Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM


Top Flashcards (Certified)
All Flashcards

Psychology social influence > conformity > Flashcards

conformity Flashcards

1
Q

what is conformity?

A

a change in a person’s behaviour or opinions due to real or imagined pressure from a person or group of people

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

describe Sherif’s study?

A

participants put into a dark room and asked to focus on a single spot of light

asked how far light travelled and direction- an ambiguous task

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

how does Sherif’s study show conformity?

A

dramatic variation in response when done individually

repeated experiment in groups of 3; individuals changed views to agree with others

group norm established

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

who came up with the 3 types of conformity and what are they?

A

Kelman

internalisation, identification and compliance

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

what is internalisation? give an example?

A

the deepest level of conformity

a person changes their public behaviour and their private beliefs to the majority view

occurs even when the group is absent

e.g. someone slows down when entering a 30mph zone because they believe it is wrong to drive faster in the area

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

what is identification? give an example?

A

the middle level of conformity

people publicly change their behaviour in line with the group because they identify with the group and want to be part of it.

privately they do not change beliefs

e.g. someone tries a spicy dish at the restaurant because all her friends get it and she doesn’t want to seem unadventurous to group.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

what is compliance? give an example?

A

the lowest and superficial level of conformity

a person goes along with others on line with the majority view, but privately disagrees.

e.g. someone puts money in a charity box even though they don’ agree with it because they felt uncomfortable waling past the collector.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

who came up with the two process theory as an explanation for conformity and what does it say?

A

Deutsch and Gerard say conformity can be explained by normative social influence or informational social influence

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

what is informational social influence?

A

when we look to the majority group for information as we are unsure about the way in which to behave

a person will conform because they genuinely believe the majority to be right as we look to them for the right answer and this gives them a feeling of control

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

when does ISI occur?

A

in ambiguous or new situations/ crisis situations

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

what is normative social influence?

A

when we wish to be liked by the majority group, so we go along with them even though we may not agree with them

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

when does NSI occur?

A

situations where you know the people well or in stressful situations where you feel the need for social situations

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

compare what kind of processes NSI and ISI are?

A

NSI- emotional
ISI- cognitive

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

what did Jenness’ study into explanations for conformity show?

A

ppt had to guess how many jellybeans were in the jar

found individuals second private estimates tended to move towards group estimates- more women also conform

supportive evidence of ISI because ppt look for the right answer in ambiguous situations

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

whose study can be used as supportive evidence for ISI and NSI?

A

Asch

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

what is the real life application of the dual-process theory?

A

Schulz et al 2008 were able to change the energy consumption of hotel guests, particularly through messages that said other hotel guests were re-using their bath towels.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

how is individual differences a limitation of the dual process theory?

A

McGee and Teevan - students high in need of affiliation were more likely to conform, but what about people who do not have this need?

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

how is the work of ISI and NSI a limitation of the dual process theory?

A

ISI and NSI work together, not alone!
it is hard to separate them and work out which one explains conformity.
example is use of a dissenter in Asch’s study

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

what is social influence?

A

the process individuals and groups go through to change each other’s attitudes and behaviours

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

what was the procedure of Asch’s research?

A

testing conformity in ambiguous situations by testing line length

123 american men tested with 5 confederates

after 3 trials the confederates give wrong answers

DV= how often participants conform and also give incorrect answer

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

what is a confederate?

A

paid actor who knows aims of study

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

what were the results of Asch’s baseline study?

A

participants conformed 36.8% of the time

75% of ppt conformed at least once

to make sure the line test wasn’t difficult, Asch conducted a trail with no confederates, he found people only made mistakes 1% of time

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

what explanations of conformity can explain Asch’s baseline study?

A

ISI and NSI!

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

what were the three variations of Asch’s research?

A

group size, unanimity and task difficulty

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
what relationship did Asch find between group size and conformity?
curvilinear- steep increase then levels off
26
what data shows how group size affected conformity in Asch's study?
conformity rates were low with 1 or 2 confederates, but jumped to 31.8% when 3. not much increase in conformity after this- levelled of conformity actually decreased when there were more than 7 confeds
27
what are the best explanations for the relationship between group size and conformity?
NSI main but ISI could also play a part.
28
what did the unanimity variation of Asch's study measure?
to see if the presence of a dissenter (someone who doesn't say the same as the other confederates) could reduce conformity rates
29
what did Asch find in his study into unanimity affecting conformity?
conformity decreased by 75% this is regardless of whether dissenter gave a correct or incorrect answer to rest of confeds
30
what is the best explanation for why unanimity decreases conformity?
NSI
31
how did Asch change task difficulty and what effect did he find?
made the difference between the lines smaller and found conformity significantly increased
32
what is the best explanation for why conformity increased when the task got harder?
ISI- we look to other people for the right answer when we are unsure
33
What are limitations of the METHOD of Asch's study?
lab study sample
34
how does Asch's study being a lab study mean its a limitation?
artificial environment so ppts may have shown demand characteristics and the groups do not resemble real life so shouldn't generalise results to real life situations
35
how can we counter that the lab study is a limitation of Asch?
-high int validity due to high levels of control -reduction of extraneous variables -confident that any effect on the DV is due to manipulation of the IV.
36
in basic terms, how might Asch's sample be limited?
123 only men and only American so not representative of the target population
37
why is Asch's sample only being men a limitation of the study?
women may be more conformist as pointed out by the Jenness study so lacks generalisability to target pop
38
how might Asch's sample being American men be limited?
America is an individualist culture and Bond and Smith found conformity is much higher in collectivist countries like China than individualist so lacks generalisability to target pop
39
what is the difference between an individualist and collectivist culture?
ind- a person is brought up to prioritise the individual over the group's success collect- a person is socialised to prioritise what is best for the group over what is best for the individual
40
what did Lucas et al find? what does this support? link to Asch?
participants conformed much more to harder maths questions than easy ones supports task difficulty and ISI explanation for conformity increases validity of Asch's research
41
how can Lucas et al be countered?
they also found that confidence in maths ability played a large role in conformity perhaps Asch's research didn't take into account the complexity of reasons for conformity
42
what is the main ethical issue in Asch's study and how does this impact psychology?
deceived participants which may have caused psychological harm which can impact reputation of psychology as a science
43
how can we counter the problem of ethical issues in Asch's study?
deception may be worth it for the positive real life impact of knowledge gained
44
what did Zimbardo research?
conformity into social roles
45
what is a social role?
the parts we play as members of social groups and we have expectations about what the appropriate behaviour is for that role.
46
give some examples of social roles we might conform to every day?
teacher student friend daughter employee parent
47
what was the aim of Zimbardo's study?
to find reasons for whether brutal prison guard behaviour was due to them conforming to social role of the guard or due to naturally sadistic personalities.
48
what were the results of ZImbardo's study?
-guards enthusiastically took up roles and treated prisoners harshly, used divide and rule tactics -guards highlighted differences in social roles by enforcing rules
49
what was the sample in Zimbardo's study and how were they assigned to groups?
24 male university students half guards half prisoners randomly assigned ppts selected via a questionnaire to see if they were psychologically healthy
50
where was Zimbardo's prison set up and how did they get ppts there?
mock prison in basement of Stanford uni mock arrests from home by guards
51
what were the two main methods used to encourage conformity to social roles for prisoners and guards?
uniform; baton, glasses, handcuffs for guards and chain and number for prisoners instructions about behaviour; encouraged them to act the way their role would expect them to
52
what is de-individuation and how did Zimbardo enforce this?
loss of personal identity- enforced by mirrored glasses for guards
53
what was the original response to Zimbardo's experiment from the prisoners and how did the guards react to this behaviour?
they protested to challenge authority, rebelled for first 2 days, ripped uniforms, shouted and swore guards used divide and rule tactics to remind prisoners of their roles
54
what roles did Zimbardo take on and what did this mean for him?
experimenter and prison warden he conformed to social role of warden and couldn't think impartially- he didn't realise how bad the study was until his girlfriend told him
55
why did Zimbardo's study end so early?
3 of 12 prisoners had breakdowns daily due to mistreatment Zimbardo's girlfriend made him realise how wrong it was
56
how early did Zimbardo's study end?
after 6 days instead of 14
57
what conclusion did Zimbardo reach about conformity to social roles?
people can conform to social roles even when they know the scenario is not real
58
how can ZImbardo's research be supported by Jean Orlando's study?
Orlando selected staff at a psychiatric hospital to play role of patients on a ward after 2 days several ppts became anxious and depressed (got symptoms like real patients) study had to end since ppts lost sense of identity
59
how is Zimbardo's way of selecting ppts a strength of his research?
-ppts deemed emotionally stable -randomly assigned to conditions rules out extraneous variable of individual differences so study had high internal validity
60
how can the prison environment used be a limitation of Zimbardo's research?
not realistic and ppts knew it was a study Banuazizi and Mohavedi found one ppt based character off a film character so accuses ppts of play acting stereotypes, not actually conforming to social roles questions validity of findings
61
what did Mark McDermot argue about Zimbardo's study ? (counter point for saying that the prison environment is unrealistic)
ppts really did see the scenario as real since 90% of conversations prisoners had was about their life as a prisoner and not their real lives interviews show ppts didn't feel they could just leave study at any time suggests Zimbardo's research has high validity
62
how may ZImbardo have exaggerated his findings and how is this a limitation?
only 1/3 of the guards actually behaved brutally 1/3 tried to be fair when applying rules the final 1/3 actively sympathised with prisoners and tried to offer privileges suggests personality could have a part- some people more likely to conform than others
63
what important real life applications has Zimbardo's research had?
events of Abu Ghraib have shown how people can perform awfully when conforming to social roles, something brought to light by Zimbardo can now be used to make world a better place by educating people how powerful conforming to social roles can be

Psychology social influence (2 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions