Conformity Flashcards
Define conformity
yielding to group pressure
Explain conformity
the influence that a group can have over an individual to change his or her behaviours, beliefs etc - which is why it is also known as majority influence
What was the aim of Asch’s study
To investigate to what extent people will conform to a majority influence even when it is incorrect
Give 6 key facts about the procedure
- Judged three lines and compare to target line
- Unambiguous
- 18 trials
- Wrong answer in 12 trials
- Given out loud and the participant often answered last
- Participants were interviewed after
Give 4 key facts about the findings
- 32% of the critical trials they conformed by giving the wrong answer
- 74% conformed at least once
- Most said it was because they wanted to be liked
- Some said it was because they wanted to be right
What did Asch conclude
That even when the task in unambiguous the majority can have an impact on the individual
Who introduced the three types of conformity
Kelman - in 1958
Define compliance
publicly changing our opinions and behaviours for the group
Define identification
privately and publicly changing our behaviour whilst we are a member of a group
Define internalisation
truly changing our behaviour hence changing privately and publicly
What is normative social influence
Conforming to the majority’s behaviour to be accepted and approved.
What types of conformity does normative social influence lead to
Compliance and identification because they are both short term and we want to be liked within certain groups
In what way did Asch’s study of conformity provide evidence for NSI
Most conformed in order to be liked by the group despite knowing it was wrong
What did Garandeau and Cillessen’s study in 2006 show?
It found that children who had a greater need for social acceptance were most likely to conform to bullying as they wanted to be accepted and approved - despite their private views on bullying.
What did Linkenbach and Perkins study in 2003 show?
It found that young people exposed to the message that their friends didn’t smoke subsequently were less likely to take up smoking
What did Noten et Al’s study in 2008 show?
That people conformed to their neighbours energy conservation behaviour and it had the strongest impact despite them not admitting it
What happened when the task was made more difficult?
When the answer was more ambiguous conformity rates were much higher. This is because of ISI.
What is social comparison
When we look to others for guidance on how to behave
What is informational social influence
When we conform to majority behaviour to behave in the correct way often because we believe they have more information than us
When is ISI particularly strong?
In new or ambiguous situations
What type of conformity does ISI lead to?
Internalisation - as if we learn something new and it is correct this will become our true belief/opinion.
In what way did Asch’s study of conformity provide evidence for ISI
As people, when interviewed, believed they may be perceiving the lines wrong when the task was more ambiguous
What did Jenness’ study show?
the power of informational social influence
What was the aim of Jenness’ study
To investigate whether individual judgements of jelly beans in a jar could be influenced by the majority group
What was the procedure of the jelly bean study
Participants made private estimates first, then discussed with others and made an estimate with the group, and then made a second private estimate
What did Allen’s study show?
That more intelligent and self confident people were less likely to conform - supporting ISI
Why does ISI make sense from an evolutionary approach?
As looking for others guidance is essential for survival in new situations
What variables were investigated by Asch?
Group size, unanimity and task difficulty
How does group size affect conformity?
It increases it but then it plateaus. (13% with two, 32% with 3)
How did unanimity affect conformity
It decreases. If one disagreed it would go down to 5.5% and if another did with another wrong answer it was 9%
What was a strength
Support i.e Crutchfield
Name limitations
- Lacks ecological validity, population validity, cultural and gender validity
- Lacks temporal and historical validity
- Ethical issues
How did Mori and Arai’s procedure enable them to avoid the use of confederates
-By using glasses to change the lengths of the line
In what ways did the participants differ from Aschs
-They knew each other so shows real life conformity
What were the findings
- 78 majority participants answered wrong 8.2% of the time
- The 26 minority participants answered wrong 19.6% of the time (Women - 28.6% Men - 5%)
- With females the results were similar to Asch’s - the minority conformed on the 12 trials 4,41 times (3.44 for Asch’s) Male conformity was not noticeable
How was it an improvement
-No demand characteristics
What limitations still apply
Unethical
Lack realism
Define social roles
The ways an individual plays as members of social groups to meet the expectations
Means there’s public and private acceptance but behaviour will change within each role
What was the aim of the Stanford experiment
To see whether violence was a result of personality or situation
What was the procedure of the Stanford prison experiment
- 21 male volunteers randomly assigned roles
- Arrested and de-individualised
What was the conclusion of SPE
Individuals conform readily to social roles demanded of a situation even when such social roles override a morals beliefs
Evaluate social roles in spe
Zimbardo believes the behaviour was an automatic consequence of their social roles but Haslam and Reicher argue that they chose how to behave
Evaluate the demand characteristics in the study
When interviewed many said they were acting and playing a role, so this may not be their behaviour in real life. This means results can’t be generalised
HOWEVER it is argued against this point as 90% of the prisoners conversations were about prison life and guards rarely exchanged such information too.
Name a limitation of spe
Lacks population validity and ecological validity
Name strengths of spe
- altered how us prisons are ran
- introduced APA - see if study is justifiable
What is the deindividuation theory
that people feel anonymous and lose their identity hence change their behaviour
What did the Haslam and Reicher’s study show
It contradicted the SPE as they did not conform to social roles
What did Zimbardo believe about Abu Ghraib
That the guards who had committed the crimes had fallen victim to conformity as well as their lack of training and no accountability
