Social Influence - Conformity

Question 1

Define the term ‘conformity’

Answer 1

Changes in an individuals behaviour and/or beliefs due to real or imagined group pressure

Question 2

What are the 3 types of conformity?

Answer 2

-compliance
-identification
-internalisation

Question 3

Describe compliance as a type of conformity (3)

Answer 3

-this is most superficial and least permanent change in attitude
-individuals publicly change their beliefs and behaviours to go along with a group and fit in, but in private, revert back to their original belief systems when the group pressure stops. they might not agree with what he group is doing
-Compliance is linked to NSI

Question 4

Describe identification as a type of conformity (3)

Answer 4

-this is a stronger type of conformity involving possible private as well as public acceptance
-this occurs when individuals look to a group for guidance and adjust their behaviour and beliefs because membership of the group is seen as desirable and they take on a role within the group
-when the group is no longer seen as valuable, behaviour might revert back

Question 5

Describe internalisation as a type of conformity (3)

Answer 5

-this is the deepest and most permanent change in attitude
-individuals publicly and privately change their behaviours/belief systems to be in line with the group norm, because we accept their attitudes into our own cognitions (internalise them), behaviour lasts when the majority is no longer present
-internalisation is linked to ISI

Question 6

Define the term Informational Social Influence (3 marks)

Answer 6

-ISI is driven by the desire to be right
-when an individual is unsure (lacks knowledge) about how to behave, they conform by seeking information from the group about how to behave and assume that it is right
-this is a cognitive process and links to internalisation

Question 7

Define the term Normative Social Influence (3 marks)

Answer 7

-NSI is driven by the desire to be liked
-an individual will ‘go along’ with a groups behaviour in order to avoid ridicule, gain acceptance and fit in
-this is an emotional process and links to compliance

Question 8

who conducted research for ISI as an explanation for conformity?

Answer 8

Jenness

Question 9

Who’s aim was to investigate conformity to majority influence in an unambiguous situation?

Answer 9

Jenness

Question 10

Evaluate ISI as an explanation for conformity (summarise)

Answer 10

RTS - Jenness asked ppts to estimate jellybeans in a jar privately, told a group estimate and then a final private estimate. Second estimate was significantly closer to the group estimate
HOWEVER this research lacks ecological validity because it took place in a lab (artificial environment + is difficult to generalise the findings to real life as individuals are more likely to conform in a lab because no consequences

Question 11

Give Research To Support ISI as an explanation of conformity (8)

Answer 11

-3 marks for the definition of ISI
-conducted by Jenness
-asked ppts to individually estimate the number of jellybeans in a jar, then gathered and shared a group estimate then gave them a second private estimate & second estimate was significantly closer to the group estimate
-supports ISI because the task was ambiguous and they were unsure about how to behave so conformed by seeking information from the group.
-individuals changed their estimate publicly and privately to be right

Question 12

Give a counterarguement for ISI as an explanation of conformity

Answer 12

lacks ecological validity as it takes place in an artificial environment (lab) so it is difficult to generalise the findings to real life because in a lab there isn’t consequences for your actions like there is in real life which reduces external validity

Question 13

Evaluate NSI as an explanation of conformity

Answer 13

RTS - Asch- ppts were asked if line a, b or c was the most similar in length to the stimulus line (x). confederates answered first and gave the wrong answer. ppts answered last or second to last and conformed 37% of the time. This supports NSI as the task was unambiguous and ppts stated they knew the answer but changed it to avoid ridicule
HOWEVER
It is gender bias because only males were tested so it is difficult to generalise the findings to women as they might be more conformist as they are more concerned about social roles and being liked by their peers (Neto,1995). NSI explains conformity for females more than for males

Question 14

Give both arguements for the evaluation of ISI as an explanation for conformity

Answer 14

RTS- Jenness, changed estimate of number of jellybeans in the jar
However, it lacks ecological validity as it took place in a lab

Question 15

Give both arguements to evaluate NSI as an explanation of conformity

Answer 15

RTS- Asch’s ppts conformed 37% of the time when the wrong answer was said even though they knew it was wrong
However, it is gender bias as it used a male only sample and Neto suggested women will conform more

Question 16

What was the aim of Asch’s conformity research?

Answer 16

to investigate the effects of a majority on an individuals judgement

Question 17

What was the method in Asch’s research?

Answer 17

Lab experiment

Question 18

What was the sample in Asch’s research?

Answer 18

123 american male students

Question 19

What was the procedure of Asch’s research?

Answer 19

-ppts were individually placed in a group with 7 to 9 confederates
-they were shown two cards, one had the stimulus line (x) and the other had the comparison lines (a, b and c)
-one of the comparison lines was the same length as the stimulus line and the other 2 were clearly different
-ppts were asked which line was the same as the stimulus
-ppts were always last or second to last to answer
-on 12/18 critical trials, confederates gave the identical wrong answer

Question 20

What were the findings of Asch’s research?

Answer 20

on average, ppts gave the wrong answer 37% of the time
post experiment interviews found that the majority of ppts conformed publicly to avoid ridicule but not privately

Question 20

What conclusion came from Asch’s research?

Answer 20

supports NSI as ppts conformed publicly but not privately to be accepted by the group (shown in post experiment interviews+ the unambiguous nature of the task)

Question 20

What are the variables affecting conformity?

Answer 20

-group size
-unanimity
-task difficulty

Question 21

Describe group size as a variable affecting conformity

Answer 21

-conformity rates increase as the size of a majority increases to an extent
-when 1 ppt and 1 confederate conformity = 3%
-when 1 ppt and 2 confederates conformity =13%
-when 1 ppt and 3 confederates conformity=32%
-after this conformity rates plateau

Question 22

Describe unanimity as a variable affecting conformity

Answer 22

-when 1 confederate gave the right answer, conformity was 5.5%
-when a lone confederate gave the complete different answer, conformity was 9%
-when a dissenter breaks the groups unanimity, conformity rates decrease

Question 23

Describe task difficulty as a variable affecting conformity

Answer 23

-asch made stimulus and comparison lines more similar in length so the correct answer was less obvious (ambiguous) and the task was harder
-when difficulty increased, ppts lost confidence in their own ability and looked to others for guidance

Question 24

who conducted the research for variables affecting conformity?

Answer 24

Asch

Question 25

Who conducted research about task difficulty as a variable affecting conformity?

Answer 25

Lucas Et AL

Question 26

Evaluate task difficulty as a variable affecting conformity

Answer 26

RTS= Lucas Et Al. Asked students to solve an ‘easy’ and a ‘hard’ maths problem. They were given three other answers from confederates and they conformed more often when the task was difficult rather than easy. Harder task=increased conformity
HOWEVER Lucas’ study suggests conformity is more complex than asch suggested as it doesn’t consider individual level factors such as high confidence

Question 27

Give the 2 points of view for evaluating task difficulty

Answer 27

1. RTS- Lucas, maths problems
2. Individual level factors

Question 28

Give the 2 points for evaluating ISI

Answer 28

1. Jenness, jellybeans
2. Lacks ecological validity

Question 29

Give the 2 points for evaluating NSI

Answer 29

1. Asch (lines)
2. Gender bias

Question 30

Give the 2 points (weaknesses) for research into variables affecting conformity

Answer 30

• gender bias
  -culture bias

Question 31

What is the aim of Zimbardo’s research?

Answer 31

To investigate how freely people would conform to the role of guard and prisoner in a role playing exercise that recreated prison life

Question 32

Describe Zimbardo’s sample

Answer 32

A volunteer sample of 24 US male ‘emotionally stable’ university students

Question 33

What method did Zimbardo use in his research?

Answer 33

Controlled participant observation

Question 34

Describe Zimbardo’s procedure (how) (7 marks)

Answer 34

-volunteers were randomly allocated to the role of prisoner or guard
-prisoners- arrested at their homes, taken to the prison, searched, deloused and dressed in smock uniforms
-guards- given uniforms, a night stick, ‘mirrored glasses’, instructed o keep prisoners under control without using any physical violence
-uniforms encouraged them to conform as they created a sense of deindividuation
-took place in the basement of the psychology department at Stanford University
-prisoners were placed in cells with regular shifts, mealtimes and visiting hours
-Zimbardo was superintendent

Question 35

Who played superintendent in Zimbardo’s research

Answer 35

Zimbardo

Question 36

What were the findings of Zimbardo’s research

Answer 36

-within a day prisoners rebelled and ripped off their numbers and guards responded by locking them in their cells and confiscating their blankets.
-as the experiment continued, punishments from the guards escalated
-identification was noticeable in prisoners as they decided referring to each other with their numbers rather than their names
-five prisoners were released early due to showing symptoms of psychological or disturbances
-The role-play was supposed to run for two weeks, but it was called off after six days

Question 37

What was the conclusion in Zimbardo’s research?

Answer 37

-guards, prisoners and researchers conformed
-social roles have an extraordinary power over individuals making even the most well-adjusted capable of extreme brutality towards other

Question 38

Give the key points for evaluating Zimbardo’s research

Answer 38

-high control over extraneous variables
-gender bias
-major ethical issues
-prone to demand characteristics (they were getting payed and Zimbardo was superintendent)