Berry

• What was the aim of Berry's research?

  To measure the level of conformity in two types of societies: hunting and fishing societies, and agricultural societies
• What was the hypothesis behind Berry's research?

  Agricultural societies tend to be more collectivistic, while hunting societies tend to be more individualistic.
• What were the three groups in Berry's study?

  Temne (rice farming people): Traditional (90) and Transitional (32)

  Inuits (hunting and fishing people): Traditional (91) and Transitional (31)

  Scots (reference group): Rural (62) and Urban (60)
• What task did the participants commplete in Berry's study?

  Participants matched a line at the top fo a page to one of the lines in a set beneath it.
• What direction were given during the third trial in Berry's study?

  Researchers indicated a certain line had been chosen by most of the participant's own group.
• What were the key results of Berry's study?

  Temne: higher rate of conformity when told what others in their group believed.

  Inuits: Lower rate of conformity compared to Scots.

  Within groups (traditional and transitional): No significant differences
• What did Berry's study support?

  Previous research suggesting agricultural societies are more collectivistic and hunting societies are more individualistic.
• What were the strengths of Berry's research?

  Use fo Scots as a reference group, measured differences between transitional and traditional groups, quasi-experiment desgin, highly replicable
• What were the limitations of Berry's research?

  Low ecological validity, no manipulation of the IV (causality cannot be explained), temporal validity (dated study), risk of stereotyping groups based on findings.