Conformity And Obedience

Question 1

Groups are based on

Answer 1

1. Common experiences eg Jewish
2. Implicit social structure eg families
3. Common characteristics eg hair, gender, sexuality
4. Common interests / values / beliefs

Question 2

Social cure vs social curse

Answer 2

Cure -
- Jetten et al 2012 - processes of social identification make them meaningful and psychologically valuable

• Group identification - subjective sense of belonging to ones group. Is connected to wellbeing, even after controlling for social interaction.

Curse -
- Kellezi and reicher 2012 - social curse phenomena

• Group membership under conditions of trauma and exclusion and group experiences have potential of hindering group members

Question 3

Group behaviour:

Social loafing

Answer 3

People put in less effort when working in groups.

You are as strong as your weakest member

Result of:
Incorrect assumptions on how labour is divided in a group

Lower set goals than they should be

Unique contributions are unidentifiable so get lost in the crowd

Question 4

Social loafing - gender

Answer 4

Kara & Williams 1993
- Review of 150 studies
- tendency to loaf is stronger in men

Eagle 1987
- because rational interdependence is higher in women than men

Question 5

Social facilitation: audience effects

Answer 5

Social facilitation - tendency to perform differently in the presence of others

Zajonc et al 1969

Cockroach experiment

• simple vs complex maze
• simple done faster when others watched
• complex was done slower when others watched
• shows we perform better on simple tasks when others are watching

Question 6

Social loafing has opposite effects on performance

Answer 6

Simple -> physiological arousal -> blocks distractions

Complex -> physiological arousal -> restricts range of attention

Question 7

Conformity

Do we blindly conform

The evil thesis

Answer 7

Ignore morality of actions

Transform into oppressors

Follow rules blindly

Conform to rules handed down by authority

Question 8

Formation of the evil thesis

Answer 8

WW2 nazi
- on trial for crimes against humanity
- Stated that they were just following orders
- orders were vague
- if you were a true believer you could use your own creativity to reach reich’s goals

Zimbardo prison
- guards were not given direct orders
- gave them a general idea on how to behave

Milgrams obedience
- ppts tried to avoid the situation
- tried to get out of it
- didn’t allow space for choice
- deciding between morals and outcome
- were told that they were required to continue
- when told they must carry on, they refused.

Findings: people conform and obey not by belief but by nature

Question 9

Groupthink

Answer 9

Desire for harmony or conformity results in dysfunctional decision making

Define problem -> avoidance of conflict -> act on decision

Question 10

Examples of groupthink

Answer 10

Challenger space shuttle disaster 1986

• nasa launched it despite engineers warnings that o-rings might fail in cold temperatures

Groupthink: nasa ignored engineers, felt pressure to maintain the schedule

Outcome: exploded after 73 seconds, killing 7/7 crew

Question 11

Symptoms of group think

Answer 11

• illusion of invulnerability
• rationalisation of warnings
• unquestioned belief in the morality of the group
• stereotyped view of enemy leaders

Question 12

Counteracting groupthink

Answer 12

• leader should avoid stating preferences at the outset
• someone assigned the role of devils advocate
• each member should report to an associate and feedback on reactions to the group

Question 13

Group polarisation

Answer 13

Tendency for groups to make decisions more extreme than initial inclinations of its members

Wright 2003 - does online increase polarisation

Question 14

Deindividuation

Answer 14

Lose themselves to thoughts and feelings of a group