Social Influence 2 Flashcards
What is the definition of conformity?
The tendency to adopt the behaviour, attitudes and values of other members of a group as a result of a real or imagined pressure to do so - Zimbardo (1995).
What are the three types of conformity?
Compliance, internalisation and identification.
What is compliance?
The weakest level of conformity. Individuals adjust their behaviour because the seek approval. Public (not private) conformity, only shown in the presence of a group.
What is an example of compliance?
Claiming to support a certain football team because many of your friends do and you do not want to be ridiculed by them.
What is identification?
A modified level of conformity. Confirming to seek approval from other members of a group because you value that group. Involves public and private conformity, but is only temporary because it is not maintained when an individual leaves the group.
What is an example of identification?
Soldiers in the army adopt the behaviour of fellow soldiers, but when leaving the army for civilian live, new behaviour later and opinions will be adopted.
What is internalisation?
The deepest level of conformity. It is public and private m, and it is permanent, even in the absence of a group.
What is an example of internalisation?
Becoming a vegetarian because your roommate is a vegetarian.
What are the of the explanations for conformity?
ISI - informational social influence.
NSI - normative social influence.
What is ISI?
Informational social influence - the desire and need to be ‘right’. Looking to others for guidance in how to be correct.
What is NSI?
Normative social influence - a motivational force to be liked and accepted by a group, the desire and need to be ‘liked’.
Why kind of social influence was Asch (1951) line judgment experiment testing?
Normative social influence.
What was the aim of Asch (1951) line judgement experiments?
To investigate the degree to which individuals would create conform to a majority who gave obviously wrong answers.
What was the procedure of Asch’d (1951) line judgement experiment?
123 American males took part in an experiment which they thought would be about visual perception. Each real participants was put in to a group with between 7 and 9 participants (confederates). There were two cards: a standard card and a comparison card. The standard card has 1 line, and the comparison card had 3 lines labelled A, B and C. The participants were asked to say which line, A, B and C, was the same as the line on the standard card. There were 18 trails, and in 12 of them, all the confederates gave identical wrong answers, and the naive participants gave their answers last or last but one.
What were the findings of Asch’s (1951) line judgement experiment?
Participants gave the wrong answer 37% of the time, and 75% of all participants conformed at least once. 5% of participants conformed to all 12 wrong answers.
After Asch’s (1951) line judgement experiment, what did participants admit to?
The fact that they know they were wrong but did not want the other participants to disapprove of them.
What were the negatives of Asch’s (1951) line judgement experiment?
- Low ecological validity.
- Low population validity.
- Not ethical because participants were deceived.
What were the positives of Asch’s (1951) line judgement experiment?
+It is reliable because it was done in a laboratory setting so all control variables were controlled.
What were the findings and conclusion of Lucas’ (2006) per conformity in maths experiment?
He found that participants were more likely to conform when faced with a harder maths problem, especially those participants who doubted their mathematical ability. He concluded that people look to others when in an unknown situation for guidance as to what the right answer is.
What was Sherif’s auto kinetic effect experiment? (1935).
A small spot of light in a dark room is projected on to a screen and it appears to move, but is an optical illusion. He found that when alone, the estimates for how far the light travelled varied, but when in a group, estimates converged to a common estimate.
Where were the three situational variables used in Asch’s (1951) experiment?
Group size, presence of an ally and task difficulty.
How does group size affect conformity?
When the task was undertaken with a larger majority l, conformity rates increased up to a certain point.
How does presence of an ally affect conformity?
Presence of an ally decreases conformity rates.
How does task difficulty affect conformity?
Conformity rates are higher when the task difficulty is higher (ISI is the dominant force).
