Conformity + Asch's study

• What is conformity?

  A change in behavior/opinions due to pressure from a person/group of people (Elliot Aronson 2011)
• Who suggested the three types of conformity?

  Herbert Kelman
• What are the three types of conformity according to Kelman?

  1. Internalisation
  2. Identification
  3. Compliance
• What is internalisation?

  Private opinion is permanently changed to genuinely match a public opinion (the public is a group the person feels apart of)
• Why is internalisation considered a permanent change?

  Attitudes have been internalised
• What is identification in conformity?

  Publicly changing opinions to match the opinions of a group because you want to be a part of it, but you don't acc agree with all of the group's views
• What is compliance?

  Public behavior shows outwardly agreeing with the group to avoid disapproval but this is only shown in presence of the group - privately you disagree (temporary, superficial change)
• What are the two main reasons people conform according to Deutsch and Gerard 1955?

  • Informational Social Influence (ISI)
  • Normative Social Influence (NSI)
• What is informational social influence (ISI)?

  The need to be right in uncertain situations (cognitive process that leads to permanent change - internalisation)
• What is normative social influence (NSI)?

  The need to be liked and gain approval (emotional process that leads to temporary change - compliance)
• When does normative social influence most likely occur?

  When there are strangers present as you might be concerned about rejection
• What was the aim of Asch's study into conformity?

  To investigate the effect of social pressure from a majority group on conformity to others' opinions
• What did Asch vary in his study?

  The number of confederates in the group
• What was the relationship between group size and conformity in Asch's study?

  Conformity increased with group size to a point
• What percentage of conformity was observed with three confederates?

  31.8%
• What happened to conformity rates with more confederates?

  Conformity leveled off with more confederates
• What did Asch find about the presence of a dissenter?

  It decreased conformity rates significantly
• How did the presence of a dissenter affect the real participant's behavior?

  Allowed them to behave more independently
• What does the presence of a dissenter suggest about majority influence?

  It depends on the unanimity of the group
• What effect did task difficulty have on conformity in Asch's study?

  Conformity increased as task difficulty increased
• Why did conformity increase with task difficulty?

  Participants looked to others for guidance
• What were the summary findings of Asch's study?

  • Group size: 31.8% conformity with three confederates
  • Task difficulty: increased conformity with unclear answers
  • Unanimity: conformity decreased with a dissenter
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of Asch's conformity study?

  Advantages:

  • Counter-argument to Perrin and Spencer
  • Supporting evidence from Jenness (1932)

  
  

  Disadvantages:

  • Biased sample of only males
  • Artificial task lacking mundane realism
  • Lacks temporal validity due to outdated context
• What did Perrin and Spencer find when they replicated Asch's study?

  Less conformity among British students
• What was the response to Perrin and Spencer's findings?

  Young offenders showed conformity similar to Asch's study
• Why did the young offenders conform in the response study?

  Confederates had authority over participants
• What year did Deutsch and Gerard develop their two-process theory?

  1955
• What year was Jenness's study conducted?

  1932
• How many participants were in Asch's study?

  Total group size was 16
• How many participants were in Jenness's study?

  101 psychology students
• What was the nature of the task in Jenness's study?

  Estimating the number of beans in a bottle