Social influence p1

• Conformity


  Behaviour change from social majority pressures - we don't always need to be told what to do, or to do it? We may conform to feel accepted, liked, seem 'normal' etc
• Obedience


  Behaviour change based on instruction from authority, this is a direct order, usually the person issuing the direction is a form of authority or has the power to punish disobedience
• Types of conformity


  • Compliance
  • Identification
  • Internalisation
• Compliance


  Conform to the group but privately maintain our own views. The individual changes their views and their behaviours does not match opinions. It is temporary.
• Identification


  We conform to the opinion/behaviour of a group because there is something about that group we value. By taking on their attitudes and behaviours the individual feels more a part of the group/closer to the individual even if they do not privately agree with everything the group stands for. Moderate form of conformity, lasts as long as we value that group.
• Internalisation


  Conform to the group as we share their views. Publicly changing behaviour to fit in with the group while also agreeing with them privately. This is the deepest level of conformity were the beliefs of the group become part of the individual's own belief system. It is permanent.
• Compliance


  • Jon recently moved to a new school where his friends support West Bromwich Albion FC. Himself and his family support Aston Villa FC but whilst at school he tells his friends he supports West Bromwich Albion.
• Identification


  • Annie has recently secured a job as a ballet dancer, she has become close to a group of friends, who eat very healthy and train twice a day at the gym. Annie, hates the gym but values the opinion of the group and sign up for a gym membership and changes her diet.
• Internalisation


  • Zoe has attended several events about animal rights in the past few weeks and has become very invested in the topics they discuss. She has since decided to become a vegetarian as a result.
• Normative social influence (NSI)


  Occurs when we conform to be liked and accepted by the group, to avoid alienation/rejection. We are worried our response could have a negative impact on the group.
• Informational social influence (ISI)


  Occurs when we feel the other group members must be correct. We believe the others in the group must know more than us so we conform to be correct. ISI often occurs in the case of difficult tasks or new situations.
• NSI


  Tends to lead to compliance because the person conforms just for show but deep down they don't agree. Any behaviour change is temporary.
• ISI


  Tends to lead to internalisation because people are happy to take the answers/behaviours of others as correct and internalise this information. It is a permanent change.
• It is frequently unclear whether NSI or ISI is at work in research studies (or in real life)
• Some people are greatly concerned with being liked by others (nAffiliators) and are more likely to conform due to NSI
• There are individual differences in conformity that cannot be fully explained by one general theory of situational pressures
• Which of these lines is the same length as line x?
• Classic study of conformity


  In 1932, Jenness conducted this classic study examining conformity
• Jenness' bean study


  1. He used an ambiguous situation that involved a glass bottle filled with 811 white beans

  2. His sample consisted of 101 psychology students, who individually estimated how many beans the glass bottle contained

  3. Participants were then dividing into groups of three and asked to provide a group estimate through discussion

  4. Following the discussion, the participants were provided with another opportunity individually estimate the number of beans, to see if they changed their original answer
• Jenness found that nearly all participants changed their original answer, when they were provided with another opportunity to estimate the number of beans in the glass bottle
• Jenness' bean study findings

  • These results demonstrate the power of conformity in an ambiguous (unclear) situation
  • Participants changed their answers because they believed the group estimate was more likely to be right, than their own individual estimate
• Normative Social Influence


  How the participants show this
• Informational Social Influence


  How the participants show this
• Asch's (1951) research aimed to examine the extent to which social pressure from a majority, could affect a person to conform
• Asch's study


  • 123 US male college students
  • He placed one participant in a room with seven confederates, who the real participant was deceived into thinking were also real participants
  • The real participant was last or second to last
  • They were then asked to say which line was the same as the test line (very easy)
  • Each participant completed 18 of these tasks, 12 of which were 'critical trials' where the confederates all gave the wrong answer
  • The correct answer was given to the other 6 to avoid suspicion
  • Asch wanted to see if the real participant would conform to the majority
• On average about third (32%) of the participants conformed with the majority during the critical trials
• Over the 12 critical trials about 74% of participants conformed on at least once
• 25% of the participants never conformed
• Asch also used a control group, no confederates. He found that less than 1% of the participants gave an wrong answer
• Reasons given in interview for conforming

  • Fear of ridicule/to fit in
  • Doubting judgement
  • Thought it was right
• Asch's study in numbers

  • 3 - Number of lines to choose from
  • 32% - Percentage (average) of the time participant conformed
  • 123 - Number of participants American students
  • 74% - Number of real participants in each group/less than 1%
  • 25% - Percent of participants that conformed at least once
  • 1 - Did not conform
  • 12 - Critical trials
• Asch was interested in finding whether people would choose an obviously wrong answer in an unambiguous task just to conform
• Asch's participants were 123 male, American college students
• The participants thought the test was on judging line lengths
• How Asch's participants were sat and what they were asked to do

  1. The seven men were seated on a table, with the real participant seated either last or last but one

  2. They were shown three lines on a card and were asked to guess which of the three lines matched the test line
• Why 74% conformed at least once, on average 32% conformed on the critical trials, 25% never conformed


  Feared ridicule/to fit in
• Asch (1951) conducted research into conformity to see whether people would choose an obviously wrong answer in an unambiguous task just to conform
• Variables affecting conformity


  • Group size
  • Task difficulty
  • Unanimity
• Unanimity


  When two or more people are in agreement
• In Asch's original experiment, the confederates all gave the same incorrect answer