jenness experiment
nearly all participants changed their answer. represents power of conformity in an ambiguous situation- informational social influence
describe the sherif (1935) experiment
aimed to demonstrate that people conform to group norms when they are put in an ambiguous situation. used lab experiment. small spot of light in a dark room appears to move, but it is still. not ambiguous
results of Sherif experiment
individually, how far light moved varied a lot. then tested in groups of 3- two answers similar and 1 different. then everyone said answer out loud and ppl agreed
Aims of Asch (1951) experiment
investigate the extent to which social pressure from a majority group could affect a person to conform
describe Asch 1951 experiment
line test. lab experiment, put a naive participant with 7 confederates. confeds new answer, particip didnt, everyone said answer aloud answer was obvious. in 12 /18 trials, confeds gave wrong answer
results of Asch 1951 experiment
measured number of times each participant conformed to majority, 32% of participant in each trial conformed to wrong answer. 75% conformed on at least one of the trials. had gone along with group bc fear of being ridiculed- normative
Variables affecting conformity
- size of majority
- presence of supporter
- task difficulty
what are some examples of situational forces?
- intimidation
- obedience
- authority over people
- home environment (abusive etc)
- ability to remain anonymous (uniforms)
what debate is created when you put good people in an evil place?
dispositional vs situational debate often created by leaders
what does dispositional (zimbardo) mean?
relates to your personality and attitude- different behaviours are related with different participants, main guard or rebel prisoner etc
what does situational (zimbardo) mean?
related to the environment: random allocation (guards/prisoner-IV)
similar profile of sample (uni,paid,male..)
differences in uniform + environment
situations have the power to do the same 3 things:
- can inflame the hostile imagination in some
- can inspire the heroic imagination in other
- can render most people passive bystanders and guilty of The Evil of inaction
describe what happened in the stamford prison experiment:
mock prison: 21 male university students got paid $15 a day. randomly assigned either guard or prisoner. was set to run for 2 weeks, guards had uniforms and gun etc told not to use physical violence
what did zimbardo find?
both prisoners and guards quickly identified with their social roles. prisoners rebelled but guard became increasingly abusive so they stopped. prisoners became incredibly submissive. guards became incredibly brutal, prisoners increasingly withdrawn and depressed. zimbardo ended up confirming to his role as well
why did the zimbardo experiment end early?
5 of prisoners were released early because of adverse reactions to the physical and mental torment. terminated after 6 days when postgrad convinced him his conditions were inhumane
conclusion of zimbardo experiment:
participants conformed to their roles as guards or prisoners. situational factors that he created because of the determining factors of the change in peoples behaviour, however we recognise that dispositional factores also play a role
what is the IV and DV in zimbardo experiment?
IV: difference between the different roles of guards or prisoners
DV: whether people conformed to the roles
does zimbardo experiment have ecological validity?
- yes even though it’s an abnormal environment
- is realistic but don’t know if participants are acting realistically
- it’s in a research centre and no rules and regulations to follow initially
are there any practical applications of zimbardo study?
can use findings to suggest that social roles can cause conformity and changing peoples behaviour- learn what will happen if rules and regulations are not created around peoples rules
was the sample zimbardo used representative?
- no bc sample was only using university male students and they were paid
- can’t be generalised, over exaggerate or under exaggerate behaviours of general population (only one third of guards were brutal so conclusions were exaggerated)
- all participants are white and american
was deception involved in zimbardos experiment?
yes- arrest of the prisoners at the beginning of the experiment
was there psychological harm in zimbardos experiment?
some symptoms of stress during the experiment
yes there was psychological harm but once he realised how much they hated it, the experiment was abandoned
were the participants debriefed before the zimbardo experiment ?
yes- extensive group and individual debriefing sessions were held + post experimental interviews and questionnaires
are there any benefits of zimbardos experiment?
benefits gained about our understanding of human behaviour and how we can improve society should balance out the distress caused by the study
is the stanford prison experiment ethical?
no because it involved depriving participants of the right to withdraw (zimbardo coerced him to stay and responded as a superintendent worried about the running of his prison), informed consent (arrested), debriefing (couldn’t inform them that they would be arrested), protection from physical and psychological harm (guards were brutal and prisoners were having breakdowns)
