Social Influence: Explanations of Conformity Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
1
Q

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

A

Gender Bias

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

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

A

Because he used a male only sample

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

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

A

It is difficult to generalise the findings to females

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

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

A

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).

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

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

A

1) Gender Bias

2) Lacks Ecological Validity

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

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

A

7 - 9 confederates

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Asch’s sample?

A

123 American Male Students

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

When did participants give their answer?

A

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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Asch’s Task

A

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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

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

A

12/18 times - called the critical trials

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Asch’s findings…

A

Participants gave the wrong answer 37% of the time

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

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

A

publicly not privately to avoid ridicule

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Asch’s research supports which explanation of conformity?

A

NSI

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Why did Asch’s results support NSI?

A

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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Name the two explanations of conformity

A

ISI

NSI

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

ISI stands for…

A

Informational Social Influence

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

NSI stands for…

A

Normative Social Influence

18
Q

ISI is driven by the desire…

A

To be right

19
Q

When does an individual conform according to ISI?

A

When they lack knowledge

20
Q

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

A

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

21
Q

What kind of process is ISI?

A

Cognitive

22
Q

ISI is linked to which type of conformity?

A

Internalisation

23
Q

NSI is driven by a desire…

A

To be liked

24
Q

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

A

Avoid ridicule

Gain acceptance

Fit in

25
Q

What kind of process is NSI?

A

An emotional process

26
Q

NSI is linked to what type of conformity?

A

Compliance

27
Q

Conformity is changes in individuals…

A

beliefs & behaviours

28
Q

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

A

Real or imagined group pressure

29
Q

Who conducted research to support NSI?

A

Asch

30
Q

Who supported research to support ISI?

A

Jenness

31
Q

How did Asch vary group size?

A

Varied the number of confederates//the majority

32
Q

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

A

As the number of confederates increased, conformity rates increased

33
Q

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

A

When there are 3 confederates

34
Q

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

A

Unanimity

35
Q

How did Asch break Unanimity?

A

Adding a dissenting confederate

36
Q

What answer did the dissenting confederate give?

A

The correct answer - different to the majority’s view

37
Q

What happened to conformity rates when Asch broke unanimity?

A

Conformity rates decreases (5.5%)

38
Q

How did Asch vary the task difficulty?

A

Made the stimulus and comparison lines more similar in length

39
Q

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

A

Conformity rates increase

40
Q

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

A

The answer becomes less obvious so we lose confidence so conform