Section 1 : Social Influence - Conformity Flashcards
What is conformity
yielding to group pressure
What are the 3 types of conformity
Compliance
Internalisation
Identification
What is compliance
-publicly but not privately going along with the majority influence to gain approval/avoid ridicule
-Weak/temporary and only shown in presence of a group
What is internalisation
-true conformity
-public and private acceptance of majority influence, through adoption of the majority group’s belief system
-stronger, permanent form of conformity, as it maintained outside of the groups presence
What is identification
- public and private acceptance of majority influence in order to gain group acceptance
- stronger form of conformity but still temporary, don’t always agree with the group
what is information social influence (ISI)
a cognitive process, it is to do with what you think. we agree with the opinion of the majority because we believe it is correct
why does information social influence happen
- Uncertain
- agree with the majority and believe that is right
- want to be right
- cognitive process
- public and private agreement
when does ISI happen
situations that are new to a person
some ambiguity
in crisis situations
one person in the group is regarded as being more of an expert
what is NSI (normative social influence)
- NSI is an emotional process
- says we agree with the opinion of the majority because we want to be accepted, gain social approval and be liked.
- the person may publicly change their behaviour/view but will privately disagree
why does NSI happen
- agree with the opinion of majority
- need for acceptance
- gain social approval/be liked
- emotional process
- public and private views differ -> compliance
when does NSI happen
-situations with strangers
-occur with people you know
-pronounced in stressful situations
Who tested the effects of information social influence (ISI)
Sherif (1935)
What type of experiment was Sherif (1935) - Conformity and the auto kinetic effect
A Laboratory experiment
Did Sherif allow his experiment to be repeated
Yes
What is the auto kinetic effect
An effect where a stationary spot viewed in a dark room, appears to move
What were participants told before they underwent the experiment
They were falsely told that the experimenter would move the light
What happened to the participants after doing the experiment
They made their own individual repeated estimates. Then they were put in groups of 3 where they said their estimates with others present. They were then retested.
What were the results of this experiment
-Participants made their own stable estimates when they were alone, which varied
-When the participants were in a group, the estimates tended to converge and become more alike
-When participants were retested by themselves their estimates became more alike the group estimates rather than their own estimates
What was the conclusion of this experiment
-Participants were influenced by the estimates of other people, group norm developed
-Estimates converged because articulates used information from others to help them
-They were affected ISI
What was the significance of laboratory experiment
There was strict control of the variables, meaning results are unlikely to have been affected by a third variable. Possible to establish cause and effect
What did the repeated measure design of the experiment mean
Means participant variables that could’ve affected results were kept constant.
Why was the method flawed
- Participants asked to judge the movement of a stationary light - rarely happens in real life
- Created an artificial situation
-Lacks ecological validity
-Results cannot be generalised as all participants were male
-Participants were deceived - ethical problem
Who tested the effects of Normative Social Influence
Asch (1951)
What type of experiment was Asch’s research (1951)
Laboratory
What specific design element of Asch’s research was very significant
The independent groups
How big were the groups
8 people
What did the participants in the groups have to do
Judge the length of lines by saying out loud which comparison line matched the standard line
How many real participants were in the group
1 participant - other 7 participants were confederates
When did the real participant say their answer
Last or last but one - they heard the others answers before giving theirs
How many trials did the participants do
18 - 12 of these were critical trials
What was meant by critical trials
The confederates all gave the same wrong answer
Was there a control group
Yes
What did the control group do
Judged the line lengths in isolation
What were the results in the control trials
Participants gave the wrong answer 0.7% of the time
What were the results of the critical trials
-Participants conformed to the majority giving the wrong answer 37% of the time.
-75% conformed at least once
-Participants didn’t really believe their answer but didn’t want look different
What was the conclusion of Asch’s research
-People conformed to the majority due to NSI
-The task was easy to get right and 37% were wrong in the critical trials
What was the significance of Asch’s Research being a lab experiment
-There was good control of variables - minimises the effects of extraneous variables.
-Can easily repeat the study
Does the study have or lack ecological validity, why?
No, because they were not in a natural situation. Whether they were right or wrong participants might’ve been less likely to conform if their answer had real life consequences
Were there ethical problems with Asch’s research
Participants were deceived and might’ve been embarrassed when they found out the nature of the study
What does situational factors mean
Refers to the social situation someone is in
What does dispositional factors mean
Refers to the persons internal characteristics
What situational factors did Asch investigate
-Group Size
-Unanimity/Social Support
-Task Difficulty
How did Asch investigate if group size had an affect on the participants
He conducted the experiment with different amounts of confederates as the majority
What result did changing the group size have on conformity rates in Asch’s research
-with 2 confederates, the real participant conformed 14% of the critical trials
-with 3 confederates, conformity rose to 32% - after that there were little changes in conformity rates
What can we conclude about whether group size had an affect on conformity
Very small majorities are easier to resist than larger ones, but influence doesn’t keep increasing with the size of majority
How did Asch investigate whether unanimity/social support had an effect on conformity
Rather than the confederates forming unanimous majority, one of the confederates agreed with the real participant
What results did the changes of unanimity have on conformity rates
Having a fellow dissenter meant unanimity in the group was broken. The rates of conformity fell to 5.5%
What can we conclude about whether unanimity affected conformity
It made it easier for participants to resist the pressure to conform
How did Asch investigate whether task difficulty had an effect on conformity
He made the line lengths similar
What results did making the task harder mean for conformity rates
Conformity increased
What can we conclude about whether task difficulty had an effect on conformity
People are more likely to conform if they’re less confident that they’re correct.
What dispositional factors could’ve affected conformity rates in Asch’s research
- Confidence
- Gender
Did confidence affect conformity rates, why?
Yes, if people felt more confident in their judgements, they were more able to resist group pressure
What studies support that confidence decreases conformity
Wiestenthal (1976) - if people felt competent in a task, they were less likely to conform
Perrin and Spencer - Replicated Asch’s study, Participants were engineering students.Conformity levels were lower, could’ve been to the fact that engineering students have more confidence in their skills in making accurate observations.
What was the dominant view about gender and conformity
The dominant view was that women are more likely to conform than males.
What study changed the dominant view about gender and conformity
Eagly and Carli (1981)
What was Eagly and carli
They did a meta-analysis of conformity research. They analysed a number of data from studies x they found some differences in sex for conformity but they were inconsistent.
What did Eagly argue (1987)
Men and womens different socials roles explain differences in conformity. Women are more concerned with group harmony, so are more likely to agree with others.
