Conformity Flashcards
What is conformity?
A change in behaviour or belief, which can be internal or external, or both.
What differs compliance and acceptance?
Compliance = acting externally, but not internally believing what is done.
Acceptance = acting externally, and internally believing what is done.
What are some factors which could influence conformity?
- Task difficulty; Asch, 1955; Weber’s Law.
- Group characteristics:
Group size (Milgram et al., 1969),
Unanimity (Asch, 1955),
Dissenters (Allen & Levine, 1969). - Culture.
- Prior commitment.
What are the reasons for conforming?
- Informative conformity: to be right.
- Normative conformity: to fit in.
- Culture: norms taught us to/not to.
Provide evidence to how task difficulty affects conformity rates. Cite a study.
Asch (1955) found that there is a higher rate of conformity when the task is more difficult.
Weber’s law can also be applied:
- States that with increasing intensity, comes with increased sensitivity; increased task difficulty results in increased sensitivity to conformity.
Provide evidence to how group size affects conformity. Cite a study.
Milgram et al. (1969) ‘looking up’ study.
- In groups with increasing numbers (1, 5, 10, etc), the groups with more people led to more conformity rates
Provide evidence on how unanimity influences conformity rates. LINK this to the presence of dissenters. CIte studies.
Asch (1955) found that there is a higher rate of conformity when more people agree on something.
LINK TO DISSENTER: if one person sways the unanimity (dissenter), it can reduce to only 5% conformity.
Allen and Levine, 1969; Nament and Chiles 1988
- 30% correct answer given (without dissent)
- 76% correct answer given (with dissent).
- The dissenter doesn’t have to be correct for this conformity to reduce; just as long as someone objects.
How does culture influence conformity?
Western: less likely to conform, emphasises on individuality.
Eastern: more likely to conform, emphasises on improving/maintaining relationships and avoiding conflict.
- conformity is normalised and accepted, a sign of maturity.
- individuality is something that is shamed upon/needs to be changed.
Bond and Smith (1996) repeated the Asch study in interdependent cultures, and found that those with more collectivist cultures would partake in more conformity.
How does gender influence conformity? CIte a study.
It does not, there were no reported differences in gender conformity rates (Blass, 2000)
How does prior commitment affect conformity rates?
When one has prior commitments about something or a certain behaviour, they are less likely to conform.
Give some examples of conformity in everyday life.
Chameleon effect: unknowingly imitating another person.
Chartrand and Bargh (1999)
- participants were placed in a room with a confederate with behaviours such as face rubbing, shaking foot, folding arms.
- participants would unconsciously copy them.
Provine (2005)
- those watching yawning videos would yawn compared to those watching non-yawning videos (55% VS 21%).
van Baaren et al. (2004)
- participants were more likely to help someone who mimicked their behaviour, as they are liked more.
Social norms:
- dressing more feminine due to society norms
- trends: buying cargo jeans bc they’re in heat.
- drink: drinking alcohol bc all your friends are.
How can conformity be bad?
- Bystander effect: individuals do not feel the need to help or intervene in situations that others do not either.
- Rebellion/Harmful: beliefs are often intensified when in a group. Can result to promoting antisocial behaviour.
- Loss of individuality: Individuals are not able to think critically and creatively, agree with the majority; groupthink.
- Loss of responsibility: agentic state is entered; individuals do not feel responsible for their actions.
What causes individuals to resist conformity?
Reactance: protect individuality
- Common in western cultures: anti-conform (going the opposite direction of belief).
Asserting uniqueness
- Common in western cultures: to appear differently and quirky.
- Synder (1980) all people crave to be unique to some extent. Students who were told they were plain jane were more likely to dissent in a conformity study.
