Social Influence - Conformity Flashcards
(12 cards)
What is conformity?
A change in a person’s behaviour or opinions as a result of real of imagined pressure from a person or group of people
Explain the three types of conformity
Compliance - only a superficial change in beliefs in public but not in private as a result of NSI
Identification - confirm to the opinions/behaviours of a group because there is something we value and identify with. the change isn’t permanent
Internalisation - A person genuinely accepts the groups norms and therefore change both their public and private beliefs long term
What are the 2 main reasons people conform?
Normative social influence - A person conforms to be accepted and belong in a group. Short term as it is motivated by the desire to fit inn
Informational social influence - A person conforms to gain knowledge or because they believe someone is ‘right’
Evaluate the types/explanations for conformity
✅ Research support - Asch’s study when asked after the experiments ppts said they changed their answer to avoid disapproval from the group
❌ It is unclear wether conformity is due to NSI or ISI - Asch’s found conformity is reduced when there is another non conformist partner
❌ Individual differences
What is the procedure of Asch’s study?
123 male american ppts in were tested, believed to be taking part in a vision test. In the line judgement task there was one ppt and 6-8 confederates. In turn , each person had to say out loud which line was most like the target line. Each real ppt completed 17 trials and confederates gave the incorrect answer on 12 trials
Explain the findings and conclusion of Asch’s study
On average the real ppt conformed to incorrect answers on 32% of critical trials. 74% of the ppts conformed on at least one critical trial and 26% of ppts never conformed.
Most ppts said they knew their answers were incorrect but went along with the group in order to fit in. Supports the idea of NSI
Explain the 3 variables that affected conformity investigated by Asch
Group size - varied trials where the number of confederated varied 1-15. At 3 confederates conformity rates matched the previous 6-8 at 32%. Beyond 8 conformity rates dropped off slightly
Unanimity - A confederate gave the correct answer throughout which reduced conformity to 5% support = more likely to resist group pressure
Task difficulty - Made the difference in lengths smaller and therefore more ambiguous. Conformity increased as a result of ISI
Evaluate Asch’s study
✅ Research Support - Lucas et al asked real ppts to solve easy and hard maths problems, they were given from 3 other pretend students that were incorrect.
Ppts conformed more often when the problems were harder
❌ Sample bias - The findings are both androcentric and culturally biased as america is individualist. As a result they aren’t very generalisable to females and other cultures.
❌ Low temporal validity - Asch’s study took place in 1951 where conformity was generally higher. Since then a number of studies have replicated it and found lower levels of conformity. Suggests the results don’t reflect modern times.
Explain the aim of Zimbardo’s study
To examine whether people would conform to social roles of a prison guard or prisoner when placed in a mock prison environment
Explain the method of Zimbardo’s study
He advertised in a newspaper and there were 75 volunteers, 21 males were selected due to their physical and mental stability and were paid 15$ a day to take part.
He turned the basement of Yale uni into a mock prison, he also arrested the ‘prisoners’ from outside their home and fingerprinted them and were given numbered uniforms.
Likewise guards were given uniforms, hancuffs, sunglasses etc and were instructed to run the prison without any physical violence for 2 weeks
Explain the results and conclusion of Zimbardo’s study
Guard enthusiastically took up their roles and treated the prisoners harshly. Within 2 days the prisoners rebelled and ripped their uniforms who in turn retaliated with fire enstiguishers. The guards dehumanised the prisoners, and because of this five had yo be released early, after 36h one had a mental breakdown and had to be removed and eventually the experiment was terminated after six days.
Social roles have a strong influence on behaviour in a relatively short time.
Evaluate Zimbardo’s study
✅ Control - In the selection of ppts, they were randomly allocated in each group this therefore rules out personality differences in the findings. The degree or control increased the validity.
❌ Ethical concerns - Heavily criticised for breaking ethical guidelines. 5 ppts had to leave the study early due to their adverse reactions, guards reported feelings of anxiety and guilt. Protection from harm
❌ Sample bias - Androcentric and as a result shows beta bias, his research may have ignored or minimised the differences between men and women in relation to conformity to social roles
