conformity Flashcards
(26 cards)
what is conformity
changing our behaviour as a result of real or imagined infleunce of other people.
- we may change our behaviours to fit with standards for many domains which can be positive or negaiyve.
- in NA we may think its negative because we love stability.
- in other cultures, may seem positive.
- scientific outlook it may be good or bad.
what is normative social infleunce (NIS)?
NIS; conforming in order to be liked and accepted by others
- why? we want companionship, to be liked. be part of a group
- if we change our behaviour it increases chances of being liked/ gain acceptance.
- to be liked we follow social norms
- social norms are implicit or explicit rules of behaviours, values and beleifs for members.
- NIS often leads to
- public complaince- doing what others do.
- not
- private acceptance- genuine belief that the copied thoughts, beliefs or actions are correct
asche line study; Conformity for social approval
how far will we go to fit in with the group?
- would we ignore obvious truth?
- For example, wearing high stilettos, even though we don’t like them that much but we still wear them and hurt.
- in the study researchers asked Which comparison line matches the standard line?
- showed identical lines and asked which was longer, confederates chose wrong ones even though there was an obvious answer but pp conformed to fit in.
- 7 confederates and 1 real participant seated around a table
- 76% conformed at least once
- Began resisting, conformed at trials, went on
- Why? Poor skill?
- Unlikely, alone → 99% accuracy
- People didn’t want to disagree, risk embarrassment and isolation (even from strangers)
Asch Line Study Revisited
Anthony pratkanis
- Revised the study, replicated it
- 50 years later, set up the same exact experiment and get nearly the same exact results
- The majority of subjects would conform at least once, go along - with the confederates
- People know their behaviour is incorrect → public compliance but not private acceptance
- Responses are private? Much less conformity
- People knew their answers were wrong but showed public compliance.
- when they were alone, they did better, write it down privately, less conformity.
when will people conform?
Whether people conform to social influence depends on the strength, immediacy, and number of people in a group → Social Impact Theory (Bibb Latney)
1. strength - how important the group is to you
- immediacy- proximity in time and space; if someone asks in the moment to do something, but if someone is distant, it gives you psychological space to say no.
- also if someone gives you 8 month advance notice, more likely to say yes. - number of people present; the size of the group–> larger group more likely to conform and cave in however there is a tipping point.
- up to 4-5 more each person makes it harder to conform but beyond 4-5-6 it starts to teaper off; group pressure feels more painful
- decline marginal utility; curve starts to flatten ; adding one more person won’t make a difference.
when will people conform: does someone agreeing with you change likelihood of conformity?
- resisting hardest when group is unanimous.
- to resist, find an ally.
- asche, if one confederate chose a different answer from the group, then more likely to resist- if they’re not conforming to majority.
informational social influence
ISI: follow other’s to gain information
- very helpful when we don’t know what is going on.
- i.e., at the mall, alarm goes off, if you see people running you’re going to join but if you see them not caring and going about their normal activities, you are more likely to do the same.
- we look to others for advice all the time, especially in unfamiliar situations.
- going to church, don’t know what to do, follow what others are doing to navigate the unfamilair situation.
- more important outcome -> more we follow others.
Informational Social Inlfuence: Study shariff
- pp sit alone in dark room and view white dot on the wa;;
- how far does the white dot move?
- estimate ranged from 2.5cm-25cm.
- pp came back a few days later and completed the same task with 2 other people.
- at the beginning (when alone) people had unique answers (diff ones) but as they joined their estimates merged together, because they’re using info from other people.
- changing their personal estimates of how much the light is moving to what others say.
Did people actually believe the estimates made by the group? - when people were asked privately after the experiemnt ended how much they think the light moved, they gave estimates to what their group decided (not what they orginally decided when alone) - publicly complying and believing it - showing private acceptance.
- no one was following up with them but that person still changed their answer because they believed it since they were uncertain of the true answer.
- Public compliance and private acceptance!
- In this test, they don’t know the answer, but they conform to others because they believe they have the right answers.
When will people conform to informational social influences?
informational social influence more likely when;
- ambiguous situations; when we don’t know whats going on
- crisis situations (greater outcome- more likely to conform); stakes are high, people want input.
- when an expert is present; people will conform to whatever the person whos best trained has to say.
types of norms
social norms are implicit or explicit groups rules for behaviour, values and beliefs
- ex. dress code (beach vs. opera)
- teachers dress code; have to be appropriate.
- we rely on norms and cues.
types of norms; injunctive
rules about how people are supposed to behave.
- sign says don’t peel corn (injunctive norm) but you see peels everywhere (descriptive norm- reality check)
types of norms; descriptive
how people actually behave.
- halloween sign may tell you to only take one but youb saw kids taking a bunch (descriptive norm; what actaully ends up happening)
- Video example; face the rear
Elevator example; turning the opposite way in an elevator cause other people are (slowly transitioning)
Type of norm? Injunctive or Descriptive
- Descriptive norm- facing the rear is what people are actually doing
- No official sign o policy indicating the injunctive norm
how do we tell if people are showing normative or informational social influence?
if they are showing private acceptance–> going back and conforming even when no one is watching (information)
- if they don’t show private acceptance such as the asch study where they knew the right answers but conformed and when they were alone their answer differred than when in a group- thats normative social inlfuence.
how do we overcome conformity
Can and should we overcome conformity?
- Conformity helps coordinate social life.
- People are social animals.
- Need rules to help our understanding run smoothly
Downsides too
- Can spread incorrect information
- The consequences of resisting conformity
- Consequences if we ignore social influence?
- others bring us back in line
- Continued resistance → rejection
overcoming normative social infleunce
- to resist social infleunce
1. be aware; being aware can reduce it
2. find an ally (or group) to resist with you (power in numbers) - doesnt have to agree with you, as long as they’re going against norm.
3. cash in your idiosyncrasy credits –> credits earned from conforming to group norms before, allows you to deviate on occasions. more comfortable to not conform. - I often conform, which bought me some credibility, but now I choose to differ and cash in on the respect you’ve earned. Time buys you idiosyncrasy → more likely to not conform if you’re comfortable and have known the person for a while.
what is compliance ?
- often asked by others to do things (e.g., complete survey)
- when we change our behaviour in response to a direct request from another person –> compliance.
- Asking for a favour, changing someone’s mind by a direct request
persuasion is changing someones thoughts.
how to increase complaince
Door-in-the-face technique
- Request something big (expecting refusal), then present a small, reasonable request → Door-in-the-face technique
- Will you fill out a 100-page survey for free
- Usually, people say no, then you bring it down to 5 (all I was after in the first place)
door in the face study ; bob
- control condition; chaperone 2 hr student trip/ 17% agree to chaperone
- Experimental condition (door-in-the-face)
- 2yr unpaid juvenile worker → reject → chaperone 2 hr student trip → 51% agree to chaperone
why does door in the face technique work?
reciprocity norm–> you do something positive for another the other person returns the favour.
- e.g., homeless person holds door then asks for change
- smaller request= something nice; doing them a favour scaling back and considering how you’re asking for a big request first, so people agree to the request.
downside; people are not likeloy to comply again
- why? reciprocity norm fulfilled, no drive or reason to help in the future, you’ve done your fair share/ kind deed, don’t need to do it again.
foot in door technique
more stability
Presenting a small request at first to which most people will agree, then asking for a larger request → foot-in-the-door technique
- E.g., a friend asks, “will you watch my bag while I go to the washroom?”
- Then ask, “Will you watch my bag while I go to class?
- thinking; i have to go but i already said yes to first thing, might as well say yes again.
foot in door technique; study
Large request only
- Would you put a drive safely sign on your lawn?
Small request → large
- Would you sign a petition to support safe driving?
–2 weeks later
- Would you put a drive safely sign on your lawn
**Large requests only (almost 20%)
Small then large requests (55%) **
why does foot in door work?
- Change in self-perception
- When people agree to a small request and see themselves as a person who cares about safe driving → they should act in a consistent manner
- If I’m the type of person who signs a petition for safe driving, I should also follow up and have a sign
- Want to be consistent (cognitive dissonance)
why do we do things if people ask you?
obedience; odd even number experiment in class- why did you do it, it was pointless.
- orne (1962)
- tried to develop a task sjs would refuse to do (for long)
- add adjacent numbers and then destroy paper.
- given a thick book, told to add up adjacent numbers in every row, do it for every row, then destroy paper- he thought people would say no- some even stayed for 5 hours because of obedience.
obedience; milgram study
Milgram Experiment: intro
- One of the most famous social psych experiments
- After world war II; people were asking how cna people watch millions of people die, is it because they’re evil?
- How could people commit such atrocious acts?
- Must be evil people?
- Milgram- power of the situation; would most people do the same thing in this situation
- milgram said no, obdience can be a strong thing, depending on the situation, it can compel people to behave certain way.
- Real participants were recruited for a study on human memory; the confederate appeared as 2nd participant.
- at yale uni.
- real pp “randomly assigned to be teacher
- confederate= learner
- told to shock the learner every time he gets an answer wrong
- shock level increases with each wrong answers - 15- 450 volts.
- learner complains of heart trouble, demands to be released
- pp asked researcher if its okay and researcher kept sying keep going.
- even though pp showed resistance, they still continued bc the researcher said to do so.
