conformity

• zimbardo evaluation

  :-) high degree of control, screenings before to select emotionally stable people

  :-( lacks mundane realism, merely play acting to conform to stereotypes

  :-( sooo unethical. #8612 suffered severe psychological distress yet was told he couldn't leave - but ethics guidelines weren't a thing yet
• zimbardo wanted to investigate the extent to which people would conform to the roles of guard and prisoner
• zimbardo procedure

  24 male mentally stable individuals

  10 guards, 11 prisoners randomly allocated

  prisoners - publicly 'arrested', deloused and stripped, numbered

  guards - reflective sunglasses to prevent eye contact

  planned to run for 2 weeks
• zimbardo findings

  guard - became increasingly sadistic. taunted prisoners with meaningless tasks. physical punishment but not physical contact

  prisoners - attempted a 'rebellion' but later became submissive and unquestioning, deindividuation

  stopped after 6 days
• zimbardo conclusion

  participants behaviour was due to situational factors, not dispositional
• explanations for conformity are normative social influence and informational social influence
• normative social influence is when people conform to the majority because they want to be liked and accepted
• normative social influence evaluation

  :-) aschs study

  :-( ignores being part of group, individuals can maintain group views
• informational social influence is when we conform to the opinion of others because we want to be right
• informational social influence evaluation

  :-) fein et al. undecided voters could be influenced by witnessing others opinions on the ability/performance of candidates

  :-) jenness

  :-( asch's study variation, when p's could answer anonymously, they gave incorrect answers
• variables affecting conformity are group size, unanimity and task difficulty
• conformity rates increase when group size is larger

  asch found little different from 3+ confederates - 31.8%
• when a group is unanimous, conformity rates increase
• when the task is more difficult, conformity increases as the situation is more ambiguous and individuals look to others for answers
• asch evaluation

  :-) lab study, high level of control

  :-( lacks temporal validity, era of mccarthyism

  :-( lacks population validity, only mericans
• conformity is a change in a persons behaviour or opinions as a result of group pressure and influence
• asch wanted to investigate if participants would change their own views to conform to the majority when participants were confronted with a majority who were plainly wrong in their answers
• asch procedure

  participants placed last in group of confederates. asked to judge an unambiguous line as being the same as another line (ABC). confederates answered incorrectly.
• asch findings

  3/720 errors in control

  37% conformity rate in experimental, 75% conformed atleast once
• compliance is the weakest type of conformity. it happens when a person goes along with the group because they want to be included and accepted. public, not private.
• identification happened when a group provides membership. its a change in behaviour and beliefs when under the surveillance of the group. moderate. don't necessarily agree with group beliefs
• internalisation is where the group provides information and guidance. its true conformity, where both behaviour and beliefs change. public and private. permanent