Week 7; Conformity Flashcards
Conformity
- A change in belief or behaviour that results from real/ imagined pressure from a group
- Generally involves a process of acting differently from how we’d act alone
Gestalt Therapy
A focus on the pressures of conformity and a notion of liberation and obtaining personal freedom
Compliance
- Publicly acting on according with social pressure while privately disagreeing with it
- Can lead to cognitive dissonance. This may lead to changing of attitudes
Acceptance
Conformity that involves both acting and believing in accord with social pressure
Normative Influence
-The tendency for people to conform in order to fit in with the group
- i.e. following a trend
Informational Influence
- The tendency for people to conform when they assume that the behaviour of others represents the correct way to respond
- Looking for cues on how to respond in uncertain situations
- i.e. taking off shoes when entering a restaurant abroad
Social Norms
Expected standards of conduct that influence behaviour i.e. saying ‘thank you’ at a restaurant
Sheriff’s Study
- Takes a group of people into a darkened room and fixes a laser at a certain point
- Perceptually, when we look at light, we experience an autokinetic effect i.e. we perceive the light to be moving
- Confederate enters and attempts to form a norm view i.e. light moves 8 inches
- The others in the group forms consensus with the confederate- informational influenced
- Once norm was established, it persevered for 5 generations of groups
Asch’s Study
- One participant in a line of five confederates
- Carries out line judgements, easy perceptual questions and confederate responds last
- In 8 of the 12 trials, the confederates choose the wrong answer
- In 75% of trials, the participant conformed at least once, despite knowing that the group was wrong
Why did people conform in Asch’s Study?
People who go against a group risks criticism, embarrassment and social ostracism
Crutchfield’s Study
- Participants in booths do perceptual judgement quizzes
- Participants are given the feedback of other participants before they make their selection
- One one occasion, the feedback was false. 46% of participants conformed with group feedback
Milgram’s Experiment
- Participants administer shocks to confederate, who has a heart problem if they respond incorrectly to a question
- 15-450V Range of shocks
- Milgram stands over participants and applies pressure to continue experiment
- People predicted that they would only go to 135V if pressure was applied
- 68% went to max voltage
Obedience
Following the orders of a person of authority
75V
- Grunts/ Yelps in pain
120V
Shouts in pain
150V
Screams in pain/ bangs on wall and demands to leave
270V
Begging to be let out and screams in agony
300V
Begs for no more questions
330V
Student is silenced
Factors that reduced obedience
- Emotional Distance
- Closeness/Legitimacy of authority
- Group Liberation
Emotional Distance
- Participant could see or touch the confederate
- Obedience reduced to 30%
Closeness or Legitimacy of Authority
- Milgram was on the phone instead of beside the confederate
- Obedience reduced to 20%
Group Liberation
-Research assistant intervenes and rejects Milgram on ethical grounds
- Reduces obedience to 10%
Factors that increased Obedience
- High status schools i.e. Yale
- When justification was provided for the experiment
- When the shock level increased slowly and sequentially
- When the person began reacting negatively later in the trial
Group Size and Conformity
- The larger the group, the greater the likelihood of conformity i.e. if a large group of people look at the sky, you may look at the sky
- If we split a large group into a number of small, independent groups who endorse the same belief/ nor, this increases the impact
Unanimity
- Someone who punctures a groups unanimity deflates it social power
- In Asch’s study, if one other person in the line gave the correct response, the % of conforming responses dropped
- i.e. in authoritarian regimes, dissenters are punished
Cohesion
- We are more influenced by our in group than outgroups
- The more cohesive a group, the stronger the impact
- We do not want to be rejected from out own groups
Status
- People conform more to higher status individuals than those of a lower status
- 25% of people normally jay walk
- 17% doesn’t jay walk if person beside them stops
- 44% will jay-walk if person beside the, does
- More likely to not jay-walk if person beside them is well dressed
Public Response
- Anonymous responses are less conforming i.e. anonymous voting
- Conformity reduced in Asch’s judgement if vote was anonymous
Prior Commitment
- Making a public commitment makes people reluctant to back down
- if one gives answer in Asch’s judgement and after everyone else chooses a different response, they are asked if they want to change their mind, few will
Gender
- In the 1950s, women were more conforming
- Equal conformity between men and women now
Personality Differences
- No strong. consistent associations between personality and conformity
- Situational factors are often stronger determinants than disposition
Individualism
Refers to concept of giving priority to one’s own goals over group goals and defining one’s identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identification
Collectivism
Concept of giving priority to the goals of one’s own group ( often extended family or work groups) and defining one’s identity accordingly
