Conformity-Asch and Zimbardo

• What is conformity


  A change in behaviour or belief as a result of real or imagined group pressure
• What is compliance?


  Where an individual changes their behaviour to fit in with the group/avoid rejection
• What is identification?


  Where an individual adopts the behaviour or beliefs of a group and accept the groups norms out of a desire for a relationship or association with the group
• What is internalisation?


  Where an individual accepts the behaviour or belief of the majority privately and publicly
• What is Normative social influence?


  conforming to the majority to avoid rejection
• What is informational social influence?

  Conforming to the majority out of a desire to be correct in situations where the right action or belief is ambiguous
• What was the main purpose of the Asch line experiment conducted in 1951?

  To investigate conformity in group settings
• What was the setup of the Asch line experiment?

  • A group of 8 people
  • 7 were confederates, 1 was a true participant
  • Participants judged the length of lines
  • Shown a card with a single line, then a card with three lines (A, B, C)
• How many people were in the group during the Asch line experiment?

  8 people
• What was the role of the confederates in the Asch line experiment?

  They deliberately chose the wrong answer
• Where was the true participant seated in the Asch line experiment?

  Second to last or last
• What were the critical trials in the Asch line experiment?

  • Trials where all confederates chose the same wrong answer
  • Meant to test the influence of group consensus on the participant
• What did Asch want to determine through his line experiment?

  If participants would conform to the group's incorrect response or stick to their own judgment
• What are the different factors that influence conformity?


  -Group size

  -Task difficulty

  -Anonymity

  -Unanimity
• What were the results of Aschs experiment?

  -74% of participants conformed at least once

  -Participants conformed on 32% of critical trials

  -26% of participants never conformed
• What was the conformity rate in the variation where participants could privately write down their answers?


  12.5%
• What were the conformity rates in each group size variation?


  1 confederate: 3%

  2 confederates: 13%

  3 confederates: 33%

  16 confederates: 31%
• What effect on the conformity rates did increasing the difficulty of the task have?


  Increased
• Strengths of Aschs experiment?


  -High internal validity due to use of standardised procedures

  -Very easy to replicate therefore high in reliability
• Weaknesses of aschs experiment?


  -lacks temporal validity

  -Low ecological validity and mundane realism due to the unnatural task makes it not very applicable

  -Somewhat unethical due to use of deception and potential psychological impact on participants
• What were the findings of Bond (1996)?


  Conformity is higher in collectivist cultures compared to individualistic cultures
• What year was Zimbardo's Stanford prison experiment conducted?

  1971
• What was the purpose of the psychological evaluation of participants in Zimbardo's experiment?

  • To ensure participants were psychologically 'normal'
  • To select suitable candidates for the experiment
• How many male college students volunteered for Zimbardo's Stanford prison experiment?

  24
• How were participants assigned their roles in the Stanford prison experiment?

  Participants were randomly assigned roles of either guard or prisoner
• How long was the planned duration of the Stanford prison experiment?

  1. 14 days
• How much were participants paid for their involvement in the Stanford prison experiment?

  $15 a day
• What happened to the prisoners upon their arrival in the Stanford prison experiment?

  • Arrested at home unexpectedly
  • Given prison uniforms
  • Placed in cells with 3 prisoners each
• What were the restrictions placed on prisoners during the Stanford prison experiment?

  Prisoners were allowed 3 meals a day and supervised toilet trips
• What items were given to guards to establish their authority in the Stanford prison experiment?

  • Uniforms
  • Reflective sunglasses
• Who oversaw the Stanford prison experiment as the chief prison superintendent?

  Philip Zimbardo
• What was Zimbardo's role in the Stanford prison experiment?

  Zimbardo was the chief prison superintendent and lead investigator
• What were the findings of zimbardos stanford prison experiment (1971)?

  -Prisoners became submissive and obedient while guards became aggressive and authoritative

  -After failed attempts to resist prisoners suffered emotional breakdows and psychological distress leading to the experiment being halted after 6 days

  -People will conform to assigned social role
• Strengths of Zimbardos study?

  -High internal validity

  -Provides valuable insight as to how situational factors affect conformity to social roles
• Weaknesses of Zimbardos study?

  -In BBC replication participants resisted behaviours that conflicted with their identities making Zimbardos study unreliable

  -Highly unethical due to severe psychological distress suffered by 'prisoners'

  -Possible experimenter bias due to Zimbardo being involved with his dual role

  -Demand characteristics likely occurred due to participants possibly acting in ways they believed matched Zimbardos expectations