Social Influence - Conformity Flashcards

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1
Q

What is conformity?

A
  • form of social influence that results from exposure to the majority position and leads to compliance with that position
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2
Q

What are the three types of conformity?

A
  • Kelman (1958) proposed three types of conformity
  • compliance:
    • when an individual changes their views/behaviour so that they are in line with the majority
    • they change their views publicly but not privately
    • temporary/superficial form of conformity
  • internalisation:
    • similar to compliance but individuals believe that the majority is correct
    • they accept the majority’s view both publicly and privately
    • deeper/more permanent form of conformity
  • identification:
    • where an individual conforms to the opinions of the group as there is something about the group that they value
    • they identify with the group and feel that they are similar, so they change their views to be a part of it
    • they may agree with the group publicly but disagree privately
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3
Q

What are the explanations for conformity?

A
  • Deutsch and Gerard (1955) developed a two-process theory:
    • desire to be right (ISI)
    • desire to be accepted (NSI)
  • informational social influence (ISI):
    • where an individual conforms as they are unsure of the correct answer/how to behave
    • most likely when:
    • situation is ambiguous/difficult or complex/a crisis (rapid action)
    • individual believes others to be experts
    • likely to lead to internalisation
  • normative social influence (NSI):
    • where an individual conforms as they feel the need to fit in/to be liked and accepted
    • likely to occur:
    • in a situation with strangers (fear of rejection)
    • stressful situations (greater need for social support)
    • likely to lead to compliance
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4
Q

What are the strengths of explanations for conformity?

A
  • research support:
    • ISI : Lucas (2006) asked students to give answers to mathematical problems
    • conformity rates increased as difficulty of the questions increased (students felt that their mathematical skills were poor)
    • supports the idea that ISI is more likely to occur when the situation is ambiguous/difficult
    • NSI : Asch (1951) found that many ppts went with a clearly incorrect answer because others did
    • these ppts feared rejection so agreed with the wrong answer
    • the answers to the questions were not ambiguous and yet the ppts still conformed
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5
Q

What are the weaknesses of explanations for conformity?

A
  • individual differences in NSI and ISI:
    • not every individual shows NSI
    • e.g. nAffiliators are more likely to conform as they have a greater need for being in a relationship with people
    • McGhee and Teevan (1967) supported this idea
    • lacks population validity
    • ISI does not affect everyone’s behaviour in the same way
    • e.g. Asch (1955) found that students (28%) were not as conformist as office workers (37%)
    • so even in ambiguous situations we don’t always look to others for support
  • ISI and NSI may work together rather than separately
    • both processes may be involved in explaining conformity
    • e.g. conformity rates decreased when there was one dissenting ppt
    • dissenter may reduce power of both NSI (social support) or ISI (alternative source of information)
    • not always clear whether ISI or NSI is at work in situations
  • many supporting studies lack ecological validity
    • most of the studies are carried out in lab conditions
    • so the ppts behaviour in the lab may not reflect their behaviour in the real world
    • e.g. Asch’s study involved judging the length of lines which is something that would rarely take place in real life
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6
Q

What was the aim of Jenness’ (1932) study?

A
  • to examine whether individuals would change their opinion in an ambiguous situation, in response to group discussion
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7
Q

What was the procedure/result of Jenness’ study?

A
  • procedure:
    • an ambiguous situation that involved a glass bottle with 811 white beans
    • 26 ppts (students) were asked to estimate how many beans the glass bottle contained
    • they were then put into groups of 3 and asked to give a group estimate
    • the ppts were then given the chance to individually estimate the number (to see if they would change their original answer)
  • results:
    • nearly all ppts changed their original answer
    • male ppts changed their answer by 256 beans
    • female ppts changed their answer by 382 beans
    • range went from 1,875 to 474 (-75%)
    • the ppts changed their initial estimate due to ISI
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8
Q

What was the aim of Sherif’s (1935) study?

A
  • to demonstrate that people conform to group norms when they are put into an ambiguous situation
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9
Q

What was the procedure/result of Sherif’s study?

A
  • part 1:
    • he used the autokinetic effect (small spot of light projected onto a screen in a dark, it appears to move even though it is still)
    • when ppts were individually tested and their answers varied considerably (20cm-80cm)
    • ppts were then tested in groups of 3 (2 had similar estimates)
    • each said their estimate out aloud
  • results:
    • multiple groups converged to a common estimate
    • the one with a greatly different estimate conformed to the view of the other two ppts
  • part 2:
    • ppts started off in groups and agreed on a group answer
    • when asked individually, their answers were very similar to the group norm
    • suggests that they had internalised the group norm
  • when put in an ambiguous situation, an individual will look to others for guidance
  • they observe others to provide the appropriate information
  • demonstrates ISI
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10
Q

What was the aim of Asch’s (1951)?

A
  • to investigate the extent to which individuals would conform to a majority who gave obviously wrong answers in a non-ambiguous situation
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11
Q

What was the procedure/result of Asch’s study?

A
  • procedure:
    • 123 male US undergraduates took part in a ‘line judgement’ test (with up to 8 confederates)
    • each person had to state out aloud which line matched the target line
    • the real ppt sat either last/second last
    • there were 18 trials and in 12 critical trials, the confederates gave the incorrect answer
    • also a control condition with only the ‘real ppt’
  • results:
    • 12 critical trials = one third (32-36%) of the ppts conformed to the incorrect majority
    • 75% of ppts conformed at least once, 25% did not conform at all
    • control group = less than 1% gave the incorrect answer
  • Asch interviewed the ppts and most said that they knew the answer was incorrect but still went along with the group to fit in
  • demonstrates NSI/compliance due to their desire to fit in publicly without changing their private views
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12
Q

What are the variables affecting conformity?

A
  • group size:
    • one/two confederates = very little conformity
    • three confederates = conformity rates went to 30%
    • further increase in the majority did not increase conformity rates
    • Campbell and Fairey (1989) argued that group size would have an effect depending on the judgement being made
    • e.g. ambiguous = following majority, non-ambiguous = to fit in with the group
  • unanimity of the majority:
    • high conformity rates when everyone in the majority group agreed with the same answer
    • one confederate (correct answer) = 33% to 5.5%
    • one confederate (incorrect answer) = dropped to 9%
    • one break in the unanimous decision causes a drop in conformity rates
  • task difficulty:
    • increased difficulty (smaller difference between lines) = level of conformity increased
    • Lucas (2006) found that high self-efficacy (more confident in carrying out tasks) ppts remained more independent that ppts of low self-efficacy and were less likely to conform
    • shows how situational differences and personality differences are both important in determining conformity
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13
Q

What are the (strengths)/weaknesses of Asch’s studies/variables affecting conformity?

A
  • lacks temporal validity:
    • Perin and Spencer (1980) repeated his study (engineering students) and found that only 1 student conformed in a total of 396 trials
    • these students may have been more confident measuring lines than Asch’s sample or the 1950s was an especially conformist decade
    • shows that Asch’s study is not consistent across situations/time
  • artificial situation and task:
    • ppts may have shown demand characteristics
    • this task/the groups (according to Fiske (2014)) do not resemble every day life so the results cannot be generalised to real life situations
    • shows how it lacks ecological validity
  • limited application of findings:
    • the ppts were all men so the findings may not apply to women
    • Neto (1995) argued that women may be more conformist than men as they are concerned about social relationships
    • Bond and Smith (1996) pointed out that ppts in Asch’s study (US) were seen as an individualistic culture
      - when repeated in China (collectivist culture), conformity rates were higher as they are more orientated to group needs
    • shows how Asch’s research lacks population validity
  • ethical issues:
    • the main ethical issue was the use of deception
    • e.g. the ppts were not aware that the group had confederates, who purposely gave incorrect answers on 12/18 trials
    • deception could lead to psychological harm (confused/possibly stressed)
    • despite him debriefing his ppts at the end, it may not justify the decker used in the study
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14
Q

What is conformity to social roles?

A
  • where an individual conforms to the expectations of a particular social role/behaved in a way which is expected of that role (e.g. cashier in a bank is expected to be polite)
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15
Q

What was the aim of Zimbardo’s (1974) study?

A
  • to investigate how readily people would conform to the roles of guard and prisoner in a role-playing exercise that stimulated prison life
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16
Q

What was the method/procedure of Zimbardo’s study?

A
  • more than 70 ppts volunteered to take part in this study of psychological effects of prison life
  • they were all given diagnostic interviews/personality tests to eliminate those with psychological problems, medical disabilities, or a history of crime/drug abuse
  • 24 male college students (paid $15 per day)
  • randomly assigned the role of prisoner or guard (2 reserves and 1 dropped out)
  • 10 prisoners and 11 guards
    • guards worked in sets of 3 (8-hour shifts)
    • prisoners were housed 3 to a room (included a solitary confinement cell for those who misbehaved)
  • prisoners were arrested at their own homes, fingerprinted, photographed, and ‘booked’
  • they were then blindfolded and taken to the mock prison at Stanford University (where the deindividuation process began)
  • the prisoners were stripped naked, deloused, and given prison clothes/uniform (referred by their number only which dehumanised them)
  • all guards wore identical khaki uniforms, carried a whistle and wore special sunglasses (tinted to avoid eye contact with prisoners)
  • the guards were instructed to do whatever they thought was necessary to maintain law and order (no physical violence was permitted)
  • ** Zimbardo also took part in the experiment and acted as a prison warden/superintendent **
17
Q

What were the results of Zimbardo’s study?

A
  • both the prisoners/guards quickly idnetified with their social roles
    • guards dehumanised the prisoners and grew increasingly abusive towards them
    • the prisoners become increasingly submissive (identifying further with their subordinate role)
    • as prisoners became more submissive, the guards became more assertive (demanded even greater obedience from the prisoners)
  • 5 prisoners were released from the experiment due to the physical/mental torment (led to crying and extreme anxiety)
  • experiment was terminated on day 6 (supposed to run for 2 weeks)
  • 1 prisoner was released after 36 hours because of uncontrollable burst of screaming, crying, and anger
  • he appeared to be entering the early stages of a deep depression
  • shows that people quickly conform to social roles even if it goes against their moral principles
  • situational factors are largely responsible for their behaviour as none of the ppts had ever demonstrated these behaviours previously
18
Q

What are the strengths of the SPE (Zimbardo) study?

A
  • good level of control over variables:
    • e.g. they chose the most emotionally stable male ppts
    • each ppt was randomly assigned the role of prisoner/guard so there was no experimenter bias
    • this increases the internal validity of the study
  • good application (Abu Ghraib):
    • 2003-4 = USA Military Police committed serious human rights violations against Iraqi prisoners
    • Zimbardo argues that the results of the SPE was also present in the Abu Ghraib
    • he believed that the prisoners were actually victims of the situational factors at the time
    • the lack of training, unrelenting boredom, and no accountability to higher authorities were present in both prisons
19
Q

What are the weaknesses of the SPE (Zimbardo) study?

A
  • lack of research support:
    • Reicher and Haslam (2006) partially replicated the SPE (BBC Prison Study)
    • their findings were very different to Zimbardo’s
    • in this case, the prisoners took control of the mock prison/harassed and disobeyed the guards
    • SIT (Social Identity Theory) was used to explain this outcome
    • e.g. the guards had failed to develop a shared identity as a cohesive group
    • the prisoners had actively refused to accept the limits of their assigned role as prisoners
  • ethical issues:
    • ZImbardo’s dual roles in the study raised some ethical problems
    • e.g. his role as both the experimenter and the prison warden
    • 1 prisoner begged to be released from the prison and instead of Zimbardo responding as a responsible researcher, he stayed in his role as a superintendent
    • deception/the lack of informed consent of the prisoners
    • e.g. they did not know that they would be arrested in their own homes
    • the psychological distress caused by this would have scarred the ppts
    • ** Zimbardo held extensive group and individual debriefing sessions and returned post-experimental questionnaires at weekly, monthly, and yearly intervals **