Social influence - conformity Flashcards
What is conformity
Change in behaviour/beliefs in response to pressure from other people in a group
What are the 3 types of conformity
Compliance, identification, internalisation
What is compliance
Publicly go along with majority view but privately disagree with it
What is identification
Adopt group behaviour while not necessarily agreeing with it
What is internalisation
Take on expressed view publicly and privately
What are the durations of the 3 types of conformity
Compliance - temporary
Identification - as long as the group membership
Internalisation - permanent
What was the aim of Asch’s study
Degree of conformity to majority that give an obviously incorrect answer
What was the procedure of Asch’s study
123 American student volunteers placed individually around a table of confederates. Task was to state what comparison line (ABC) was the same length as stimulus line. 12 critical trials where confederates gave the same incorrect answer, pt gave answer second to last
What were the findings of Asch’s study
Error rate of 0.04% in control group, so answers were obvious. 32% conformity rate on 12 critical trials. 75% conformed at least once. 5% conformed to every possible answer
What were the conclusions of Asch’s study
Majority has significant effects on majority even in obvious situations (NSI)
What is a confederate
A person who is an actor in the study and plays a role which is instructed by the experimenter
What are the 3 variations of Asch’s study
Group size, unanimity, task difficulty
What were the variations in group size Asch used
1-15 confederates, 6-8 in original study
What were the results of Asch’s original study, and the variations of 1, 2, 3 and 15 confederates
Original (6-8) - 32% conformity rate
1 confederate - 3%
2 confederate - 12.8%
3 confederate - 32% (majority created)
15 confederate 29% (became suspicious)
What was the variations in unanimity Asch used
1 confederate always gave correct answer, 1 confederate gave the other incorrect answer. All unanimously incorrect originally
What were the results of Asch’s original study, and the variations in confederate unanimity
Original (all incorrect) - 32% conformity
1 correct - 5%
1 the other incorrect choice - 9%
What were the variations in task difficulty used in Asch’s study
Line length distance shortened (harder)
What was the results of Asch’s task difficulty variation of shorter distance between lines and why
Conformity increased due to ISI, as pts look for guidance when task is harder
What is normative social influence (NSI)
Conforming to be liked and avoid rejection
What is informational social influence (ISI)
Conforming to be right about something
What is contradictory research to Asch’s unanimity variation
Moscovici (1969)
What was the procedure of Moscovici’s study to contradict Asch’s unanimity variation
172 females pts - colour perception. Groups of 6 (2 confederates) shown 36 shades of blue. Had to state colour out load, condition 1 confederates said all slides were green, condition 2 confederates said 24/12 were green and the rest blue
What were the findings of Moscovici’s study to contradict Asch’s unanimity variation
Condition 1, 8.2% of pts agreed, condition 2, 1.25%
What form of conformity does ISI lead to
Internalisation
What form of conformity does NSI lead to
Compliance
What was Zimbardo’s experiment
Prison experiment into conformity to social roles
What was the procedure of Zimbardo’s prison experiment
Mock prison using pts of emotionally stable student volunteers. Randomly assigned guards/prisoners. Prisoners were arrested and given uniform and number to de individualise. Guards had uniform and wooden clubs and had complete power over prisoners
What were the findings of Zimbardo’s prison experiment
Prisoners rebelled after 2 days and were frequently harrassed, became anxious and psychologically disturbed, 5 pts had to leave early, experiment lasted 6 out of 14 original days due to aggression and brutality from guards. Both groups were later surprised about their own behaviours
