Conformity

Question 1

What are the types of conformity

Answer 1

Compliance
Internalisation
Identification

Question 2

who argued the types of conformity

Answer 2

Kelman 1958

Question 3

What is compliance

Answer 3

weak and temporary, change our behaviour but dont agree with it- superficial. “i comply”

Question 4

what is identification

Answer 4

temporary, unlikely to last. understand but has not bought about complete change. “i identify”

Question 5

what is internalisation

Answer 5

permanent, most significant deep rooted change. “i internalise”

Question 6

what is conformity

Answer 6

type of social influence involving a change in belief or behaviour in order to fit with a group. this change is in response to real or imagined group pressure

Question 7

what is normative social influence

Answer 7

where a person conforms to fit in with the group because they don’t want to be left out. associated with compliance as they will change public behaviour but not private beliefs.

Question 8

what is informational social influence

Answer 8

where a person conforms because they have a desire to be right and look to people who they believe may have more information. associated with internalisation

Question 9

Describe the Jenness (1932) experiment

Answer 9

glass bottle filled with 811 white beans, 101 participants estimated how many were in there. Then they were divided into groups of 3 and asked to estimate again.

Question 10

results of Jenness experiment

Answer 10

nearly all participants changed their answer. represents power of conformity in an ambiguous situation- informational social influence

Question 11

describe the sherif (1935) experiment

Answer 11

aimed to demonstrate that people conform to group norms when they are put in an ambiguous situation. used lab experiment. small spot of light in a dark room appears to move, but it is still. not ambiguous

Question 12

results of Sherif experiment

Answer 12

individually, how far light moved varied a lot. then tested in groups of 3- two answers similar and 1 different. then everyone said answer out loud and ppl agreed

Question 13

Aims of Asch (1951) experiment

Answer 13

investigate the extent to which social pressure from a majority group could affect a person to conform

Question 14

describe Asch 1951 experiment

Answer 14

line test. lab experiment, put a naive participant with 7 confederates. confeds new answer, particip didnt, everyone said answer aloud answer was obvious. in 12 /18 trials, confeds gave wrong answer

Question 15

results of Asch 1951 experiment

Answer 15

measured number of times each participant conformed to majority, 32% of participant in each trial conformed to wrong answer. 75% conformed on at least one of the trials. had gone along with group bc fear of being ridiculed- normative

Question 16

Variables affecting conformity

Answer 16

• size of majority
• presence of supporter
• task difficulty

Question 17

what are some examples of situational forces?

Answer 17

• intimidation
• obedience
• authority over people
• home environment (abusive etc)
• ability to remain anonymous (uniforms)

Question 18

what debate is created when you put good people in an evil place?

Answer 18

dispositional vs situational debate often created by leaders

Question 19

what does dispositional (zimbardo) mean?

Answer 19

relates to your personality and attitude- different behaviours are related with different participants, main guard or rebel prisoner etc

Question 20

what does situational (zimbardo) mean?

Answer 20

related to the environment: random allocation (guards/prisoner-IV)
similar profile of sample (uni,paid,male..)
differences in uniform + environment

Question 21

situations have the power to do the same 3 things:

Answer 21

• can inflame the hostile imagination in some
• can inspire the heroic imagination in other
• can render most people passive bystanders and guilty of The Evil of inaction

Question 22

describe what happened in the stamford prison experiment:

Answer 22

mock prison: 21 male university students got paid $15 a day. randomly assigned either guard or prisoner. was set to run for 2 weeks, guards had uniforms and gun etc told not to use physical violence

Question 23

what did zimbardo find?

Answer 23

both prisoners and guards quickly identified with their social roles. prisoners rebelled but guard became increasingly abusive so they stopped. prisoners became incredibly submissive. guards became incredibly brutal, prisoners increasingly withdrawn and depressed. zimbardo ended up confirming to his role as well

Question 24

why did the zimbardo experiment end early?

Answer 24

5 of prisoners were released early because of adverse reactions to the physical and mental torment. terminated after 6 days when postgrad convinced him his conditions were inhumane

Question 25

conclusion of zimbardo experiment:

Answer 25

participants conformed to their roles as guards or prisoners. situational factors that he created because of the determining factors of the change in peoples behaviour, however we recognise that dispositional factores also play a role

Question 26

what is the IV and DV in zimbardo experiment?

Answer 26

IV: difference between the different roles of guards or prisoners
DV: whether people conformed to the roles

Question 27

does zimbardo experiment have ecological validity?

Answer 27

• yes even though it’s an abnormal environment
• is realistic but don’t know if participants are acting realistically
• it’s in a research centre and no rules and regulations to follow initially

Question 28

are there any practical applications of zimbardo study?

Answer 28

can use findings to suggest that social roles can cause conformity and changing peoples behaviour- learn what will happen if rules and regulations are not created around peoples rules

Question 29

was the sample zimbardo used representative?

Answer 29

• no bc sample was only using university male students and they were paid
• can’t be generalised, over exaggerate or under exaggerate behaviours of general population (only one third of guards were brutal so conclusions were exaggerated)
• all participants are white and american

Question 30

was deception involved in zimbardos experiment?

Answer 30

yes- arrest of the prisoners at the beginning of the experiment

Question 31

was there psychological harm in zimbardos experiment?

Answer 31

some symptoms of stress during the experiment

yes there was psychological harm but once he realised how much they hated it, the experiment was abandoned

Question 32

were the participants debriefed before the zimbardo experiment ?

Answer 32

yes- extensive group and individual debriefing sessions were held + post experimental interviews and questionnaires

Question 33

are there any benefits of zimbardos experiment?

Answer 33

benefits gained about our understanding of human behaviour and how we can improve society should balance out the distress caused by the study

Question 34

is the stanford prison experiment ethical?

Answer 34

no because it involved depriving participants of the right to withdraw (zimbardo coerced him to stay and responded as a superintendent worried about the running of his prison), informed consent (arrested), debriefing (couldn’t inform them that they would be arrested), protection from physical and psychological harm (guards were brutal and prisoners were having breakdowns)