conformity

Question 1

types of conformity

Answer 1

internalisation
compliance
identification

Question 2

internalisation

Answer 2

going along with others as their POV is consistent with yours

private and public acceptance of group’s opinion

Question 3

compliance

Answer 3

going along with others to gain approval/avoid disapproval

little or no private attitude change

Question 4

identification

Answer 4

we identify with a group so want to be a part of it

publicly change behaviour/opinions to be a part of it

often temporal

Question 5

explanations for conformity

Answer 5

normative
informational

Question 6

normative

Answer 6

you conform as you want to be liked or respected by the group and because of the desire to ‘fit in’

Question 7

informational

Answer 7

you conform as you believe the group has superior knowledge to you and is therefore ‘right’

Question 8

evaluation for normative

Answer 8

Asch (1951)
- when answers were written down conformity dropped to 12.5%

Schultz et al (2008)
- 25% reduction in need for fresh towels when told 75% of guests reuse

Question 9

evaluation of informational

Answer 9

Lucas et al (2006)
- greater conformity to incorrect maths answers when problems were difficult

Question 10

Asch’s study : AIM

Answer 10

to investigate the effects of conformity to a majority when the task is unambiguous

Question 11

Asch’s study : PROCEDURE

Answer 11

• 123 MALE undergraduates
• 1 naive ppt and a group of 6-8 confederates
• shown 2 white cards (one with a single line, other with 3 lines of various lengths)
• asked to select the line that is the same length
• 12/18 trials confederates gave incorrect answers (critical trials)

Question 12

Asch’s study : FINDINGS

Answer 12

control trials
- in ordinary circumstances people made mistakes 1% of the time
critical trials
- pmts gave incorrect answers 36.8% of the time
- 75% conformed at least once

Question 13

Asch’s study : CONCLUSION

Answer 13

group pressures to conform to a majority are much stronger than been thought previously

Question 14

variations of Asch

Answer 14

group size
task difficulty
unanimity

Question 15

group size (Asch)

Answer 15

with 1 confederate
- conformity = 3%
with 2 confederates
- conformity = 12.8%
with 3 confederates
- conformity = 32%

Question 16

task difficulty (Asch)

Answer 16

if the task is more ambiguous then conformity increases

due to informational social influence

Question 17

unanimity (Asch)

Answer 17

when a confederate gives the correct answer conformity dropped to 5%

if they gave the incorrect answer to the majority it dropped to 9%

Question 18

evaluation of Asch

Answer 18

ethics
ethnocentric
sample

Question 19

ethics (ASCH CONFORMITY EVALUATION)

Answer 19

ppts were deliberately deceived as they were told it was a vision test

BUT the study would have lacked validity if the aim was known

some felt stressed and underwent psychological harm

Asch argued that he interviewed them after to overcome this

Question 20

ethnocentric (ASCH CONFORMITY EVALUATION)

Answer 20

Perrin and Spencer (1980)
- replicated with British students
- only 1 in 396 conformed

Question 21

sample (ASCH CONFORMITY EVALUATION)

Answer 21

a bias sample of 50 male American students was used

cannot generalise to other cultures or to women

lacks population validity

Question 22

Zimbardo’s study : AIM

Answer 22

to see whether people would conform to the social role of a prison guard or a prisoner when placed in a mock prison environment

Question 23

Zimbardo’s study : PROCEDURE

Answer 23

• 21 healthy male volunteers
• randomly allocated ‘prisoner’ or ‘guard’
• prisoners given uniforms and numbers instead of names
• guards wore khaki shirts and trousers, dark glasses and carried wooden batons
• guards allowed to make up the rules

Question 24

Zimbardo’s study : FINDINGS - GUARDS

Answer 24

• behaved in brutal and sadistic manner
• taunted prisoners with insults and dehumanised them
• guards had undergone deindividuation (the decreased sense of self awareness that can occur in groups or crowds)

Question 25

Zimbardo’s study : FINDINGS - PRISONERS

Answer 25

• prisoners rebelled, ripped their uniformed and swore at guards
• some prisoners exhibited passive behaviour, depression, crying and anxiety
• study was meant to last 2 weeks but was stopped after 6 days

Question 26

Zimbardo’s study : CONCLUSION

Answer 26

• the study rejects the dispositional hypothesis of conformity
• people with readily conform to the social roles they are expected to play in certain situations (situational explanation)

Question 27

evaluation of Zimbardo

Answer 27

replication
individual differences
ethics

Question 28

replication (ZIMBARDO CONFORMITY EVALUATION)

Answer 28

Reicher and Haslam (2006)
- replicated Zimbardo’s study in the UK
- ppts did not conform to social roles
- conformity to social roles may not be automatic and the research can only be understood in the social and cultural context it takes place in

Question 29

individual differences (ZIMBARDO CONFORMITY EVALUATION)

Answer 29

the guards did not all act the same

only 1/3 guards behaved brutally
1/3 applied rules fairly
rest helped the prisoners

Question 30

ethics (ZIMBARDO CONFORMITY EVALUATION)

Answer 30

Zimbardo is criticised for not protecting ppts from harm

5 had to leave the experiment early due to distress

HOWEVER he debriefed them after