conformity

• Conformity

  A type of social influence involving a change in belief or behaviour in order to fit in with a group, which happens in response to real or imagined group pressure
• What are the two explanations for conformity

  • Normative social influence
  • Informational social influence
• Normative social influence (NSI)

  • The desire to be liked
  • We conform to fit in with the group because we don't want to appear foolish or be left out -> gain social approval
• Informative social influence (ISI)

  • The desire to be right
  • We conform because we are unsure of the situation, so we look to others for guidance who we believe have more information than us
• What are the three types of conformity?

  • Compliance
  • Identification
  • Internalisation
• Compliance

  • Going along with others in public
  • Privately not changing personal opinions
  • Superficial change - behaviour stops once peer pressure is gone
• Identification

  • Identifying with the group because we value it
  • Publicly changing opinions / behaviour but privately disagreeing
  • Lasts for as long as we are with the group
• Internalisation

  • A person genuinely accepts the group norms
  • Private and public change in opinions and behaviour
  • Permanent change - attitudes are internalised
• What type of conformity occurs with normative social influence and why?

  Compliance - it only occurs to fit in and be accepted / liked by others -> doesn't change their personal opinions in the long term, mostly situational and temporary
• What type of conformity occurs with informational social influence and why?

  Internalisation - accepted because of the desire to be right -> person believes what the group does is right, changing their permanent behaviour
• What is the problem with categorising conformity as different types?

  Oversimplification - it is wrong to say that everyone conforms to the same extent, some people are nAffiliators (they have a strong desire to be liked), they are more susceptible to NSI
• Sherif (1935)

  Aim: demonstrate people conform to group norms when they are put in an ambiguous situation

  • Autokinetic effect - a small spot of light in a dark room will appear to move even though it is still
  • Participants gave estimates of 20-80 cm
  • Two people of similar estimates were grouped with one person whose estimate was very different -> it was found the person whose estimate was greatly different to the other two conformed to their views

  Results: People came to a group agreement because they looked for guidance (observation) when they're unsure

  This is an example of ISI
• What did Asch propose as a problem to Sherif's conformity experiment?

  There was no correct answer to the ambiguous autokinetic experiment, so you could not tell if people really conformed
• Asch (1951)

  Aim: investigate the extent to which social pressure from a majority group can affect a person to conform

  • lab experiment using the line judgement task (obvious answer)
  • Naïve participant in a room with seven confederates
  • Each had to state which comparison line was most like the target line
  • Critical trials (confederates gave the wrong answer 12 out of 18 times)

  Results: 32% of participants in each trial conformed to the clearly incorrect majority, 75% of participants conformed on at least one trial, control group 1% mistake
• Why did people conform in Asch's study?

  People conformed because they did not want to be criticised by group (NSI)

  People conformed because there were more people saying a certain answer, they said that they were sat 'at a wrong angle' or were experiencing eye strain (ISI)
• Evaluation of Sherif and Asch studies

  • Lacks ecological validity - artificial tasks in lab
  • Similar results - reliable
  • Asch's study lacked population validity - only conducted on 50 males
  • Sherif's study reduced demand characteristics as p's were not aware of the aim of the study
  • Both studies conducted a while back - 'era dependent'?
• What are some variations of Asch's study?


  • Size of group
  • Non-conforming role model
  • Difficulty of task
  • Giving answers in private
• Size of group on conformity

  • Increases conformity as the size of group increases
  • However, there is little change in conformity rates when group size reaches 4-5
  • Groups of 4 is considered the optimal group size

  A) optimal point

  
• Non-conforming role model

  Asch found that even the presence of one confederate that goes against the majority choice can reduce conformity as much as 80%

  • Breaking the unanimity of the group drops conformity massively
  • Unanimity is the main influence in conformity
• Difficulty of task

  When the comparison lines in Asch's study were made more similar in length, conformity increased

  • p's uncertain, therefore look to others for confirmation
  • The more difficult the task the greater the conformity
• Giving answers in private

  Asch told people that arrived late they had to write their answers on a sheet of paper

  • Conformity dropped when p's did not have to announce their answers in public, because there is a lack of public judgement
• Other factors affecting conformity

  • Confidence of participant (decrease - p's are clear on their responses)
  • Carried out in present time, not 1950s (decrease - more social pressures exist in the 50s, now encourage greater independence)
  • Carried out in a collectivist culture (increase - cultural socialisation differences 37% compared to 25% from individualist countries)
• Theory construction

  Asch's paradigm led to a theory - NSI: we conform due to the desire to be liked
• Hypothesis testing

  • IV -whether the confederates gave the right or wrong answer
  • DV -the extent to which p's went along with them

  Hypothesis: People conform to an obviously wrong answer when placed under pressure

  Other variables kept constant (e.g. setting, layout, task, no. of participants)
• What is an issues with Asch's lines study in terms of generalisation?

  Williams and Sogon found conformity was higher with friends, leading to the theory we all change our degree of conformity from situation to situation, depending on many factors (e.g. desire to be liked, confidence)
• Why was Asch's lines study unethical?

  Because participants were deceived as they thought the study and other p's were real. This goes against the BPS code of ethics. However many ethical rules were not set out in the 80s
• What was the aim for Zimbardo's study?

  To investigate the psychological effects of perceived power and authority in a simulated prison environment, also to see the extent to which people will conform to new social roles
• What was Zimbardo's study called

  The Stanford Prison Study (1974)
• How did Zimbardo conduct his study?

  • Males psychology students from Stanford University volunteered to take part in a study tested for psychological 'stability'
  • Randomly allocated to two groups prisoners and prison guards
  • Prisoners were arrested at their home unexpectedly, stripped, deloused and given a prison uniform and number, only referred by number, they spent 23 hours a day, 2 weeks locked in 'cells'
  • Prison guards were given uniforms, sticks and mirrored sunglasses, they worked shifts and went home at the end of each shift
• How long did Zimbardo's study last?

  6 days
• Why did the experiment have to be stopped after 6 days?

  The guards became so brutal towards the prisoners (e.g. constant harassment, frequent head counts even at night) that two prisoners had some form of nervous breakdown, one developed a nervous rash all over his body and one went on hunger strike

  Prisoners became apathetic, they did not stand up to the guards and simply did as they were told, even when it caused personal distress (*exception* A rebellion happened after 2 days, but was put down)
• What were the guards referred as?

  Mr Correctional Officer
• Why were participants' reactions so extreme?

  Because they conformed to social roles, which required different behaviour, prisoners and guards conformed to the known behaviour of their role, they experience de-individuation as part of the process
• De-individuation

  This is a state when one is so immersed in the norms of a group that they lose their sense of identity and personal responsibility. In this case the guards were given uniforms + covered face and both roles had no names involved. The guards may have been so sadistic because they did not feel what happened was down to them personally, it was a group norm
• What are the strengths of the Stanford prison study?

  • Ecological validity - tightly controlled (e.g. random allocation)
  • Realism - arrested from homes
  • Varied research methods - Zimbardo used a number of qualitative approached such as observation (overt + covert), interviews and questionnaires
• What are some limitations of the Stanford prison study?

  • Unrepresentative sample (24 middle-class and white male college students)
  • Lack of ecological validity - many unpleasant aspects of prison life were absent, physical violence was not allowed
  • Potential demand characteristics as they were observed

  HOWEVER, evidence shows p's did react to the situation as though it was real, 90% of the prisoners' private conversation were on the prison conditions, 10% were about life outside of prison. The guards also rarely exchanged personal information during their breaks, worked overtime voluntarily.
• How did prisoners react when introduced to a priest?

  Referred to themselves by their prison number, rather than their first name. Some even asked him to get a lawyer to help get them out.
• Ethics in Zimbardo's Stanford prison study?

  • Approval to conduct the study was given by the Office of Naval Research, the Psychology Department and the University Committee of Human Experimentation -> they did not anticipate such extreme reactions
  • Deception - arrest at the beginning -> but participants all signed Zimbardo's contract
  • The experiment was abandoned when Zimbardo realised how much the prisoners disliked the experiment
  • Alternate methodologies were looked at but nothing suitable was found
  • Extensive debriefing happened at many intervals
  • Zimbardo argued benefits outweighed
• What did Banuazizi & Mohavedi argue against Zimbardo's findings?

  They believed participants were 'play acting', rather than genuinely conforming to a role - based on stereotypes of how prisoners + guards were supposed to behave to their understanding
• What context from the time can be referred towards how the guards acted?

  A movie called 'Cool Hand Luke' was well known, he wore glasses and had a Texan accent, many guards imitated him