01 researching conformity 2010

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Your need to:

Define the terms conformity and group

norm. Briefly outline early research into conformity .

Describe and evaluate Aschs classic study of

conformity in an unambiguous situation,including the implications of its historical context.



Give as many examples as you can of the way

that people conform to the majority.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8zlk9TZ4bA



List the following, leaving two lines for a definition.Discuss what they might mean.

Conformity Majority Influence Minority Influence Compliance Identification

Internalisation Conversion Informational Influence Normative Influence



Your need to:

Define the terms conformity and group

norm. Briefly outline early research into conformity .

Describe and evaluate Aschs classic study of

conformity in an unambiguous situation,including the implications of its historical context.



Jenness: Participants asked to

estimate the number of

beans in a jar areinfluenced by high or

low answers given byconfederates.



Sherif (1935)

Findings:When stimulus is ambiguous, (add

your definition) participants estimates of how far a point of light appears to move

(autokinetic effect) is affected by group

norms (add definition)

Conclusions: Shows tendency to establish

and conform to group norms.



2p / 20p 5p / 50p

2p / £1 5p / 25p 10p / £1

50p / £5 £1 / £10

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StarSTUDYStarSTUDY

Majority influence (conformity)Majority influence (conformity)

Asch (1956)Asch (1956)



To find out how people would behave on an

unambiguous task, whether they would beinfluenced by the behaviour of others, or

would stick to what they knew to be right.



123male American undergraduates.

Tested in a group with 6 confederates, each

asked to state whether standard line sameas other 3 lines.

Confederates told to give same incorrect

answer on 12 critical trials out of 18. True participant was always the last or last

but one to answer.



On the critical trials, 36.8% of responses bytrue participants conformed to unanimous

confederates. 25% of the participants never gave a wrong

answer; 75% conformed at least once.

Only 1% gave wrong answers when noconfederates.



Shows conformity to group pressures even

when answer is clear.

Majority needs to be unanimous to be

powerful.

Normative rather than informationalinfluence mainly responsible.

Also evidence of independent behaviour(resisting group pressure) on two-thirds of

the trials.



Controlled Lab experiment offers high

internal validity and replicability explain.

Performance on an insignificant task may not

generalize to real life wh y not?

Issues of population validity define.

The study may be a child of its time (Perrin

andSpencer, 1980), the era of McCarthyism explain.

Ethical issues outline.



Social influence: how thoughts, feelings andbehaviour of individuals are affected by actual,

imaginedo

r implied presenceo

f o

th

ers. Majority influence: behaviour of a group affects

an individual. Social norms: vgenerally acceptedways of

acting, th

inking and feeling sh

ared by mo

stmembersof a social group.



Inf ormational influence: the individual

changes their beliefs based on the trusted

opini

ons/be

havio

uro

f o

th

ers leading to

conversion.

Normative influence: behaviour ischanged so that the individual 'fits in'

with the majority but beliefs areunchanged leading to compliance.



Schachter (1951)

Findings: Participants less likely to elect to

work with confederates who disagreed withviews of how to treat a delinquent.

Conclusions: Supports view that fear of

rejection/ridicule is reason for conformingto group.



Burger andCooper (1981): Participants high

in personal control less conformist.

Eagly andCarli (1981):Women more

conformist than men. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrNIuFrso8I



Majority influence is a form of social influence

that results from exposure to the majority

position. It is the tendency for people toadopt the behaviour, attitudes and values of

other members of a reference group.



You join a new club out of school. Most of thepeople there have smart phones and you

dont you decide its time you got yourself one. You notice that your friends have started

revising for their AS exams you get your

textbook out and have a look through it. Your friend buys a pair of bright red shoes,

and you decide youll get some bright yellowones next time youre in town.



Describe and evaluate research into

conformity. 12marks.



The aim of Asch (1956) was to find out how peoplewould behave when given an unambiguous task.Would they be influence by the behaviour of others,

or would they stick firmly to what they knew to beright? How much conformity to majority influencewould there be?

The findings show a surprisingly strong tendency toconform to group pressures in a situation where theanswer is clear. For Asch the important finding wasthat there was any conformity at all. However, Aschpointed out that there was clear evidence of resisting pressure to conform.



1. What question was Asch trying to answer?2. Who were his participants?3. When did he do it?4. What was the role of the confederates in his study?5. In what way was the stimulus used unambiguous?6. On what percentage of trials did conformity occur?7. How many participants conformed at least once?

8. What was his conclusion?9. In what way does this study lack ecological

validity?10. Why is it said to be a child of its time?



Carry out conformity study on two people.

01 researching conformity 2010

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