Conformity & obedience

Question 1

Two types of social influences

Answer 1

Normative influence

Information influence

Question 2

Conformity definition
Obedience definition
Social influence definition

Answer 2

Conformity: Changing perceptions opinions behaviours to align with majority view

Obedience: Behaviour change produced by commands of an authority figure

Social influence: Behaving differently in social contexts than individually

Question 3

What was found by ASCH when exploring the number of group members on conformity

Answer 3

• Up to around 4 others in the group, strong social influence
• The presence of one other dissenting voice dramatically reduces public conformity

Question 4

What is a classic conformity paradigm experiment?

Answer 4

Solomon Asch’s line judgement studies
75% palm conformed at least once
50 % on six or more occasions
25 % never conformed

Question 5

Cite a famous study about obedience

Answer 5

Milgram 1963 learner/teacher experiment

65% of participants playing the teacher went to give the highest level of shock

Question 6

Cross-cultural findings of Asch experiment

Answer 6

People from individualist countries like uk, us conform less than collectivist countries like Ghana, Japan

Question 7

The 2 types of behaviour proposed by Milgram 1974 about obedience and conformity

Answer 7

AUTONOMOUS STATE = people direct their own actions and take responsibility

AGENTIC STATE = People allow others to direct their actions and put responsibility on the so called authority figure