Factors Affecting Conformity Flashcards
When we don’t conform we behave…
independently
What is a situational factor?
The social situation someone is in
What is a dispositional factor?
Someone’s internal characteristics
What are 3 situational factors you can apply to Asch?
- Group Size
- Unamitiy / Social support
- Task Difficulty
How did group size influence conformity in Asch (1951) - Conformity on an unambiguous task
bigger majority = more influential:
- 2 confederates: p’s conformed 14% of the time
- 3 confederates: p’s conformed 32% of the time
little change after that. so, small majorities = easier to resist than larger ones. But influence doesn’t increase w/ size of majority
How does unanimity / social support influence conformity in Asch (1951) - Conformity on an unambiguous task
Asch ran another version w/ a supporter:
Having a fellow dissenter broke the unanimity of the group = easier for [ to resist the pressure to conform - conformity fell to 5.5% of the time
How did task difficulty influence conformity in Asch (1951) - Conformity on an unambiguous task
When Asch made the task more difficult conformity levels increased
= ppl more likely to conform when less confident that they’re correct
How does confidence affect conformity?
- Wiesenthal et al (1976) = if ppl felt competent in a task - less likely to conform
- Perrin and Spencer (1980) = recreation of Asch’s study w/ engineering students - conformity levels lower -> engineers had confidence in skills in making accurate observations
When Asch debriefed his participants, he found a common factor of confidence in the people who hadn’t conformed
How might gender be a contributing factor to conformity?
Eagly and Carli (1981) meta-analysis = conformity between sexes were inconsistent, largest differences when there was group pressure from an audience
Eagly (1987) argued:
Women concerned with group harmony = conform more
Men concerned with assertiveness and dominance = conform less
