social influence-conformity Flashcards
what is conformity
a type of social influence which creates a change in behaviour or beliefs in an individual so they can fit in with a certain group
also refered as majority influence
why do people change their attitudes/behaviours
-due to exposure to the majority position
-real or imagined group pressure
-the pressure of societal norms
-general aspiration to achieve a level of success
how is conformity beneficial
-it helps society to function
-maintains law and order
how is conformity detrimental
-reduces your independence/expression
-may conform to bad behaviour
what is complience
-where an individual changes their belief to fit in with the group
-this involves puplic acceptence of the groups behaviour but they may privately dissagree
-if is a superficial level of conformity and are only lasting as long as the group is present
-it is often due to a desire to fit in/avoid social dissapproval
-it is linked to NSI
what is identification
-when individuals change their behaviour and opinions because the membership of the group is desirable
-they like/value the group so want to be similar to them eg-take on behaviour, attitudes
- deeper level of conformity as it involves private as well as public acceptance
-the effects are only temporary if the individual is no longer a member of the group there beliefs may return to normal
what is internalisation
-deepest level of conformity as they change both their public and private behaviour
-this will lead to a permanent change in opinion as the individual genuinely believes the group to be correct
-the new behaviour will remain even in the absence of the group
-it linked to ISI
the table
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what is normative social influence (NSI)
-people conform due there desire to be liked/accepted
-they want to gain approval from other and avoid being different
what is informational social influence (ISI)
-when someone conforms because they don’t know what to do but want to be correct
-they follow the majority because they assume they are correct
-in situations that are ambiguous we look to those we believe have superior knowledge
-this is more likely to lead to a permanent change
linked to
internalization
what was jenness procedure
support for ISI
101 university students were recruited as participants
they were told they were undergoing a test of ability
they were presented with a sealed jar of beans and asked to make an individual private estimate of the number of beans in the jar
They were then assigned to a large or small group to discuss their estimates and come to a group estimate. A control group did not take part in any discussions before giving a final estimate .
participants then made a second individual private estimate
what were the findings of Jenness proceduce
individuals second private estimate tend to converge towards the group estimate -this demonstrates the power of conformity in ambiguous situations
what type of conformity were shown by Jenness participants and what is an explanation for this conformity
internalisation
ISI
how did Jenness study lack population validity
the only subjects that took part in this experiment were college students . They represent a highly select group restricted as to
age, social status, intelligence and interests
it doesn’t represent wider population (only college students) so cant generalize to wider population
how does Jenness study lack ecological validity
it lacks mundane realism as its an artificial situation as people would usually consult with friends before guessing jellybeans in a jar
how does Jenness study lack ethics
as they were under the impression it was a test of ability
this means they were deceived as it was actually about conformity This means they may start displaying demand characteristics which could affect validity
what type of conformity is shown in Jenness study
NSI-as participants were placed into groups and wanted to be liked
ISI-as they wanted to be right about the number of jellybeans
what was the procedure of Asch’s experiment
support for NSI
123 male participants from Swarthmore college volunteered to take part in task of visual perception (in uni you’re forced to volunteer)
participants were placed in a group with 7 confederates. They were all seated around a table looking at a display. The genuine participant was the 7th or 8th to be seated and to give their answer on a task
in turns the participants had to say which out of the 3 lines was the same the same as the stimulus line X. The correct answer was unambiguous
12 out of the 18 critical trials (the ones that were recorded) the confederated gave the same incorrect answer unanimously
the experimental group was compared to a performance in a control group in which there were no confederates (all true participants)
what in the purpose of a control condition
so we have a baseline group to compare against
in aschs study how many people conformed once in a critical trial
75%
shows the majority of people readily conform to a group
how many conformed on all 12 critical trials
5%
this suggests there were individual differences in the extent to which people conformed
what was the mean average of conformity across all critical trials
32% compared to 0.04% in the control condition
people are likely to conform to a majority even when the task is clear suggesting we conform to fit in
as Asch’s task was unambiguous what conformity is this an example of
NSI- as we aren’t conforming to be right
why did participants give the wrong answer in Aschs study
they said in the debriefing that they yielded to the majority influence as they DIDNT WANT TO STAND OUT
some believed their perception was wrong/doubted the accuracy of their own judgement
what is the original level of confomity in Aschs study
32%
in the variation what happened to conformity when the number of confederates was 2 instead of 7
12.8%
in the variation what happened when the confederates weren’t unanimous and one confederate gave the same answer as the genuine participant or different from the majority
5% as you now have a dissenting ally
in the variation what happened when Asch made the correct answer less obvious (more ambiguous) by having lines of similar length
didnt report
Conformity would increase
how was Aschs study high in internal validity
he used a laboratory experiment which meant there was high levels of control over extraneous variables
he was able to control where participants were seated and the incorrect answers confederates gave
therefore cause and effect relationship can be established between the confederates and participants behavior. Participants were conforming due to the presence of the confederates
how did aschs study lack ecological validity
participants were placed in an a unfamiliar group of strangers (confederates). The line task is an artificial task which does not reflect conformity in real life
therefore the results cannot be generalized to real life and are limited in their application to real life
how does aschs sample lack population validity
they were only male-cant generalize to females
only American and individualistic cultures-cant generalize to other collectivist/other cultures
how is Aschs study unethical
he told the it was a task of visual perception
he didn’t know the other participants were confederates
he gave the psychological harm as they were doubting their own judgement which made them stress/discomfort
however if he told them the truth the study would’ve lacked validity
what did perrin and spencer find in regards to Aschs stiudy
they replicated Aschs study research using British engineering, chemistry and math students. They only found 1 conforming response in 396 trials. They concluded that Aschs study could be criticized as being a child of its time
evaluation points of perrin and spencers study
-it was conducted in 1980-they could be familiar with Aschs study and displaying demand characteristics which could affect validity
-they are engineering, chemistry and math students who are taught to be confident in their answers
-it lack population validity
-Aschs study was conducted in the mcarthysim period when people were scared to be different which could be why they conformed. His study was only valid for that time (child of its time)
what is an individualistic culture
where they only care about themselves/wester culture
-focussed on independence
what is a collectivist culture
care about other/family unit/eastern culture
interdependence
what is cultural relativism
the idea that cultural norms and values are culture specific and no one culture is superior to another culture
what is meta analysis
when researchers collect a range of research that was previously conducted in a specific area (look up on teams)
what did smith et al see
he used meta-analysis to review studies that had used Aschs procedure and found that average conformity rate in collectivist cultures is 37% compared to individualistic cultures which was 25%
what are social roles
social roles are the parts individuals play as members of a social group
what are social norms
expected ways for people in that role to behave
how do individuals conform to social norms
individuals look to the social roles played by others and conform to these expectations.
what type of conformity is conformity to social roles an example of
identification-it is temporary when they are no longer in that group/social role they act different
why did people think riots were rife in the 60s and 70s
due to the nature of the type of people that became guards and the type of people that became prisoners -> known as a dispositional hypothesis
what is meant by a dispositional hypothesis
within the individual
what is meant by a situational hypothesis
due to the environment/situation they are in
two aims of Zimbardo’s study
To test if prison brutality was because of the personality of the guards all because they are conforming to social roles
procedure of zimbardos study
75 male students from the US and Canada, who were all living in the Stanford area of California volunteered to take part in a study of prison life, they were told they would be payed $15 per day
-they underwent a series of assessments from which 21 students were rated the most physically and mentally stable were selected to take part
-they were believed to be the most mature and free from anti-social and criminal tendencies
strength of Zimbardo’s sample
-all underwent assessments to ensure mental stability-they were protected from harm
weakness of Zimbardo’s sample
-only males
-all from stanford(lacked population validity)
how were they allocated prisoner and guard
randomly allocated
10 guards 11 prisoners
why is random allocation to the roles of prisoner and guard a strength
reduces researcher bias which could affect validity
why is is a concern that Zimbardo played prison superintendent
investigator effects
what was the basement of the psychology department converted into
a mock prison with consisting of 3 cells with steel bar doors
why is it a concern that they used a mock prison
as the participants know its not a real prison so could start displaying demand characteristics
there was a room with video recording equipment to record transactions between the participants
people in the past and present times can observe behaviour it allows us to consistently check data
arrest of the prisoners
-prisoners were arrested by local police at there homes and charged with suspicion of burglary or armed robbery
they were handcuffed searched and blindfolded and taken to Stanford university
when they arrived at the “prison” they were deloused, stripped and searched
they were fingerprinted, given a prison outfit and given a number which they were called for the rest of their duration
guards
they wore khaki uniform were given reflective sunglasses keys handcuffs and truncheons
they were told to maintain order but were not given exact instructions however they were told physical punishments weren’t allowed
prisoner were placed in a cell and routines of mealtimes, shifts and visiting times was established
three guards worked an 8 hour shift and conducted a prisoner count where they recited their identification number
after 36 1 prisoner was released because of fits of crying/rage
3 more developed similar symptoms and were released
the 5th developed a severe rash when his parole was declined
the study was cut short after 6 days when Zimbardo realised the extent of harm that was occurring due to the guards aggressive nature
-this shows they werent protected from harm
what were the findings of zimbardos experiement
-prisoners and guards settled quickly into their roles
an initial prisoner rebellion was crushed
the guards began to inflict dehumanising punishments on the prisoners eg-placed in isolation and given boring meaningless tasks to do
the prisoners became submissive and unquestioning
what does Zimbardo’s study suggest about conformity to social roles
what does this suggest about group identity
due to situational factors as they haven’t previously displayed these behaviours. However individual differences also plays a role as there were some good guards and some sadistic guards
being part of a group leads to higher levels of conformity
how was Zimbardo’s study reliable
as it was conducted in a laboratory setting with strong controls over variables
eg-all having the same experience of being stripped arrested and given a number
-this is good as they can repeat the experiment and test reliability
how does Zimbardo’s study have applications to real life
it can show show extreme violence in prisoner can occur and can help us understand how to reduce this between prisoners and guards
-it has led to the reform of real prisons eg-juveniles accused of federal crime are no longer housed with adult prisoners before trial (due to risk of violence against them)
most of the guards claimed they were simply acting. because they were playing a role their behaviour may not be influenced by the same factors which affect behaviour irl
why is this a weakness
as they were displaying demand characteristics which affects validity
how did zimbardos study lack population validity
as there were only males from an individualistic america/canada culture from the stanford area
how did Zimbardo breach ethics and how did he justify this
he didn’t terminate the experiment when participants were showing signs of extreme stress
he did follow the ethical guidelines at the time eg-informed consent and debriefed his participants
what did reicher and haslam find
they replicated the Sanford prison experiment but with 15 male participants
they were divided into 5 groups of 3 people
the 3 were matched as closely as possible on key personality variables
from each group 1 was randomly chosen to be a guard whilst the 2 others were prisoners
-in contrast to Zimbardo’s experiment the participants did not automatically conform to their roles
the prisoners identified as a group and worked collectively to challenge the authority of the guards
the guards were also reluctant to impose their authority on the prisoners which led to a shift in power and collapse of the prison-guard system
how did reicher and haslam disprove zimbardos findings
in zimbardos experiment there were good guards and sadistic guards reicher and haslam thinks this shows participants chose hoe to behave (dispositional) rather than blindly conforming to their social role
what did banuazizi and movahedi argue
that the behvaiour of the guards and prisoners was due to demand charcateristics as they were dressed in eg-reflectivive sunglasses and truchons.
when they presented the details of the procedure to students who had never heard of the study the vast majority guessed the purpose was to see if ordinary people assigned to the role of guard and prisoner would act like real guards and prisoners
this means the study lack validity
what did zimbardo claim about abu gharib
that the us soldiers were victims of situational factors eg-lack of training and relentless boredom that made abuses more likely
he served as an expert witness
