Conformity and types of conformity

Question 1

What psychologist studied conformity?

Answer 1

Asch

Question 2

What was the aim of Asch’s research?

Answer 2

How much people will conform to opinions of others

Question 3

What’s the procedure of the baseline study?

Answer 3

123 American white men
- split into groups of 6 to 8
- only 1 genuine participant (placed last or 2nd to last)
- rest are confederates
- 2 white cards (line x and 3 comparison lines - which matches line x)

Question 3

What does conformity mean?

Answer 3

A change in a persons behavior or opinions as a result of real or imagined pressure from a group or a person

Question 4

What are confederates?

Answer 4

Participants who are aware of the experiment and who purposely chose wrong answers in the context of Asch’s study.

Question 5

What’s the overall result of Asch’s baseline study?

Answer 5

25% of participants never chose the wrong line
- participants agreed with confeds 36.8% of the time
= conformity took place 1/3 of the time

Question 6

What else did Asch do?

Answer 6

Conducted a variables investigation into conformity after baseline study

Question 7

What consists of group size as a variable?

Answer 7

• Confederates varied from 1-15
• Increased group size = more conformity
• 3 confederates: 31.8% of participants conformed
• Flatlined after 3 confederates

Question 7

What were the 3 variables?

Answer 7

• Group size
• Unanimity
• Task difficulty

Question 8

What consists of task difficulty as a variable?

Answer 8

• Comparison lines similar to line X
• Rate of conformity increased
• Unsure of the answer = agree with majority (ISI)

Question 8

What consists of unanimity as a variable?

Answer 8

Definition: All members of a group agreeing on one thing
- 1 confederate disagrees = dissenter
- less conformity; dropped by 1/4

Question 9

What’s a strength of Asch’s research?

Answer 9

Other studied support results from task difficulty
- Lucas et al
> gave hard and easy math problems
> harder math problems = increased conformity

Question 10

What’s a strength of Asch’s research in terms of lab use?

Answer 10

Controlled
- internal validity = reliable
- confederates - controlled social situation
- isolate and examine findings

Question 11

What’s are limitations of Asch’s research?

Answer 11

• Artificial situation (lab) with an artificial task
• too simplistic
• role of self confidence (individual level factors)
• Participants aware of study
• Lack of generalization
  > cant apply to real life situation
  > white american men (individualist culture) women conform more

Question 12

What are the 3 types of conformity?

Answer 12

Internalization, identification and compliance

Question 13

What is internalization?

Answer 13

Genuinely accepts group norms
- private and public change in opinion and behavior (permanent)
- attitude becomes apart of thought process

Question 14

What is identification?

Answer 14

Values something about the group
- person publicly changes opinion and behavior
- no private change

Question 15

What is compliance?

Answer 15

‘going along with others’ in public
- no private change in opinion or behavior
- superficial change: stops after group pressure stops

Question 16

What did Deutsch and Gerard do?

Answer 16

developed 2 process theory based on 2 human needs - need to be liked and need to be right

Question 17

What are the 2 social influences?

Answer 17

Informative and Normative

Question 18

What is informative social influence?

Answer 18

Need to be right
- who has better info
- unsure of what behavior is right and wrong
- follow majority behavior = want to be right
- cognitive process
- internalization
- more likely in new or crisis situation

Question 19

What is normative social influence?

Answer 19

Need to be liked
- typical behavior for a social group
- norms regulate the group behavior
- people don’t like to be foolish
- people like social approval
- emotional process
- temporary change (compliance)
- occurs in stressful situations and with friends

Question 20

How is Schultz et al relevant?

Answer 20

Aim: impact on NSI on encouraging people
- Hotel experiment: printed messages on rooms = ‘nearly 75% of hotel guests chose to reuse towels’
- significant change (more reused towels)

Question 21

What are the strengths of NSI?

Answer 21

• Asch’s research
  > conformed to gain approval
  > conformity fell by 12.5% when written down answers
  > avoid normative group pressure
• Some conformity = fear of rejection

Question 22

What are limitations of NSI?

Answer 22

• Doesn’t always predict conformity
  > some really care about others liking them
  > want to relate to other people
• Teevan: students who want to be liked were more likely to conform
• individual differences that cannot be fully explained by one theory

Question 23

What are limitations of both NSI and ISI?

Answer 23

• Unclear if they work in real life
• Asch found that conformity reduced with dissenter
• Dissenter may reduce power in ISI - provide alternate source of social info
• difficult to separate, both probably operate in real life

Question 24

What are strengths of ISI?

Answer 24

• Lucas et al support
  > participants conform more in difficult situations
  > difficult problem = situation between unclear