5. Sherif- A demonstration of informational social influence and internalisation

Sherif’s procedure

• lab experiment using repeated measures design

• Sherif used the auto kinetic effect (optical illusion experienced by a person who perceives a stationary light to be moving when placed in a completely dark room) to demonstrate conformity

• Condition 1- participants first asked to individually estimate the distance a point of light moved

• Condition 2- participants combined into groups of 3 and asked to estimate again, announcing their estimates aloud

• Condition 3- participants separated and asked again for their own estimate

Results

Condition 1- participants estimates relatively stable but estimates between participants varied widely

Condition 2- estimates converged towards a group norm

Condition 3- individuals tended to maintain the group norm

Conclusion

• shows informational social influence- in an ambiguous situation when the right answer is not clear, participants looked to others for help and guidance- changed their thoughts and actions because they were uncertain of what estimate to give

• Internalisation- individuals continued to give the group estimate even when they were away from the group

AO3- high interval validity

P- research is high in interval validity due to the highly controlled experimental conditions

E- sherif was able to isolate the variable of informational influence (working in groups of three) and measure its effect on the responses of the participants, allowing cause and effect to be established. Also Sherif found a what to demonstrate internalisation in a laboratory situation, a concept that is difficult to investigate experimentally.

E- this allows us to draw firm conclusions about the role of informational social influence on a person’s behaviour and/or attitudes in the long-term as well as the short term, which could be useful for those who might benefit from majority influence. E.g. employers and educators may find that working in groups is more effective for solving problems, rather than relying on individuals to generate solutions alone, which may not lead to a clear route forwards.

L- This demonstrates the validity and usefulness of Sherif’s research

AO3- reliability

P- Other research has supported the view that conformity is likely to occur in an ambiguous situation.

E- In a similar produce to Sherif, Jenness asked participants to estimate the number of jelly beans in a jar, he found that the group condition’s answers converged and individuals tended to move towards the group norm in a second private estimate, much the same as in Sherif’s study.

E- the reliability of the research in this area adds weight to the conclusions made by Sherif

L- the reliability increases the scientific validity of the research

AO3- lack of mundane realism

P- the results of Sherif’s study may not generalise to real life situations due to the lack of mundane realism in the task

E- judging how far a spot of light moves in a dark room is unlikely to feel like an important task to the participant

E- therefore they may care less about their answer than it they were asked to conform in a real-life situation, where coming up with the right answer may be much more important, e.g. trying to solve a difficult maths problem.

L - laboratory studies may exaggerate the amount of conformity compared to real-life, as the only use trivial tasks, rather than issues that people care about, where they may be less prepared to change their view