Social Influence: Conformity

Question 1

What is conformity

Answer 1

• Conformity: when behaviour of individual/small group is influenced by larger/dominant group.
• 3 types of conformity:
  -> internalisation
  -> compliance
  -> Identification

Question 2

What is internalisation

Answer 2

• going along with the majority and believing in their views.
  -> accepted and internalised views and behaviours, they are your own too.
• may happen if in an unfamiliar situation -> don’t know the correct ways to behave
  -> may look to others for info of how to behave.
  -> This influence is called informational social influence (ISI).

Question 3

What is compliance

Answer 3

• compliance -> going along with the majority, even if you don’t share their views.
  -> you do this to appear ‘normal’ -> deviating may lead to exclusion or rejection from the group.
  -> influence is called normative social influence (NSI).

Question 4

What is identification

Answer 4

• Conforming to what’s expected of you to fulfil a social role.
  -> changing you behaviour to fit a role in society (e.g. a nurse) or imitating behaviour of role model.

Question 5

Explain the features of Sherif’s experiment on ISI

Answer 5

• Method: a lab experiment with repeated measures design. Used the illusion of an auto kinetic effect, where a stationery spot of light, viewed in a dark room appears to move.
  -> ppts falsely told the light would move.
  -> estimate how far it moved.
• Results: alone, ppts develop their own estimates (personal norms) which varies.
  -> once in a group, estimates tend to converge and became more alike.
  -> when retested alone, estimates more like group estimates than their original guesses.
• Conclusion: Ppts developed a group norm (group estimate).
  -> ppts use info from others to form own estimates -> ISI.

Question 6

Evaluate Sherif’s experiment on ISI

Answer 6

(+) A lab experiment -> strict control of variables -> possible to estimate cause and effect.
-> can be replicated.
(+) repeated measures design -> participant variables were kept constant.
(-) lacks ecological validity -> artificial situation.
(-) limited sample size -> ppts were male -> unable to generalise.
(-) ethics -> deception, ppts told light was moving when it didn’t.

Question 7

Explain the features of Asch’s experiment on the effects of NSI

Answer 7

• Method: a lab experiment with independent groups.
  -> ppts matched line lengths (1, 2, or 3) with standard line.
• Each group only had one real participant -> others were confederates.
• Each participant went last or second to last so heard the other’s answers before giving theirs.
• Results: In control groups, ppt gave the wrong answer 0.7% of the time. In critical trials, participants conformed 37% of the time.
  -> 75% conformed at least once.
• Conclusion: Despite the task being easy -> ppts conformed due to NSI.

Question 8

Evaluate Asch’s experiment on the effects of NSI

Answer 8

(+) lab experiment -> high control -> minimises extraneous variables.
-> easy to replicate.
(-) Artificial situation -> lacks ecological validity.
-> may have been less likely to conform if the answer had real life consequences.
(-) ethics -> participants were deceived and embarrassed when found true nature of the study.

Question 9

What were the situational factors in the different variations of Asch’s experiment

Answer 9

• group size
• unanimity / social support
• task difficulty

Question 10

Explain how groups size was a situational variables in Asch’s variations

Answer 10

• Only 2 confederates -> ppts conformed on only 14% of critical trials.
• 3 confederates -> conformity rose to 32% -> little change to conformity rates after -> no matter how large the majority was.
• small majorities were easier to resist than larger ones.
  -> but influence does not keep increasing with the size of the majority.

Question 11

Explain how unanmity and social support are a situational factors in Asch’s variations

Answer 11

• Rather than confederates forming a unanimous majority -> one of the confederates agreed with the ppt.
  -> having a fellow dissenter, broke the unanimity of group.
  -> Easier to resist pressure to conform.
  -> conformity fell to 5.5%.

Question 12

Explain how task difficult is a situational factor in Asch’s variations

Answer 12

• when line lengths became more similar -> conformity levels increased.
  -> more likely to conform if less confidence.

Question 13

Explain how confidence and expertise is a factor in conformity (Asch)

Answer 13

• When Asch debriefed ppts, found a common factor of confidence in those who hadn’t conformed.
  -> with confidence, they were able to resist group pressure.
• Perrin and Spencer: replicated Asch study with engineering students as ppt.
  -> conformity was lower.
  -> had confidence in their skills.

Question 14

Explain how gender may not be a factor in conformity (Eagly and Carli)

Answer 14

• Until the mid 70s, there was a common view that females conform more than males.
• Eagly + Carli: meta-analysis of conformity.
  -> found sex differences but these differences were inconsistent.
  -> clearest difference they found was in Asch-like studies where there was group pressure from an audience.

Question 15

Explain how gender may be a factor in conformity (Eagly)

Answer 15

• Argued men + women’s different social roles explain difference in conformity.
  -> women focused on group harmony -> more likely to agree.
• Independence was a valued male attribute -> maintaining their own opinion under pressure fits the perceived male social role.

Question 16

What are social roles

Answer 16

• behaviours society expects from you.
  -> E.g. women with a baby expected to look after and love their child.
  -> these are behaviours that fulfil the social role of a ‘mother’.
• when we accept a role -> we ‘internalise’ them to shape our behaviour.

Question 17

Explain the features of Zimbardo’s SPE

Answer 17

• Method: male students randomly assigned to role of prisoner or guard and behaviours were observed.
• Prisoners ‘arrested’ and given uniforms and numbers.
  -> guards also wore uniforms and sunglasses.
• Results: Initially guards try asserting their authority and prisoners resist by sticking together.
• Prisoners became more passive + obedient -> while guards invent harsher punishments.
• Experiment abandoned -> participants became distressed.
• Zimbardo also became ‘corrupted’ by role of superintendent.
• Conclusion: social roles were adopted to quickly -> claims this shows that social roles can influence our behaviour.
  -> seemingly well-balanced people became more aggressive.

Question 18

Evaluate Zimbardo’s SPE

Answer 18

(+) controlled observation -> good control of variables.
(-) artificial environment and only male college students -> can’t be generalised to real-life -> eco validity.
(-) ethics -> ppts became very distressed.
(-) observer bias -> Zimbardo was superintendent -> admitted to personally becoming involved.
(-) Zimbardo’s conclusion doesn’t explain why only some participants acted according to their assigned roles.

Question 19

Explain Orlando’s experiment of the Mock Psychiatric Ward

Answer 19

• Similar to the SPE on social roles.
• set up mock psychiatric ward -> 29 members of a hospital volunteer to be ‘patients’ -> another 22 staff were involved but asked to carry out normal roles.
• Soon ‘patients’ start behaving like real patients -> difficult to distinguish between real and fake.
  -> signs of depression and withdrawal -> 6 tried to escape.
• Mock patients reported they felt anxious + despairing.
  -> felt they lost their identity.
  (+) study led to increased effort by staff to respect patients.

Question 20

Explain Reicher + Haslam’s BBC prison study

Answer 20

• Method: Controlled observation in mock prison.
  -> ppts randomly assigned to 2 groups: 5 guards, 10 prisoners.
• One of the prisoners would become a guard after 3 days.
• Results: Guards failed to identify with their role -> felt uncomfortable with the inequality of the situation.
• after 1 prisoner was promoted -> prisoners became much stronger group.
• System collapsed due to the unwillingness of guards and strength of the prisoner group.
• Conclusion: ppts didn’t fit their expected social roles, suggests these roles are flexible.

Question 21

evaluate Reicher + Haslam’s BBC prison study

Answer 21

(-) criticism for being made for TV -> many including Zimbardo argued elements were staged and ppts played up to the cameras.
(-) artificial situation.
(+) good ethics -> ethics committee, were not deceived, informed consent.