Conformity Flashcards
Conformity
The tendency to change what we do, think or say in response to the influence of real or imagined pressure form the majority group
What are the different types of conformity?
Compliance - the person goes along with the group to fit in and therefore conforms publicly but continues to privately disagree
Identification - the person conforms publicly as well as privately because they have identified with the group and they feel a sense of group membership : the change of belief is often temporary
Internalisation - the person conforms publicly and privately because they have internalised and accepted the views of the group
What two influences can explain why a person has conformed
ISI - informational social influence : people want to be right
NSI - normative social influence : people want to be liked
The two different studies of conformity and their results
Sherif ( 1935 ) : he used the autokinetic effect where a small dot appeared on a screen in a dark room and it will appear to move ( a visual illusion )
- from this, he found out that the group converged to a common estimate
- they would rather make a group agreement rather than an individual agreement
- could have been ISI : wanting to be right
Asch ( 1951 ) : he used the line judgement. He put a naive subject with seven confederates ( who were working together ) to see if he would conform to them or not
- from this, 32% of the participants had conformed each time though it may have been the wrong answer and 75% had at least conformed once
- it could have been due to peer pressure and wanting to fit in : NSI
The standoff prison study - zimbardo et al ( 1974 )
Aim : to investigate the effect of situational influences and social roles on behaviour
Method : the participants were all male and volunteered to take part. Some of them were a prison guard and others were the prisoner. The prisoners were locked in ‘jail’ aka the psychology department for supposedly 16 days and were faced by torture from the prison guards. Now to what extent will the prisoners conform to their social roles and likewise with the prison guards.
Results : the experiment was called of after 6 days as it was too extreme : 416 was starving himself, another went mental. It was really harsh
From this experiment, it seemed that though they were acting to their roles, most of them had showed some of their inner self which was hard to admit e.g one of the prison guards had excused himself by saying he was conducting his own experiment! - deindividuation : where you become so immersed in the norms of the group that you lose your sense of identity and personal responsibility.
