WEEK 5: Conformity Compliance and Obedience

Question 1

What is social influence?

Answer 1

process whereby attitudes and behaviour are
influenced by the real or implied presence of other people

Question 2

What is compliance

Answer 2

• changes in behaviour elicited by direct requests
• the basis of compliance is often power

Question 3

strategies of compliance

Answer 3

ingratiation
- norm of reciprocity
- sequential requests

Question 4

What is obedience

Answer 4

behaviour change produced by the commands of authority

Question 5

What is Milgram’s (1963, 1974) obedience studies?

Answer 5

In the study, an authority figure ordered participants to deliver what they believed were dangerous electrical shocks to another person. These results suggested that people are highly influenced by authority, and highly obedient.

Question 6

what is Milgram’s obedience studies theoretical basis?

Answer 6

• response to Asch’s (1951) conformity study
• response to World War 2 behaviour

Question 7

What is Milgram’s obedience studies method?

Answer 7

• Males recruited from advertisements
• became ‘teacher’…administered shocks to a ‘learner’ (confederate)
• instructed to continue shocks even if learner in pain

Question 8

What is Milgram’s obedience studies question of interest?

Answer 8

• would participant obey instructions even if causing obvious harm to others?

Question 9

What is Milgram’s obedience studies results?

Answer 9

• majority obeyed
• differences between actual vs. predicted (‘experts’) levels of obedience

Question 10

What is Milgram’s obedience studies ethical considerations

Answer 10

• right to withdraw
• distress
• deception

Question 11

Factors influencing obedience

Answer 11

• sex differences: females = males
• cultural: some ( in collectivist)
• commitment to course of action (like foot-in-door)
• immediacy
  –> of victim (↓ obedience)
  –> of authority figure ( obedience)
• group pressure (influenced by others’ responses)
• legitimacy of authority figure

Question 12

What is conformity

Answer 12

changing our perceptions, opinions, or behaviour to be
consistent with group norms

Question 13

What is Sherif’s (1936) autokinetic experiment?

Answer 13

Sherif used a lab experiment to study conformity. He used the autokinetic effect – this is where a small spot of light (projected onto a screen) in a dark room will appear to move even though it is still. Participants are asked to estimate how far the dot of light moves. These estimates are made out loud

Question 14

What is Sherif’s (1936) autokinetic experiment theoretical basis?

Answer 14

• from Allport’s (1924) convergence effect where people give more conservative
  estimates in groups than alone
• group norms develop from people’s uncertainty about the social world
• use of others as ‘frame of reference’
• average/middle positions considered more correct than fringe positions

Question 15

What is Sherif’s (1936) autokinetic experiment method?

Answer 15

groups judged a perceptual illusion ‘autokinetic effect’ of spot of light’s
movement in the dark (actually stationary)
* called out estimates in random order

Question 16

What is Sherif’s (1936) autokinetic experiment question of interest

Answer 16

would people converge on a group norm?

Question 17

What is Sherif’s (1936) autokinetic experiments results?

Answer 17

• norm convergence (people converged on the mean of the group’s estimate)
• and norm persistence (norm became internalised later when estimating alone)

Question 18

What is Asch’s (1951, 1952, 1956) conformity experiment?

Answer 18

A group of people were shown 18 pairs of cards, and in each case were asked to say out loud, one at a time, which of the three lines on one card was the same length as the comparison line on the other. The task was deliberately made sufficiently easy to ensure that errors were virtually zero when people were tested alone, without any conformity pressure, but in the experiment there was only one real subject or participant in the group, usually sitting at the end of the row and therefore having to formulate judgements after hearing those of the other group members, and the rest of the group were accomplices of the experimenter, trained to give unanimous wrong answers on 12 critical trials out of the 18.

Question 19

What is Asch’s (1951, 1952, 1956) conformity experiments theoretical basis

Answer 19

• response to Sherif (who examined ambiguous stimuli)
• uncertainty not explanation for unambiguous stimuli (no need to turn to others when obviously right answer!

Question 20

What is Asch’s (1951, 1952, 1956) conformity experiments method?

Answer 20

• groups of 7-9 males (1 real participant, rest confederates) called out which of 3 comparison lines the standard line matched; ‘real’ participant responded 2nd ast; in 18 trials, confederates chose correctly only one third of the time

Question 21

What is Asch’s (1951, 1952, 1956) conformity experiments question of interest

Answer 21

would participants conform to others’ clearly wrong responses?

Question 22

What is Asch’s (1951, 1952, 1956) conformity experiments result?

Answer 22

• 25% independent throughout
• 50% conformed to wrong majority on 6 or more trials
• 5% conformed to wrong majority on ALL trials
• average conformity rate: 33%

Question 23

What is Asch’s (1951, 1952, 1956) conformity experiments conclusion?

Answer 23

• own perceptions inaccurate
• fear of censure/social disapproval
• saw the lines as majority did

Question 24

Factors influencing conformity

Answer 24

• privacy of responses.. reduces conformity
• sex differences: females > males (but see graph)
• cultural differences: collectivist > individualist
• group size: most 3-5: any more, little effect
• unanimity of responses
  –> opponent reduces conformity (but depends on competency)
  –> opposer effectives even if more incorrect
  or indecisive.. opens up alternatives!

Question 25

What are the Social influence processes underlying conformity? (what are the two types of conformity)

Answer 25

normative and informational influence
–> (Deutsch & Gerard, 1955; Kelley, 1952)

Question 26

What is normative influence (in the two types of conformity)

Answer 26

gain social approval, must have surveillance by group

example of this is Asch’s (1951, 1952, 1956) conformity experiment

Question 27

What is informational influence (in the two types of conformity)

Answer 27

reality check, especially for ambiguous stimuli

example of this is is in sheifs ambiguous autokentic effect

Question 28

What is Minority influence

Answer 28

process by which dissenters produce change within a
group
people motivated to reduce conflict that minorities stir up?
* dependent on behavioural style: CONSISTENCY!
* only effective if build up idiosyncrasy credits: interpersonal ‘credits’ a person
earns by following group norms?

Question 29

What is referent informational influence

Answer 29

the idea that conformity still occurs even when normative and informational inference isn’t in place - instead conformity is due to group norms or a mixture of the two influences (normative and informational)