Conformity Week 5 Ch 6 Flashcards
what is conformity
changing ones behaviour or beliefs to go along with others
acting as other people act and being affected by how they act
obedience
compliance to a direct command
the two forms of conformity
compliance
-insincere and outword
acceptance
-sincere and inward
what was the main take away from Sherif’s classic studies
from the light distance experiment, found that listening to the judgements of others creates a norm that people consistently adhere to
people go with group consensus
Main finding in the Asch group study
comparing line lengths
even without obvious pressure to conform, a considerable number of people still did
people were clearly incorrect, and people still conformed - know they will be wrong but conform
maybe due to inflated information
Some concepts associated with Sherif
Mood linkage - being around others we tend to take on their moods
social contagion: mimicking grammar/way of speaking and actions
suggestibility: behaviour can increase after a well publicized example (Werther)
What did Milgram study
obedience and authority
What breeds obedience
The distance of the victim
closeness and legitimacy of the authority
institutional authority
liberating effects of group influence
how do behaviour and attitudes reinforce each other/override in obedience
when external pressure is high, attitudes are a poor predictor of behaviour
we generally want to make sense of our behaviour and therefore adjust our attitude
step-by-step
power of the situation
bystander response: saying what we would do is easier than doing
immediate situation/context is powerful
evil: bad apples but also from social forces, good people can be corrupted
procrastination
what predicts conformity
group size (3+)
unanimity (observing dissent makes us more independent)
cohesion (more cohesive the more powerful)
status
public response (conform more with public declarations)
no prior commitment (immediate decision tends to close you off to change)
the more insecure we are about our judgements, the more ___ we are by others
influenced
in regards to personality, behaviour really depends on the ___ of the person during the situation
state
why do we conform
to gain acceptance (normative influence)
-fear rejection
-goal is acceptance
to gain knowledge (informative influence)
-goal is to be right
what are stronger predictors of conformity than personality
culture, context, gender, and social roles
pressure from others can be ___
explicit/implicit, real/imagined
what is reactance
people wanting to protect their sense of freedom
arises when someone threatens our freedom of action
- better to offer choices than demands
despite pressures to conform, we feel more comfortable if we see ourselves as moderately ___
unique
private vs public conformity
- Private conformity: the change in beliefs happens privately (are actually changing beliefs to go along with the group)
- Public conformity: superficial change in overt behaviour without it actually changing your opinion (produced by group pressure)
auto-kinetic effect
stationary light in a dark room looks like it is moving
comparing Sherif and Asche
Sherif
-private conformity
-informational influence
Asche
-public conformity
-normative influence
mundane vs experimental realism
- Mundane realism: similar to an everyday life situation
- Experimental realism: how much the experiment absorbs and involves its participants
what can decrease conformity
having an ally (group non unanimous)
being anonymous
norms
standards for acceptable or proper behaviour
