social influence-conformity Flashcards
Asch’s line study aims
measure the extent that people conformed to the opinion of others, even when other’s answers were completely wrong
what were Asch’s findings?
- naive participants conformed 36.8% of the time
-high level of conformity when situation unambiguous
-individual differences 25% never gave wrong answer
-75% conformed at least once
variables investigated by Asch
-group size
-unanimity
-task difficulty
procedure for investigating group size Asch
varied no. of confederates in each group so group size between 2-16
findings of investigating group size Asch
-two confederates, conformity to wrong answer was 13.6% when three confederates conformity rose to 31.8%
-above three confederates conformity rate levelled off. more than three made little difference
what’s Asch’s explanation for the role of group size in obedience?
people very sensitive to opinion of others as one confederate enough to sway opinion
what’s the procedure for investigating unanimity (Asch)?
dissenting confederate who sometimes correct answer sometimes wrong but always disagreed with majority
findings for investigating unanimity Asch
-conformity reduced on average to less than a quarter of the level it was when majority was unanimous
-conformity reduced if dissenter gave right or wrong answer
what role does the dissenting peer play for role of unanimity (Asch)?
having a dissenter enable the naive participant to behave more independently
what’s the procedure for task difficulty (Asch)?
-line-judging task harder as stimulus line and comparison lines more similar in length
-difficult to see the differences between lines
findings for task difficulty Asch
conformity increased
explanation of obedience in task difficulty (Asch)?
-situation more ambiguous so more likely to look for guidance and to assume they are right and we are wrong
-ISI plays a greater role when task gets harder
ao3 asch task artificial
-p’s knew they were in a study, demand characteristics
-task was trivial so no reason not to conform
-Fike (2014) argued ‘Asch’s groups were not very groupy’ (not like real-life groups)
-findings do not generalise to everyday life
ao3 little application
-only American men were tested
-Neto (1995) suggested women might be more conformist possible bc more concerned about social relationships
-also US an individualist culture and studies in collectivist cultures (i.e. China) found higher conformity rates (Bond and Smith 1996)
-Asch’s findings tell us little about conformity in some and people from some cultures.
ao3 empirical evidence
-Lucas et al. (2006) asked p’s to solve ‘easy’ and ‘hard’ maths problems
-p’s were given answers that (falsely) claimed to be from three other students
-p’s conformed more often when the problems were harder
-Asch was correct that task difficulty is one variable affecting conformity
what was Asch’s line study’s procedure?
-shown two cards on one was a ‘standard line’ on other were three comparison lines
-one of the lines same length other two were clearly different
-each member of group stated which line matched the standard
how many and who were the participants in Asch’s study?
123 american males
in what size groups and in what order were p’s tested in Asch’s study?
individually, or sitting last/ next-to-last in groups of 6-8 confederates
internalisation definition
-think group is right
publicly changing behaviour to fit in with the group and agreeing with them privately too (internalise the behaviour)
how permanent is internalisation?
usually permanent, persists in the absence of group members as attitude has become how the person thinks (internalised)
identification definition
-value the group
conforming to expectations of a social role but our private views remain the same. only while in the presence of the group
compliance definition
-temporary agreement
publicly changing behaviour to fit in and private views disagree with behaviour of the group
conformity definition
change in behaviour or opinions as a result of real or imagined pressure. it is a group influence
informational social influence
-desire to be right
-based on the need to be right
-often uncertain about what behaviour was right or wrong
-look to what others are doing and conform
-both publicly conform and privately agree- known as a conversion. permanent
normative social influence
-desire to behave like others, not look foolish, do the norm
-based on need to be accepted
-belonging to the the group could be rewarding, or not belonging could lead to punishment
-publicly conform but privately disagree and keep their old attitudes
where’s NSI most likely?
-mostly likely in unfamiliar situations and with people you know
-don’t know the norms so look to others about how to behave
-with strangers as don’t want to be rejected or friends as want social approval
-nsi leads to compliance
where’s ISI most likely
-in situations that are ambiguous
-when not clear what is right
-may happen when decisions have to be made quickly when we assume the group is likely to be right
ao3 of NSI: supportive empirical evidence
-asch (1951) found many p’s conformed rather than give correct answer as afraid of disapproval
-when p’s wrote down answers conformity fell to 12.5%
-shows conformity desire to not be rejected by group for disagreeing
ao3 of ISI: supportive empirical evidence
-Lucas et al. (2006) found p’s conformed more to incorrect answers when maths problems were difficult
-for hard problems the situation was ambiguous so relied on the answers given
-supports ISI and as results are what it would predict
ao3 of NSI: individual differences
-some people concerned about being liked- nAffiliators who have a strong need for ‘affiliation’
-McGhee and Teen (1967) found students who were nAffiliators were more likely to conform
-shows NSI underlies conformity for some people more than others
two process theory
Deutsch and Gerard (1955)
-brought NSI and ISI together
-argued people conform because of two basic human needs: the need to be liked (ISI) and the need to be right (NSI)
Zimbardo (1973) SPE: procedure
-mock prison in basement of psychology department at stanford uni investigate effect of social roles on conformity
-21 male student volunteers w/ psychological testing to determine they’re ‘emotionally stable’
-randomly allocated to guard or prisoner
-prisoners strip-searched
-prisoners given a number
-uniforms to encourage de-individuation
-prisoners told couldn’t leave as would have to ask for parole
-guards were told they had complete power over prisoners
Zimbardo (1973) SPE: findings
-guards played their role enthusiastically and treated prisoners harshly
-prisoners rebelled within two days ripped uniforms shouted and swore at guards
-guards retaliated with fire extinguishers and harassed the prisoners
-after rebellion was put down prisoners became anxious and depressed
-three prisoners were released early as they showed signs of psychological disturbance
-one prisoner went on hunger strike guards attempted to force feed him and punished him by putting him in ‘the hole’
Zimbardo SPE how long did it last?
6 days instead of planned 14
Zimbardo (1973) SPE: conclusion
social roles powerful influences on behaviour- most conformed strongly to their role
-guards became brutal, prisoners became submissive
ao3 of Zimbardo SPE: highly controlled
-emotionally-stable participants were recruited and randomly allocated the roles of guard or prisoner
-roles by chance so behaviour was due to the role itself and not their personality
-control increases the internal validity so more confident in conclusions drawn
ao3 of Zimbardo SPE: lacked mundane realism
-Banuazizi and Mohavedi (1975) suggested p’s were play-acting and their performances reflected stereotypes
-one guard based his character on film Cool Hand Luke
-prisoners rioted as they what they through real ones did
-so SPE tells us little about conformity to social roles in actual prisons
counterpoint to mundane realism in Zimbadro (SPE)
-p’s behaved as if prison was real, 90% of conversations ab prison life, prisoner 416 believed it was a prison run by psychologists
-suggests SPE replicated roles of guard and prisoner just as in a real prison, increasing internal validity
ao3 of SPE: Zimbardo exaggerated the power of roles
-Fromm (1973) argued power of social roles to influence behaviour exaggerated
-only a third of guards behaved brutally. another third applied rules fairly and other third supported the prisoners giving them cigarettes and other privileges
-SPE overstates the view that guards were conforming to a brutal role and minimised dispositional influences (e.g. personality)
