Social Influence: Explanations of Conformity

Question 1

Asch’s study only used males in the sample for his experiment. What type of bias does the study have?

Answer 1

Gender Bias

Question 2

Asch’s study is gender bias, how do you know?

Answer 2

Because he used a male only sample

Question 3

Asch’s study was only conducted on males, why is this a problem?

Answer 3

It is difficult to generalise the findings to females

Question 4

Why is it difficult to generalise Asch’s results on conformity to females?

Answer 4

Females may conform more as research suggests they are more concerned about social relationships & liked by peers showing NSI explains conformity for some groups of people rather than others (females more than males).

Question 5

Give two ways in which the methodology can be criticised in Asch’s research into conformity.

Answer 5

1) Gender Bias

2) Lacks Ecological Validity

Question 6

In Asch’s study, the participant was joined by…

Answer 6

7 - 9 confederates

Question 7

Asch’s sample?

Answer 7

123 American Male Students

Question 8

When did participants give their answer?

Answer 8

Last or second to last - heard all the confederate answers first

Question 9

Asch’s Task

Answer 9

Match the comparison line to the standard lines a/b/c in terms of length

Question 10

How many times did they confederates give the identical wrong answer?

Answer 10

12/18 times - called the critical trials

Question 11

Asch’s findings…

Answer 11

Participants gave the wrong answer 37% of the time

Question 12

Post-experiment interviews on Asch’s participants found hat they conformed ….

Answer 12

publicly not privately to avoid ridicule

Question 13

Asch’s research supports which explanation of conformity?

Answer 13

NSI

Question 14

Why did Asch’s results support NSI?

Answer 14

As the task was unambiguous, participants conformed publicly to be accepted by the group

Question 15

Name the two explanations of conformity

Answer 15

ISI

NSI

Question 16

ISI stands for…

Answer 16

Informational Social Influence

Question 17

NSI stands for…

Answer 17

Normative Social Influence

Question 18

ISI is driven by the desire…

Answer 18

To be right

Question 19

When does an individual conform according to ISI?

Answer 19

When they lack knowledge

Question 20

In ISI, when we lack knowledge, what do we seek from who?

Answer 20

Information from the group on how to behave and assume it is right

Question 21

What kind of process is ISI?

Answer 21

Cognitive

Question 22

ISI is linked to which type of conformity?

Answer 22

Internalisation

Question 23

NSI is driven by a desire…

Answer 23

To be liked

Question 24

According to NSI, why will a person go along with the groups behaviour? Give 3 reasons

Answer 24

Avoid ridicule

Gain acceptance

Fit in

Question 25

What kind of process is NSI?

Answer 25

An emotional process

Question 26

NSI is linked to what type of conformity?

Answer 26

Compliance

Question 27

Conformity is changes in individuals…

Answer 27

beliefs & behaviours

Question 28

Why do individuals change beliefs & behaviours according to the definition of conformity…

Answer 28

Real or imagined group pressure

Question 29

Who conducted research to support NSI?

Answer 29

Asch

Question 30

Who supported research to support ISI?

Answer 30

Jenness

Question 31

How did Asch vary group size?

Answer 31

Varied the number of confederates//the majority

Question 32

What did Asch find about conformity rates when group size was varied?

Answer 32

As the number of confederates increased, conformity rates increased

Question 33

In the group size variation, when do the conformity rates plateau?

Answer 33

When there are 3 confederates

Question 34

When there is complete agreement from the group - this is called?

Answer 34

Unanimity

Question 35

How did Asch break Unanimity?

Answer 35

Adding a dissenting confederate

Question 36

What answer did the dissenting confederate give?

Answer 36

The correct answer - different to the majority’s view

Question 37

What happened to conformity rates when Asch broke unanimity?

Answer 37

Conformity rates decreases (5.5%)

Question 38

How did Asch vary the task difficulty?

Answer 38

Made the stimulus and comparison lines more similar in length

Question 39

What happens to the rate of conformity as task difficulty increases?

Answer 39

Conformity rates increase

Question 40

Why do conformity rates increase as the difficulty of the task increases?

Answer 40

The answer becomes less obvious so we lose confidence so conform

Question 41

How does Jenness’s study support the concept of Informational Social Influence (ISI) as an explanation for conformity?

Answer 41

This supports ISI because the task was ambiguous and as the participants were unsure of the answer, they sought information from the group and changed their estimate publicly and privately to be right. Therefore, increasing the validity of ISI as an explanation of conformity.

Question 42

Why does research to support ISI as an explanation for conformity, by Jenness, lack ecological
validity?

Answer 42

This is because the study took place in an artificial environment (lab). Therefore, it is difficult to generalise the findings that individuals conform due to a desire to be right, to real life examples of ISI, as in real life, people may be less likely to conform to a group as there may be consequences for
their actions, unlike in an artificial lab setting. Thus, further reducing the external validity of the research in to ISI and questioning ISI as an explanation of conformity.

Question 43

How does Asch’s study support the concept of NSI as an explanation for conformity?

Answer 43

This supports NSI as an explanation of conformity BECAUSE the task was unambiguous and the participants later stated they knew the answer but
conformed in order to avoid ridicule from the group, which is what NSI suggests. Therefore, increasing the validity of NSI as an explanation of conformity.

Question 44

Why is research to support NSI as an explanation for conformity, by Asch, gender bias?

Answer 44

As only males were tested it is difficult to generalise the findings to females as
it is suggested that females might be more conformist because they are more concerned about social relationships and are more concerned with being liked by their peers than males (Neto,1995). Therefore, this shows that NSI explains conformity for some people (females) more than it does for others (males).