Conformity Flashcards
What did Asch find in his task difficulty variation when he made the lines difference smaller?
Conformity increased because the task was more ambiguous
What did Asch do in his task difficulty variation?
He made the difference between the lines smaller so the task was more difficult
Name 3 types of conformity.
Internalisation
Identification
Compliance
What happened when in another unanimity variation one of the confederates gave a different incorrect answer to the majority?
Conformity dropped significantly to 9%
Who did research into informational social influence?
Jenness
Define compliance.
We look to the group because we are frightened of rejection. We want to be liked and accepted. We publicly do what they’re doing even though privately we disagree.
Define the term internalisation.
Looking to the group because we are uncertain, we assume they know best. We adopt their opinion/behaviour because we assume they must be correct.
What percentage of ppts never conformed in Asch’s study?
25%
Why does Jenness study lack ecological validity?
It was a lab based study which used an artificial setting so it’s not an every day event to be asked how many beans there are in a jar and it doesn’t reflect actual behaviour in real life situations.
What did Asch find happened when one of the confederates gave a correct answer in the unanimity variation?
Conformity dropped to 5%
Bond and smith conducted a meta analysis of 133 people from 17 countries and found that conformity peaks around how many confederates?
3/4
Who carried out a study into normative social influence?
Asch
Give an example of compliance
Smoking, feeling like if you don’t go along with it you will be rejected from the group.
Give an example if identification.
When you are part of a group, for example, at festivals you may put followers in your hair because everyone else is.
How many of the critical trials did the confederates give purposely wrong answers.
12
What happened to conformity when there was 6-7 confederates in Asch’s group size?
37% conformity
Over 12 critical trials, what percentage of ppts conformed at least once in Asch’s study?
75%
Why can both Jenness and Asch’s Studies be criticised?
They used a laboratory experiment so there could be demand characteristics
What is unanimity?
The degree to which group members are in agreement
Name 3 variables that Asch manipulates to affect conformity.
Group size
Unanimity
Task difficulty
What did making the task difficulty harder do in Asch’s variations do?
Because he situation is more ambiguous ppts are more unsure so are more likely to look to others for guidance
What did Jenness conclude from his study?
That results show in an ambiguous task that makes us uncertain as person will look to others for guidance. They want to do the right thing but may lack the appropriate information and observing others can provide this.
What was the name of the confederate who gave the right answer?
Dissenter
Define conformity.
A change in beliefs/behaviour as a result of group pressure- real or imagined
What did Jenness find in his study?
What individuals second estimates tended to converge towards their group estimate
How many
trials did Asch carry out?
18
Give 2 features of informational social influence.
We want to be right
We may change what we think especially if the task is ambiguous and believe the person is an expert
We internalise their opinion as our own
Where was the real participant sat in the row on Asch’s study?
They were always say one from the end of the row
At what point in Asch’s group size manipulation study did conformity stop increasing, how many people?
3/4 confederates
Perrin and Spencer replicated Asch’s study with engineering students in the uk and found that 1/396 people conformed in critical trials, what does this show?
People are less likely to conform today and this may mean that it lacks temporal validity because we don’t find the same results after a few years
When ppts were interviewed after Asch’s study what did the ppts say?
Most of them didn’t believe their conforming answers but had gone along with the group for the fear of being wrong or thought of as perculiar. This supports normative social influence.
Why might Asch’s task lack internal validity?
Because he may not have tested what he thought, he believed he was testing NSI but when interviewed afterwards some ppts said hey had questioned their own eyesight or thought they had misunderstood the task, so in this case they would have demonstrated ISI because they assumed others must be right
What was Jenness’ aim?
To investigate whether individual judgement of beans in a jar was influenced by discussion with a group in an ambiguous task
In the control group in Asch’s study how many ppts conformed and gave the wrong answer? And what does this prove?
Less than 1% which proves the answer was obvious
Give 4 things that happened in the procedure of Jenness’ experiment.
Participants made individual guessing about the number of beans in the jar
They then discussed their estimates in a group
Group estimates were then made
Participants were asked to make a private second estimate
What did Asch say would be clear if the ppts answered with the wrong answer?
It was due to group pressure
What happened to conformity when there was 1 or 2 confederates in Asch’s group size.
Low conformity
Name 5 features of how Asch’s procedure was arranged.
Lab experiment 123 makes Swarthmore College Participated in a vision test Asch our a naive ppt in a room with 7 confederates.
How many lines were there to choose from in Asch’s task?
3
What was Asch’s aim?
To investigate the extent to which individuals would conform to a majority who gave obviously wrong answers on an unambiguous task.
Why was Asch’s experiment unethical?
Because it involved deception of ppts as they believed it was a study of visual perception.
Define identification.
When we look to the group because we want to be apart of it. We are happy to take on their opinion/behaviour whilst we are with them but these changes are only temporary.
Give two features of normative social influence.
We want to be liked
We want to fit in with the group
We may end up conflating by doing or saying something we don’t actually agree with
What percentage of people confirmed to the majority on the critical trials in Asch’s study?
37%
Give an example of internalisation.
Copying an answer in maths because that’s what everyone else has put.
Asch manipulated the number of members in the group from 1- how many people?
13
What might informational social influence lead too?
Internalisation
What might normative social influence lead too?
Compliance
What does the presence of the dissenter do in the group unanimity variable?
Means the naive participant feels more able to give their own opinion. Which suggests the influence of the majority depends on the group being unanimous
What was the difference between Asch’s study and his control condition?
There were no confederates only real ppts
Where did Asch put the confederate who gave the correct answer in the unanimity variable.
3rd seat
