Conformity and Obedience

Question 1

what is conformity?

Answer 1

social pressure to change our public behaviour and/or private beliefs in order to fit in with the majority

Question 2

what are the 3 types of conformity?

Answer 2

• complience
• identification
• internalisation

Question 3

what is complience?

Answer 3

a change in our public behaviour but not private beliefs, short term.

Question 4

what is identification?

Answer 4

a change in our public behaviour and private beliefs, short term.

Question 5

what is internalisation?

Answer 5

a change in our public behaviour and private beliefs, long term.

Question 6

what is normative social influence?

Answer 6

conforming in order to make a good impression and to gain approval from a certain group

Question 7

what is informational social influence?

Answer 7

we are more likely to conform in situations where we are uncertain of what to do so we match others behaviour

Question 8

how does gender affect conformity?

Answer 8

Mori and Arai (2010) found that females conformed more than males.

This is because women promote social harmony

Eagly (1987) showed that women conformed more when talking about stereotypically male subjects

Question 9

how does age affect conformity?

Answer 9

In a variation of Asch (1952) study, it was evaluated that conformity increased between the ages of 14-18

Question 10

how does self esteem affect conformity?

Answer 10

Tainaka (2014) found that among Japanese students aged 18-24, those with low self esteem conformed more than those with high self esteem

Question 11

how does perceived skill affect conformity?

Answer 11

Research has shown that participants are more likely to conform if they feel that they are not strong or knowledgable in the subject area

Question 12

how does size of group affect conformity?

Answer 12

with 1 confederate 3%
with 2 confederates 12.8%
with 3 confederates 32%

Question 13

how does strength of majority affect conformity?

Answer 13

• if majority is unanimous, the participant is more likely to conform
• the presence of an ally meant conformity dropped to 5%

Question 14

how does secrecy of response affect conformity?

Answer 14

if the answer is not secret. the participant is likely to conform

Question 15

how to evaluate a study

Answer 15

half marks - description
full marks - strengths, weaknesses, conclusions

Question 16

describe the Mori and Arai study

Answer 16

• MORI technique, filter glasses, watch same film but see different things.
• everyone was a true participant but 1 in 4 had been given different glasses
• 104 male and female participants, stated their answers out loud

Question 17

strengths of Mori and Arai

Answer 17

• increased population validity as male and women participants were used
• increased ecological validity as the participants knew eachother so it was like a real life situation
• no confederates so there was no relying on the actors being convincing

Question 18

(gender) research

Answer 18

• mori and arai - women conform more than men (in 4.41 of 12 trials)
• jenness - women conform more than men

Question 19

(self esteem) research

Answer 19

tainaka et al (2014) - low self esteem = more likely to conform

Question 20

(cultural factors) research

Answer 20

mori and arai, collectivist are more conformist
bond and smith (1996)

Question 21

(normative social influence) research

Answer 21

Asch - participants conformed in the group due to fear of being ridiculed

Question 22

(size of group) research

Answer 22

Asch - 3 confederates 32% 2 confederates 12.8%

Question 23

what is obedience?

Answer 23

a form of social influence which involves doing what you have been told to do in order to avoid consequences, usually by an authority figure

Question 24

aim of Milgram (1963)

Answer 24

he wanted to find out if ordinary American citizens would obey an unjust order from an authority figure and inflict pain on others just because they were instructed to

Question 25

method of milgram

Answer 25

• 40 male participants from a range of backgrounds.
• all volunteers.
• offered $4.50 to take part in an experiment of punishment and learning
• lab at yale university

Question 26

aim of jenness

Answer 26

to examine whether people will change their opinions in an unclear situation

Question 27

method of jenness (1932)

Answer 27

• glass bottle filled with 811 white beans
• 26 students
• asked how many beans were in the bottle

Question 28

results of jenness

Answer 28

• male participants changed their answers less (gender)
• informational social influence - more conformity due to lack of information provided
• internalisation - changing behaviour after being influenced

Question 29

how to analyse

Answer 29

CLASS
(Conclusion, Link, Application, Strengths/weaknesses, Summary)

Question 30

situational factors affecting obedience

Answer 30

• proximity
• location
• uniform

Question 31

individual factors affecting conformity

Answer 31

• legitimate authority
• agentic or autonomous state
• socialisation

Question 32

how does location affect obedience

Answer 32

less credible locations resulting in reduction of obedience
65% to 47.5%

Question 33

how does uniform affect obedience?

Answer 33

when there is uniform, obedience increased

Question 34

(uniform) research

Answer 34

bickman (1974)
guard 76%
milkman 47%
pedestrian 30%