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
