Chapter 7: Conformity Flashcards
(59 cards)
What is Social Influence?
Refers to ways that people are affected by real or imagined pressures of others
What is the Chameleon Effect?
When one mimics others to fit in and enables individuals to interact more smoothly with one another
What is Conformity?
The tendency to change our perceptions, opinions, or behavior in ways that are consistent with group norms
What were the findings of the Line Judgment Task?
Participants knew the answers were wrong but they went with the incorrect majority
What was the study which was conducted by Muzafer Sherif
Autokinetic Effect
In darkness, a stationary point of light appears to move, sometimes, erratically in various directions
Who studied the Line Judgment Task?
Solomon Asch
What were the findings of the Autokinetic Study?
Participants were in the dark, when individuals were uncertain of judgment, others serve as a source of information
What is Informational Influence?
It is influence that produces conformity when a person believes others are correct in judgement
What is Normative Influence?
It leads people to conform because they fear the consequences of appearing deviant
Why does being ostracized hurt?
Human beings needed each other to survive and flourish. The need is primitive and rejection inflicts social pain that feels much like physical pain
What is Public Conformity?
It refers to a more superficial change in behavior, pretending to agree when in private, they do not
Whose experimental task reflected what group primacy effect and depth of conformity?
Sherif’s Ambiguous Autokinetic Effect, Informational Influence, and Private Acceptance
Asch’s Simple Line Judgments, Normative Influence, and Public Conformity
What Situational and Personal Factors make us more or less likely to conform?
Group size, Focus on Norms, Ally in Dissent, and Gender Differences
What is Pluralistic Ignorance?
When we misperceive what is normative, particularly when others are too afraid or embarrassed to publicly present their true thoughts, feelings, and behavior.
What is the Law of Diminishing Returns in Conformity?
Beyond the presence of 3 or 4 others, the Law of Diminishing Returns applies. The amount of additional influence exerted by more individuals is negligible
How do different genders respond to conformity?
Females conformed to contrived majority more on masculine items and were better with face-to-face interaction
Males conformed more on feminine items
Why are there less differences in face-to-face encounters?
People worry about how they come across
People feel pressured to behave in an acceptable manner according to gender role constraints
People behave in gender stereotyped ways when motivated to attract someone from the opposite sex
What is the Minority Slowness Effect?
Consistently, and regardless of the topic, respondents who held minority opinions were slower to answer the questions than those in the majority
What is Minority Influence?
The process by which dissenters produce a change within a group
How do nonconformists derive power to act as agents of social change?
The style of their behavior must be forceful, persistent, and unwavering
They must also appear flexible and open minded, consistent and even-handed
When is consistency in behavioral style effective?
When it draws attention from those in the mainstream
When there are signals that the dissenter is unlikely to yield
When viewed in positive terms and it stimulates others to reexamine their own views
When it increases minority influence
Also known as the Consistent Dissent Approach
What are Idiosyncrasy Credits?
Also known as Brownie Points
They are an accumulation of goodwill within a group and leads to tolerance of a certain amount of deviance
(First Conform and then Dissent Strategy)
What is the Single Process Approach to Conformity?
It accounts for both directions of social influence and minority influence is like a chip off the old block
What is the Dual Process Approach?
majorities and minorities exert influence in very different ways and for very different reasons
