Conformity Lecture Notes

These flashcards cover key concepts on conformity, including definitions, types, influences, and the famous Asch experiment.

What is the definition of conformity according to Myers (1999)?

A change in behaviour or belief as a result of real or imagined group pressure.

What is compliance in the context of conformity?

When we publicly change our behaviour to be more like the majority, but we do not privately change our beliefs.

What does identification in conformity entail?

A change in public behaviour and private beliefs, but only in the presence of the group.

Describe internalisation in terms of conformity.

A change in public behaviour that matches the group's beliefs, representing a deep and long-term change.

What is normative social influence?

When a person conforms to be accepted or belong to a group, often changing public behaviour to avoid social punishment.

Explain informational social influence.

When a person conforms to gain knowledge or believes someone else is right, leading to a change in both public behaviour and private beliefs.

What significant finding did Jenness's Bean Jar experiment reveal about conformity?

Participants tended to give similar estimates of beans in a jar after discussing as a group, illustrating informational social influence.

How does group size affect conformity?

Conformity tends to increase with group size, but does not show significant increase beyond four members.

What impact does a lack of group unanimity have on conformity?

Conformity decreases when at least one individual in the group provides a different answer.

How does the difficulty of a task influence conformity levels?

Higher task difficulty leads to increased conformity as uncertainty grows.

What effect does anonymity have on conformity?

Allowing participants to answer in private decreases conformity, suggesting normative influence is weaker without public scrutiny.

What role does the status of the majority group play in conformity?

Higher status or more knowledgeable members of a group tend to exert more influence, leading to higher levels of conformity.

What were the average conformity rates found in Asch's experiment?

On average, participants conformed to the incorrect answers on 32% of the critical trials.

What is the conclusion drawn from participants' responses in the Asch experiment?

Participants conformed mainly to fit in socially, demonstrating normative social influence without changing their private beliefs.