Conformity and Obedience

Question 1

Describe the term group norm.

Answer 1

The rules of the
game. Tells group members how to behave

Question 2

Give a definition of
Conformity

Answer 2

A change in behaviour as a result of real or imagined group pressure

Question 3

Describe the procedure of Asch’s Conformity
Experiment

Answer 3

Involved judging a set of three lines where one line was the same as the
stimulus line. Ps were tested in groups. Confederates gave the wrong answer.

Question 4

Describe the
term compliance?

Answer 4

People yield to
social pressure in their public behaviour even though their private beliefs
have not changed.

Question 5

Describe the term Normative Social Influence

Answer 5

The influence others/norms
which causes pressure to conform

Question 6

Describe the results of Mori and Arai’s 2010 experiment.

Answer 6

Females conformed more than men and to the same extent as the males in Asch’s experiment

Question 7

Describe the method of Milgram’s experiment

Answer 7

Learner and Teacher. Teachers gave rising level of volts when questions wrong to point of being lethal. Pressured to continue by the man in the white coat

Question 8

Identify 3 situational factors that can affect conformity as found in the variations of Asch’s experiment.

Answer 8

Difficulty of task.

Size of the group

Answering in private.

Status of the majority

Question 9

In what ways did Mori and Arai’s experiment differ from Asch’s experiment.

Answer 9

Women took part.

All participants were naïve to the purpose of the experiment.

Participants knew each other

Question 10

Describe authoritarian parenting.

Answer 10

Parents have strict rules and expectations. They are very demanding and not responsive.

Question 11

Describe Democratic parenting.

Answer 11

Parents are more relaxed and negotiate rules and expectations
They are very nurturing.

Question 12

Describe Milgram’s Agency Theory

Answer 12

People move from an autonomous state to an agentic state via the agentic shift which absolves them of responsibility.

Question 13

What did Bickman (1974) conclude from his experiment?

Answer 13

People are more likely to obey someone in uniform.

Question 14

Describe informational social influence.

Answer 14

Refers to the influence to change which comes from others who are seen as being reliable.

Question 15

Name the 3 levels of conformity.

Answer 15

Compliance
Identification
Internalisation

Question 16

Name 2 individual factors which affect conformity

Answer 16

Gender
Self-Esteem

Question 17

Who was the perceived legitimate authority figure in Milgram’s experiment?

Answer 17

The Experimenter in the white lab coat

Question 18

In what ways did Mori & Arai’s experiment differ from Asch?

Answer 18

With no confederates but with participants who knew each other. Females were included.

Question 19

Give 2 evaluation points for Milgram’s Obedience Experiment

Answer 19

• Milgram’s research was unethical (1), as participants thought they were taking part in a study about memory not obedience (1)
• The study lacked ecological validity (1) as it was conducted in a laboratory (1)
• Milgram’s sample consisted of males only (1) which means we are unable to generalise the results to females (1)
• As the experiment was highly controlled (1), the results are reliable. (1)

Question 20

What conclusions can be reached from Milgram’s (1963) study of obedience?

Answer 20

• when given orders by a figure of authority, we are likely to obey (1)
• the ‘I was just obeying orders’ reason given by those who obey orders to harm others is explained by the results of the study (1)
• it can be concluded that people are in an agentic state when they follow orders given by an authority figure (1)
• it can be concluded that the features of a situation can influence most people to obey. (1)

Question 21

Analyse Mori & Arai’s (2010) study into conformity.

Answer 21

Unanimity was not as important a factor in Mori & Arai’s experiment as it was in Asch’s - men were not swayed by the majority view.

Females in Japan are more likely to conform than males, which the researchers explained as being because of the different expectations and social roles of males and females

Mori & Arai concluded that the reduced conformity in males compared to the Asch study may
reflect generational changes since the 1950s (1).