conformity Flashcards
what are the three types of conformity
internalisation, identification, compliance
what are the two types of social influence
normative and informational
what research supports normative social influence
Lucas et al (2006)
what was Lucas et al (2006) study
students were asked to give answers to mathematical problems that were either easy or difficult
what was the findings of Lucas et al (2006)
there was greater conformity to incorrect answers when the questions were more difficult
how does Lucas et al (2006) support informational social influence
most people who conformed had rated their mathematical skills low and would choose the same answer as the majority as they believe that the others are smarter than them therefore will have the correct answer
what is affiliation
a need for being in a relationship with others- people who need affiliation are more likely to conform
what is social influence
the ways in which external factors alter out behaviour
what is conformity
a change in a persons behaviour or opinion as a result of a real or imagined pressure from a person/ group of people (Aronson 2011)
what was the first study of conformity
Jenness’ jellybeans (1932)
what was Jenness’ jellybean study (and what was the sample)
101 psychology students individually guessed how many jellybeans were in a jar. Then made into groups of 3 to come up with another guess- after the group discussion they had to individually guess again
what does Jenness’ jellybean study show
people will conform to other people in a group in order to avoid being the odd one out/ in order to sound smarter
what is internalisation
deep type of conformity, person genuinely agrees with the group, leads to a private and public change of behaviour/ opinions that is likely to be permanent
what is identification
moderate type of conformity, at the same as the group because we value the group but don’t agree with everything the group does, public change of behaviour private opinions are the same
what is compliance
superficial conformity, outwardly go along with the majority while disagreeing privately, temporary (only lasts when the group is present
what is normative social influence
agreeing with the opinion of the majority because we want to be accepted and gain social approval and ‘fit in’
what is informational social influence
agreeing with the opinion of the majority because we believe it is correct and we think that they know more than us
what is Asch’s lines research (and what as the sample)
123 American males, put into a group of 6-8 people, were shown three lines and had to say which one matches the example. On the first few trials the right answers were given but on the rest of the trials the confederates purposely gave the wrong answers (critical trials)
what are confederates
people who work with researchers and pretend to be participants
what were the results to Asch’s study
36.8% gave the wrong answer in critical trials, 75% conformed at least once to the incorrect response of the confederates
how did Asch make sure the test was easy
he used a control group where there were no confederates and people only made a mistake 1% of the time
what are the factors affecting conformity
task difficulty, group size, unanimity
change in task difficulty in the line experiment
Asch made the line lengths close together, conformity increased
change in group size in the line experiment
there was little conformity when only 1/2 people had the wrong answer, majority of three people with the wrong answer increased conformity to 31.8%
