Explanations Of Conformity Flashcards
What was the aim of Aschs study
To see if p.t conform to a majority influence in an unambiguous situation
What was the sample of Asch (1951) study
123 American undergraduate students who were all male
What was the procedure of Aschs study into conformity
He believed they were taking part in a vision test. In the experiment room there was 7 male student p.t looked at 2 cards and matched the vertical lines.
All the p.t were confederates except the one who sat second from last who was a real p.t
Confederates have unanimous answer on 12 of the 18 trials (critical trials)
What were the findings of Aschs research (1951)
P.t gave a wrong answer on 37% of the time
P.t conformed on 32% of the critical trials
5% conformed everytime
In post-experiment interviews, some p.t stated they actually believed the confederates or change their answer as they couldn’t bare being in the minority
What was the conclusion of Aschs study into conformity
Even when a situation is ambiguous, people still conform to strong group pressure. Also appears to be different reasons for conforming
A strength of Asch (1951)
P: Aschs study was carried out in a lab setting
E: this means it was carefully controlled with good control over extraneous variables
E: Any change in results was therefore due to the change in the IV and its effect on the DV
L: this shows that it was the social pressure to conform from the unanimous majority in an unambiguous situation that led to people conforming
What is a limitation of Asch (1951) and his research into conformity
P: Asch used a biased sample of 123 male students from America
E: the findings therefore can’t be generalized to other populations
E: we are unable to conclude if female students would’ve conformed in a similar way
L; as a result, Aschs sample lacks population validity
What are the two explanations of conformity
Normative Social Influence (NSI)
Informational Social Influence (ISI)
What is NSI
Where someone conforms because they want to be liked and accepted by the group
What might a person do when experiencing NSI
Publicly change their behavior but privately disagree
What type of social influence leads to compliance
NSI
In what situation would NSI occur
To attain group membership and the approval of others
What is ISI
Where someone conforms because they do not know what to do, but want to be correct
What do people do when experiencing ISI
They follow the majority because they assume that the majority know what the right thing to do is
Informational social influence tends to lead to what type of conformity
Internalization
Why do people experience ISI
To attain group membership due to the belief of the group being right
It tends to occur when the situation is ambiguous and others are believed to be experts
A strength of explanations of conformity
P: Aschs study into conformity provides research support for NSI
E: Asch found that many participants conformed to the incorrect majority opinion, even when the correct answer was obvious
E: in follow-up interviews p.t said they conformed to avoid the discomfort of disagreeing
L: this clearly shows that compliance had occurred as p.t conformed to ‘fit in’
What is a limitation of explanations of conformity
P: individual difference may explain social influence
E: this means that the processes will not affect everyone’s behavior in the same way
E: for example, some people are less impacted by conformity known as non affiliates who don’t conform in situations of wanting to be liked
L: the explanation of conformity can therefore not be generalized to explain everyone’s behaviour
