Conformity and Obedience Flashcards
(34 cards)
what is conformity?
social pressure to change our public behaviour and/or private beliefs in order to fit in with the majority
what are the 3 types of conformity?
- complience
- identification
- internalisation
what is complience?
a change in our public behaviour but not private beliefs, short term.
what is identification?
a change in our public behaviour and private beliefs, short term.
what is internalisation?
a change in our public behaviour and private beliefs, long term.
what is normative social influence?
conforming in order to make a good impression and to gain approval from a certain group
what is informational social influence?
we are more likely to conform in situations where we are uncertain of what to do so we match others behaviour
how does gender affect conformity?
Mori and Arai (2010) found that females conformed more than males.
This is because women promote social harmony
Eagly (1987) showed that women conformed more when talking about stereotypically male subjects
how does age affect conformity?
In a variation of Asch (1952) study, it was evaluated that conformity increased between the ages of 14-18
how does self esteem affect conformity?
Tainaka (2014) found that among Japanese students aged 18-24, those with low self esteem conformed more than those with high self esteem
how does perceived skill affect conformity?
Research has shown that participants are more likely to conform if they feel that they are not strong or knowledgable in the subject area
how does size of group affect conformity?
with 1 confederate 3%
with 2 confederates 12.8%
with 3 confederates 32%
how does strength of majority affect conformity?
- if majority is unanimous, the participant is more likely to conform
- the presence of an ally meant conformity dropped to 5%
how does secrecy of response affect conformity?
if the answer is not secret. the participant is likely to conform
how to evaluate a study
half marks - description
full marks - strengths, weaknesses, conclusions
describe the Mori and Arai study
- MORI technique, filter glasses, watch same film but see different things.
- everyone was a true participant but 1 in 4 had been given different glasses
- 104 male and female participants, stated their answers out loud
strengths of Mori and Arai
- increased population validity as male and women participants were used
- increased ecological validity as the participants knew eachother so it was like a real life situation
- no confederates so there was no relying on the actors being convincing
(gender) research
- mori and arai - women conform more than men (in 4.41 of 12 trials)
- jenness - women conform more than men
(self esteem) research
tainaka et al (2014) - low self esteem = more likely to conform
(cultural factors) research
mori and arai, collectivist are more conformist
bond and smith (1996)
(normative social influence) research
Asch - participants conformed in the group due to fear of being ridiculed
(size of group) research
Asch - 3 confederates 32% 2 confederates 12.8%
what is obedience?
a form of social influence which involves doing what you have been told to do in order to avoid consequences, usually by an authority figure
aim of Milgram (1963)
he wanted to find out if ordinary American citizens would obey an unjust order from an authority figure and inflict pain on others just because they were instructed to
