Explantions Of Conformity

Question 1

2 Types of social influence

Answer 1

• informational social influence

- normative social influence

Question 2

Informational social influence

Answer 2

If a person in uncertain the look at others behaviour and opinions to help shape their own

Question 3

Motivation underling ISI

Answer 3

Helps people feel in charge and control

Question 4

Evaluation of ISI

Answer 4

• some ptps in Asch who conformed said the said they thought there perception must be inaccurate so yielded to majority = shows that the ptp conformed due to ISI as they believed the group has mor knowledge about the task then they had themselves
• Allen provides further support = found that mor intelligent and moe self confinement individuals were less Iikley to conform as those with more knowledge and confidence would have less needed to look for others for information

HOWEVER
- Aschs finding contradict Allen’s study because they found that individuals with lower intelligence would conform most due to a greater need for information however highly intelligent students n Aschs study conformed less than moderate intelligent students but students with lowest intelligence conformed mid way between the 2

Question 5

Jenness the jellybean study

Answer 5

Demonstrated the power of ISI

Question 6

Aim of jenness study

Answer 6

To investigate whether individuals judgements of jellybeans in jar was influenced by a discussion in a group

Question 7

Procedure of jenness

Answer 7

• ppt made individual private estimates first
• the discussed and made an estimate as a group
• finally they made a second individual private estimate

Question 8

Conclusion of jenness

Answer 8

• judgement of pts are affected by majority opinions
• discussion not effective a changing option unless individuals entering a discussion become aware that the opinions of others are different from theirs

Question 9

Normatitive social influence

Answer 9

Individuals want others to respect and like them not ridicule and reject them

Question 10

Motivation underpinning NSI

Answer 10

Wanting to be liked and not rejected

Question 11

Evaluation of NSI

Answer 11

• Asch: most ptps who conformed said they did as they didn’t want to be in the minority in case of exclusion
• linkenback & Perkins: found adolescents exposed to the message that the majority of their age peers did not smoke were subsequently less likely to take up smoking

Question 12

3 Factors affecting conformity

Answer 12

Group size and unanimity and task difficulty

Question 13

Group size affect conformity A01 + A03

Answer 13

• Conformity rate increases as the size of the majority increases until it reaches a point where further increases in the size of the majority don’t lead to further increases in conformity
• Asch (1956) found 13 per cent conformity with two confederates and 32 per cent conformity with three confederates. After that, adding extra confederates (up to 15) had no further effect on the overall conformity rate. This shows that group size has an impact on conformity levels.

• This effect of group size is further supported by a meta-analysis of 133 Asch-style conformity studies although it concluded that conformity peaks with around four or five confederates.

Question 14

Unanimity affecting comforty A01 + A03

Answer 14

• Conformity rates decline when the majority is not unanimous. There doesn’t need to be anyone in agreement with the individual, but if just one member of the group expresses a different view from the rest of the group then the individual is less likely to conform to the majority view.
• Asch (1956) found that if one confederate went against the others and gave the correct answer then the conformity rate dropped to 5.5 per cent. Even if this confederate went against the others but gave the other wrong answer the conformity rate dropped to 9 per cent This demonstrates that unanimity plats a major role in conformity.

Question 15

Task difficulty affecting conformity A01 + A03

Answer 15

• Conformity rate increases as task difficulty increases and the right answer becomes less obvious. Individuals look to others for guidance as to what the correct answer is, so informational social influence becomes the dominant explanation.
• Asch (1956) found that when the comparison lines were more similar to each other, participants were more likely to conform to the wrong answer, providing support for the role of task difficulty.