Social Influence: Explanations of Conformity 2024/2025 Flashcards
Asch’s study only used males in the sample for his experiment. What type of bias does the study have?
Gender Bias
Asch’s study is gender bias, how do you know?
Because he used a male only sample
Asch’s study was only conducted on males, why is this a problem?
It is difficult to generalise the findings to females
Why is it difficult to generalise Asch’s results on conformity to females?
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).
Give two ways in which the methodology can be criticised in Asch’s research into conformity.
1) Gender Bias
2) Lacks Ecological Validity
In Asch’s study, the participant was joined by…
7 - 9 confederates
Asch’s sample?
123 American Male Students
When did participants give their answer in Asch’s study?
Last or second to last - heard all the confederate answers first
Asch’s Task
Match the comparison line to the standard lines a/b/c in terms of length
How many times did the confederates give the identical wrong answer in Asch’s study?
12/18 times - called the critical trials
Asch’s findings…
Participants gave the wrong answer 37% of the time
Post-experiment interviews on Asch’s participants found hat they conformed ….
publicly not privately to avoid ridicule
Asch’s research supports which explanation of conformity?
NSI
Why did Asch’s results support NSI?
As the task was unambiguous, participants conformed publicly to be accepted by the group
Name the two explanations of conformity
ISI
NSI
ISI stands for…
Informational Social Influence
NSI stands for…
Normative Social Influence
ISI is driven by the desire…
To be right
When does an individual conform according to ISI?
When they lack knowledge
In ISI, when we lack knowledge, what do we seek from who?
Information from the group on how to behave and assume it is right
What kind of process is ISI?
Cognitive
ISI is linked to which type of conformity?
Internalisation
NSI is driven by a desire…
To be liked
According to NSI, why will a person go along with the groups behaviour? Give 3 reasons
Avoid ridicule
Gain acceptance
Fit in
What kind of process is NSI?
An emotional process
NSI is linked to what type of conformity?
Compliance
Conformity is changes in individuals…
beliefs & behaviours
Why do individuals change beliefs & behaviours according to the definition of conformity…
Real or imagined group pressure
Who conducted research to support NSI?
Asch
Who supported research to support ISI?
Jenness
How did Asch vary group size?
Varied the number of confederates//the majority
What did Asch find about conformity rates when group size was varied?
As the number of confederates increased, conformity rates increased
In the group size variation, when do the conformity rates plateau?
When there are 3 confederates
When there is complete agreement from the group - this is called?
Unanimity
How did Asch break Unanimity?
Adding a dissenting confederate
What answer did the dissenting confederate give?
The correct answer - different to the majority’s view
What happened to conformity rates when Asch broke unanimity?
Conformity rates decreases (5.5%)
How did Asch vary the task difficulty?
Made the stimulus and comparison lines more similar in length
What happens to the rate of conformity as task difficulty increases?
Conformity rates increase
Why do conformity rates increase as the difficulty of the task increases?
The answer becomes less obvious so we lose confidence so conform
How did participants’ second private estimates compare to their original estimates in Jenness’s study?
Participants’ second private estimates were significantly closer to the group’s estimate than their own original estimates.
What were participants asked to do individually at the beginning of Jenness’s study?
Participants were asked to individually estimate the number of jelly beans in a jar.
Why did participants change their estimates in Jenness’s study?
The task was ambiguous, and as the participants were unsure of the answer, they sought information from the group and changed their estimates publicly and privately to be right.
What does Jenness’s study suggest about ISI as an explanation of conformity?
Jenness’s study supports ISI and increases its validity as an explanation of conformity, as participants conformed to the group’s estimate in an ambiguous situation to be correct.
What aspect of Jenness’s research on ISI is criticised for lacking ecological validity?
Jenness’s research lacks ecological validity because it took place in an artificial environment (lab).
Why is it difficult to generalise the findings from Jenness’s study to real-life situations?
It is difficult to generalise the findings because, in real-life situations, people may be less likely to conform to a group due to potential consequences for their actions, unlike in an artificial lab setting.
How does the artificial lab setting of Jenness’s study affect its external validity?
The artificial lab setting reduces the external validity of the research because it does not accurately reflect real-life situations where the consequences of conforming might be different.
What task were participants asked to perform in Asch’s study?
Participants were asked to state which line (a, b, or c) was closest in length to the stimulus line ‘x’.
What percentage of the time did participants conform to the incorrect answers given by the confederates in Asch’s study?
Participants conformed to the incorrect answers given by the confederates 37% of the time.
Why did participants in Asch’s study conform to the incorrect answers according to the explanation of NSI?
Participants conformed to avoid ridicule from the group, even though they knew the correct answer, which aligns with the concept of Normative Social Influence (NSI).
How does Asch’s study increase the validity of NSI as an explanation of conformity?
Asch’s study increases the validity of NSI as it demonstrates that participants conformed to the group’s incorrect answer in an unambiguous task to avoid social disapproval, supporting the theory that people conform to fit in with the group.
What is a criticism of Asch’s research on NSI regarding gender bias?
Asch’s research is criticised for gender bias because only males were tested.
Why is it difficult to generalise Asch’s findings on NSI to females?
It is difficult to generalise the findings to females because it is suggested that females might be more conformist due to being more concerned about social relationships and being liked by their peers than males.
How does the gender bias in Asch’s study affect the external validity of research into NSI as an explanation of conformity?
The gender bias weakens the external validity because NSI might explain conformity differently for females than males, suggesting that the findings may not apply equally to both genders.
