Conformity, Obedience & compliance

Question 1

What is Conformity?

Answer 1

→ Conformity is a change in behavior or belief (attitude change) as a result of real or imagined group pressure.

Question 2

Examples of the ‘Chameleon Effect’

Answer 2

1. Contagious yawning, according to (Provine, 2005) 55% of participants yawned from watching a series of yawning videos, which might be caused by a biological mechanism called “mirror neurons” suggesting that we yawn out of empathy.
2. Rubbing Face, according to (Chartrand and Bargh, 1999) participants started to unconsciously rub their faces after being placed in a room with a confederate who engaged in that behavior.
3. Mimicking, according to (Van Baaren et al., 2004) we are more likely to help someone who mimicked our behavior.
4. Sharing Moods, according to (Totterdell et al., 1998) we tend to share moods within the same group.

Question 3

Explain The ‘Werther Effect’ and give example

Answer 3

→ The ‘Werther Effect’ is a suicidal behavior that increases after a highly publicized suicide.

Ex: Marilyn Monroes’s publicized suicide caused an increase of 200 suicides in the USA.

Question 4

Give personal experiences to the ‘Chameleon Effect’

Answer 4

a) When I was traveling in France in my early adolescence I saw a cute boy on the train making a hand gesture whenever he felt like sneezing to prevent it from happening, and since then I have kept on mimicking that same hand gesture when I feel like sneezing (Chartrand and Bargh, 1999).

b) After moving to Malaysia for my studies I realized that I had unconsciously incorporated the word la in my vocabulary (Chartrand and Bargh, 1999).

Question 5

Define Social Norms

Answer 5

→ Social norms are a set of cultural expectations that we explicitly or implicitly recognize.

Question 6

What is Compliance

Answer 6

→ Compliance is conformity that involves publicly acting in accord with an implied or explicit request even if privately disagreeing. Going along with an explicit request.

Question 7

Give me an example of Conformity

Answer 7

→ In (Sherif, 1935)’s study they placed the participants in a completely dark room where a static light appeared to move and asked them to estimate how far the light moved. When grouped participants gradually converged estimates and when asked about it 1 year later they still followed the group norm.

Question 8

Give me an example of Compliance

Answer 8

→ In (Asch, 1955)’s experiment they placed one participant among several confederates who chose answers that were obviously wrong. 75% of participants conformed at least once and 37% conformed to all responses.

Question 9

Compare & Contrast between Conformity and Compliance

Answer 9

In Sherif’s experiment participants still conformed to the group’s norm 1 year later due to their acceptance (believing) of the norm. But in Asch’s experiment, the participants conformed out of compliance (privately disagreeing) wanting to be accepted and fit in.

Question 10

Give me personal experiences for Conformity and Compliance

Answer 10

a) A very famous Egyptian tradition that has been passed on from the pharaohs to our current day for both Christian and Muslim Egyptians is to wait 40 days after a person’s death to commemorate them. Egyptians have incorporated this tradition believing it is part of their religions when it is not and was initially made for mummification reasons. (Jacobs and Campbell, 1961) & (Sherif, 1935). (believe it)

b) In ancient Egyptian culture Horus was the god of protection to our ancestors. Despite our religious beliefs we still use Horus’s eye as protection in our households (Jacobs and Campbell, 1961) & (Asch, 1955). (know it’s wrong but still do it)

Question 11

Explain the cultural influences on conformity

Answer 11

→ It has been obvious through the replication of Ash’s experimental study across the world that cultural backgrounds do influence the results according to (Whittaker and Meade, 1967).

→ And has been shown that collectivist countries tend to show higher levels of conformity than individualistic countries according to (Bond and Smith, 1996).

Question 12

Give me a personal experience of ur cultural influence

Answer 12

a) During my time studying abroad in Malaysia, I had the opportunity to participate in group activities that involved decision-making and problem-solving. I noticed a strong emphasis on group harmony and when disagreements arose, they were addressed aimed at finding a solution that everyone could agree upon. As an outsider to the culture, I observed that individuals were less likely to express dissenting opinions openly, preferring instead to maintain group cohesion and avoid conflict showing the cultural factors influencing conformity behaviors in collectivist societies. (Bond and Smith, 1996)

Question 13

What is the Heard Mentality (mob mentality)

Answer 13

→ the tendency of people to conform to the actions of a larger group, either by choice or under pressure where safety and success often depend on group cohesion.

Question 14

What is the difference between ‘Desire to fit in’ and the ‘Desire to stand out’ and how do we test that?

Answer 14

According to (Griskevicius et al., 2006),
- the ‘Desire to fit in’ is the need to belong/be accepted, they crave that reinforcement of ‘who they are’ from others.

• the ‘Desire to stand out’ is the want of them to choose ‘you’, they want limited rewards.

Experiment:
→ (Dyer et al., 2009) asked a group of people to walk randomly around a hall at one arm’s length from one another; the informed individuals were followed by others in the crowd. It takes a minority of just 5% to influence a crowd’s direction - and the other 95% follow without realizing it.

Question 15

Give me a personal experience relating to the Heard mentality

Answer 15

a) Whenever i get lost in an underground parking lot and can’t seem to find the exist I usually just follow the other surrounding cars. (Dyer et al., 2009).

Question 16

What are the predictors of conformity?

Answer 16

1. Task Complexity and Uncertainty
2. Seeking Accuracy
3. Group size
4. Group unanimity
5. Group identification
6. Public response (normative/informational conformity)
7. Presence/Absence of prior commitment

Question 17

What are the reasons for conforming

Answer 17

1. Reactance
2. Asserting uniqueness

Question 18

What is task complexity and uncertainty?

Answer 18

→ The more complex or ambiguous a task is, the more likely individuals are to look to others for cues on how to act. This is particularly true in situations where the task is perceived as difficult or when the individual lacks confidence in their own judgment.

Question 19

What is seeking accuracy?

Answer 19

→ In difficult tasks people often conform because they believe the group is more likely to be correct. This is rooted in the desire for accuracy and the belief that a collective decision is safer or more informed. (Jin Young Kim et al.)

Question 20

Define Social loafing

Answer 20

→ Social loafing is the reduction of individual effort that occurs when people work in groups compared to when they work alone.

Question 21

Give me a personal experience that relates to difficulty of the task

Answer 21

a) when required to do a group project I often find myself relying on the group leader’s ideas instead of coming up with new ones on my own seen as they’re grades might be higher than mine, so I directly assume that everything they say will be correct and better than my own ideas. (Jin Young Kim et al.)

Question 22

What is Group Size?

Answer 22

→ (Milgram et al., 1959) conducted a field experiment where they had 1,2,3,5,10 or 15 people pause on a busy New York sidewalk and look up. The percentage of passers-by who also looked up increased as the number of people looking increased. However, the number of persons slowed down considerably when the crowd had reached five people.

Question 23

What is Group unanimity?

Answer 23

→ (Nemeth & Chiles, 1988) has shown the influence a dissenter might have in a group. as shown in the results when everyone else agrees (Unanimous majority) correct answer given is 30% but when one or more others disagree (presence of dissenter) correct answer given is 76%.

Question 24

what is Group identification?

Answer 24

→ Social Identity Theory (Tajfel and Turner), assumes that our behavior and sense of self are guided by the norms and values of the group to which we belong. We are more likely to conform when identify more with the group and less likely to conform when identify with dissenters/minority opinion groups.

Question 25

Give me a personal experience relating to group size

Answer 25

I was in a mall shopping with my mom until we passed by this store that had a huge line in front of it, not knowing why it was that crowded we rushed to stand in the line as well. (Milgram et al., 1959)

Question 26

Give me a personal experience relating to group unanimity

Answer 26

In college I was part of the International Day Committee which is an event that happens every year to embrace and celebrate our differences through performances and booths representing each culture; and each year they do the same activities as the years before, but i thought why not change things up a little bit by incorporating a competition where the participants get to learn as well as show off their general knowledge of the cultures being represented, despite the hesitation of the committee I was determined to make it work and kept pushing the idea until they started to agree to it one by one, all I needed was just one person to openly agree to my idea and the rest followed, feeling more confident and comfortable knowing that there’s someone else who supports it. (Nemeth & Chiles, 1988)

Question 27

What is public response and explain the difference between Normative & Informational conformity

Answer 27

• According to Ash conformity rates would be reduced if participants could give results privately, but would not completely disappear.

Normative conformity is more common in interdependent cultures and is seen as mature to seek harmony and fit in.

Informational conformity increases when participants feel less competent and are more concerned about being right.

Question 28

Give me a personal experience relating to Normative comformity

Answer 28

a) In my culture it is seen as mature to comply and agree to what our elders would say even when we don’t necessarily agree with it instead of arguing back and trying to prove a point which would seem disrespectful and childish. (Oeberst and Wu, 2015)

Question 29

Explain the difference between the Presence/Absence of prior commitment

Answer 29

1. Impact of prior commitment
   - Strengthens individual’s stance
   - Invoke the desire for consistency
   - Stronger public commitments
2. No prior commitments
   - More susceptible to conform
   - Uncertain, looks for guidance
   - Flexibility in decision-making

Question 30

What is Reactance?

Answer 30

→ Resisting conformity’s motive is to protect one’s sense of ‘freedom’; to anti-conform in response to pressure. More common in Independent cultures.

Example: US and Polish female college students, reacted when mentioning ‘traditional’ views of appropriate female behavior. (Cialdini et al., 1998)

Question 31

what is Asserting uniqueness?

Answer 31

→ The ‘Need for Uniqueness theory’ according to (Snyder and Fromkin, 1980) is feeling uncomfortable when we appear the same as everybody else, all people crave uniqueness to some extent.

Question 32

What is Obedience?

Answer 32

→ Obedience is acting in accord with a direct order or command

Question 33

Explain Milgram’s study of Obedience

Answer 33

→ (Milgram, 1974), Is an experiment that tests what happens when the demands of authority clash with the demands of conscience. This experiment requires a Teacher who will ask a list of word pairs to the other (learner) and punish errors by delivering shocks of increasing intensity. The learner is a confederate to the experiment required to act hurt and in pain and deliver a set of phrases meant to trigger the Teacher who is completely unaware of this fact.

Question 34

Give me a personal experience relating to Milgram’s study

Answer 34

b) When I was in school I used to get bullied a lot. My bully was this boy in my class who was always followed by two other classmates, they would often say mean things, make fun of me, and sometimes get violent, but I noticed that it was always instigated by the leader of the group and when he had changed schools the other boys who would join in with him came to me and apologized and never did it again, which proved to me that they were only following his lead but never actually wanted to do it, and I am now friends with some of them. (Milgram, 1974)

Question 35

What breeds obedience?

Answer 35

1. The victim’s distance
2. Closeness and Legitimacy of the Authority
3. Industrial Authority
4. Agentic State Theory

Question 36

What are other factors of obedience

Answer 36

1. Socialization and Cultural Norms (Individuals are socialized to obey authority from a young age, learning that obedience is often rewarded and disobedience punished. Cultural norms also play a role, by emphasizing hierarchical structures and respect for authority more than others).
2. Fear of Punishment (the fear of negative consequences for disobedience can significantly increase obedience levels).
3. Desire for reward (The expectation of a reward can also breed obedience).
4. Group Dynamics (people are more likely to be obedient in a group setting, especially if it displays a high level of conformity).
5. Training and Indoctrination (Systematic training and indoctrination can condition individuals to obey without questioning).
6. Moral and ethics (Personal morals and ethics can influence their level of obedience, but can be overridden by authority figures).

Question 37

What are the classical key studies

Answer 37

• Milgram’s Studies of ‘Obedience’
• Bocchiaro, Zimbardo and Van Lange ‘To defy or not to defy’ was a laboratory study in the VU University in Amsterdam where they tested 149 undergraduate students to see if they would obey the experimenter’s unethical request or would they whistleblow and disobey.