Lesson 3 - Key Studies in Conformity Flashcards
What was Jenness’ study ?
Jenness used a glass filled with beans and asked 26 students to individually estimate how many beans were in the jar. Then he put them into groups of three and asked for a group estimate through discussion.
What was the aim of Jenness’ study ?
To examine whether individuals change their opinions in an unclear situation, in response to group discussion.
What was the conclusion of Jenness’ study ?
Nearly all the participants changed their original answer after group discussion. This was due to ISI as they thought their group knew better and were more likely to be correct.
What was Sherif’s study ?
He used the autokinetic affect on his participants. This is where a light (projected in a dark room) will seem like it’s moving but it actually isn’t (visual illusion). When participants were asked how much it moved, the answers varied considerably. When they were put together, they were put together in groups of three and two of the participants would have had similar answers and the other totally different. When giving their answer as a group, the participant that had a greatly different answer had to conform to the other two. In the follow up experiment, they were put into groups first and then asked what they thought individually.
What was the aim of Sherif’s study ?
The aim was to demonstrate that people conform to group norms when they are put in an unclear situation.
What was the conclusion of Sherif’s study ?
A person will look to others in an unclear situation for guidance and adopt the group norm. They want to get the right answer but lack the knowledge to do so. This ISI.
What was Asch’s study ?
123 male US undergraduates participated in an ‘eye test’. Asch put a naïve participant in a room with 8 confederates and asked them which line matched the test line. There were 18 trials in total and 12 critical trials. A critical trial is when the confederates gave the wrong answer.
What was the aim of Asch’s study ?
He wanted to investigate, to what extent social pressure from a majority group could affect a person to conform.
What was the conclusion of Asch’s study ?
On average 35% people conformed throughout the experiment. Over the 12 critical trials 75% conformed at least once and the rest didn’t conform at all. When the participants were asked why they conformed they said they wanted to fit in and didn’t want to be ridiculed. This showed NSI (to fit in and be liked) and compliance (only changing views publicly).
