conformity, situational variables affecting conformity, explanations Flashcards
what is conformity
a change in behaviour or belief as a result of real or imagined group pressure
which types of people are likely to conform
members of groups are likely to be peers not authority figures
what are the types of conformity
compliance, identification and identification
what is compliance
in response to pressure from others, individuals change their behaviour or their beliefs publicly. their private beliefs dont change
what is the primary motivation behind compliance
to get a positive reaction from others or to avoid rejection
what is compliance driven by
normative social influence
what is normative social influence
we conform to be liked and accepted by others
why are changes to compliance superficial
they are temporary and last until the external pressure is present. if they aren’t in the presence of the group individuals go back to their original behaviours
give an example of compliance
someone participates in a social media trend they don’t like only because they want to fit in the group
which is the weakest type of conformity
compliance
what is identification
individual takes on the behaviour, values and attitudes or the group because they want to be associated with a group.
how do individuals identify with others
they align with a group to create or strengthen a strong social identity.
do individuals identify because they believe the values and beliefs are correct
no
why do individuals conform because of identification
they want to feel connected with the group and maintain a relationship with them
give examples of places where identification is likely to occur
workplaces, social clubs, religious organisations
what kind of characteristics do certain groups have that makes people want to identify with them
they have a certain culture and people will adopt what they do and say to feel like they belong
give an example of identification
dressing in a way that the group dresses
what is the individuals behaviour influence by when they identify
by the relationship with the group rather than deeper agreement with the groups norms or fear of rejection
which is the intermediate level of conformity
identification
what is internalisation
individuals truly adopt the beliefs, values or norms of a group
what does internalisation result in
a private and lasting change in beliefs and behaviours. they accepts the groups norms as their own
why does internalisation happen
when individual percieves the groups norms or values as mathcing their own values or when they believe accepting these norms is morally right and beneficial
what is the motivation for internalisation driven by
informational social influence
what is informational social influence
motivation to conform is driven by the individuals desire to be correct or belief that the groups norms are superior to their previous behaviours
do changes in behaviour remain even if there is no external pressure
yes
why does the change in behaviour remain the same in internalisation
the individual has permanently integrated the groups norms as their own values
what is an example of internalisation
a person starts campaigning for environmental change after being exposed to evidence about climate change from a group they respect
which is the strongest type of conformity
internalisation
what are the explanations for conformity
normative and informational social influence
what is normative social influence (detail)
the need for social acceptance is a powerful motivator for human behaviour. individuals will conform because they fear social rejection and being seen as an outcast
why does normative social influence result in superficial and temporary change
motivated by emotional reasons
how long does normative social influence last for
as long as the groups influence is present.
what does normative social influence lead to
compliance where individuals publicly agree with the group but maintain their private beliefs
why is normative social influence emotionally driven
people want to feel connected, supported and valued by their peers making them more likely to conform to avoid negative feelings of social rejection
give an example of normative social influence
teenagers often behave against their values so they aren’t mocked by their friend group
what is informational social influence (detail)
happens when individuals assume the group has more knowledge or information about a situation
when is informational social influence powerful
in situations where there is ambiguity or uncertainty. individuals look to others a source information to guide their decisions
what is informational social influence driven by
the desire to make correct choices or to understand the appropiate way to behave in a given context
give an example of informational social influence
if there was a fire in a public building, individuals will see and follow what the majority of other people are doing assuming they know what they’re doing
why does informational social influence result in genuine and permanent change
motivated by cognitive reasons
what does informational social influence lead to
internalisation where individuals genuinely accepts the groups norms and publicly align with the groups stance and change their private beliefs
when did Asch conduct his conformity experiment
1951
who took part in Asch’s experiment
the study involved groups of 8 to 10 male college students, only one was an actual participant and the rest were the confederates of the experimenter.
what task did Asch give
a line judgement task (pp were told it was a visual perception task)
how did the line judgement task work
pp were shown a standard line and 3 comparison lines. they were asked to publicly identify which of the 3 lines matched the standard line in length
what was the procedure
- 18 trials
each men on the table took it in turns to day their response with the real pp being sat in the 2nd to last place
at first each confederate gave the correct answer (6 control trials)
in the final 12 criticial trials, the confederates all gave the same incorrect answer
how was conformity measured in Asch’s experiment
the measure of conformity was how often the real pp conformed to the incorrect majority despite the evidence of their senses
what were the findings
showed significant degree of conformity, 75% of pp conformed at least once, 5% conforming every time
what was the overall conformity and non-conformity rate
conformity - 32%
non conformity - 25%
what does Asch’s findings support
normative social influence. people conform for social approval, avoiding rejection and being seen as an outcast
why did Asch include variations in his experiment
to compare with the original experiment and show how each one affects conformity
give the situational factors affecting conformity suggested by Asch
group size
task difficulty
unanimity
how did Asch test group size
he replicated the original setup with 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 16 confederates
how did the conformity differ with each group size
with 1 or 2 confederates the conformity rate is low (3%) - they are able to resist an individual or group
with 3 confederates conformity rate rises dramatically (33%)
conformity rate remained steady at this point with a conformity rate of 31% with 16 confederates - if you’re able to resist a small group, you’re able to resist a large group
how does group size affect conformity
the presence of a small, unanimous group has a strong social pressure but beyond a certain point, the group size does not proportionally increase this pressure
how did Asch test unanimity
he instructed one of the confederates answering before the pp and act as an ally by giving the correct answer and providing social support for the true pp. this made it easier to resist the power of the group
what was the conformity rate due to unanimity
5.5%
how did Asch test task difficulty
he increased the difficult of the task by making the comparison lines closer in length to the standard line. this increased the ambiguity of the task
how did task difficulty affect conformity
Asch didn’t report any exact figures, he did say it significantly increased the rate of conformity.
why did task difficulty increase conformity rates according to Asch
pp were more uncertain about their judgements making them more susceptible to informational social influence. they’re unsure of the correct answer so look to the group for guidance in order to be correct
what is the strength of the Asch experiment
as a lab study it uses standardised procedures that had a high level of control of variables. this control meant that each pp had the same experience. they all viewed the same lines and experienced the same level of NSI from the confederates - high internal validity
what do Perrin and Spencer criticise
the lack of generalisability of Asch’s work to modern society, this suggests it lacks internal validity
why does Asch’s study lack generalisability
the study is over 70 years old in their replication with a more modern British student sample in 396 critical trials
what were the rates of conformity for a modern British student sample
1 example of conformity
what does the extreme conformity in Asch’s work reflect
the mindset of Cold War Americans who were afraid of standing out from the crowds
what are people now more willing to resist
normative social influence
how can we explain the lower conformity rates in the modern British study
suggested that societal changes including a possible shift towards more individualistic values that might explain the lower conformity rates
why is his study criticised for being culturally biased
he used an all American sample
how has conformity been measured across all cultures
the use of clear standardised procedures has led to multiple replications allowing assessment of conformity across all cultures
what were the findings of Aschs study in cultured countries
higher conformity rates in collectivist cultures (prioritise group harmony) than individualistic (prioritise personal freedom)
collectivist societies were more conformist
what did the cultural findings suggest about conformity
suggests pressure to conform due to normative social influence is not universal but experienced differently based on cultural background
why does Asch’s task lack mundane realism
matching the length of the lines is a task that is quite simple and highly controlled. whilst this helps isolate conformity and minimise extraneous variables, it doesnt replicate real life social interactions
why is Aschs task not a valid measure of real life conformity
conforming happens in a social context, often with people we know rather than strangers
how does Asch’s original research support normative social influence
the task was unambiguous and obvious which means the reason why the pp conformed was to avoid being socially rejected by the group.
what happened to conformity rates when pp could write down their responses privately
it avoided disapproval. variation dropped to 12.5% as it avoided fear of rejection
how did the task difficulty variation support ISI
increasing the difficulty of the task made it more ambiguous leading to pp questioning their judgement and relying on judgements of others. this explains why conformity increased
why can’t conformity be solely determined by situational factors
some have a personality that makes them more or less likely to conform to others.
what are nAffiliators
they strongly desire to belong to a group, be liked and maintain positive interpersonal relationships leading to increased conformity. these individuals are more sensitive to social rejection so are more likely to conform
which kinds of people are less likely to conform
people with high confidence or an internal locus of control are less likely to be influenced by the pressure to conform
why can it be difficult to separate influence of the two explanations of conformity
it might be that the person conforming isn’t fully aware of their motivations. in real life ambiguous situations individuals might seek accurate information and social approval. most real cases of conformity are likely to be a combination of NSI and ISI
