Social Psych Exam #2 Chapter 6

Conformity

A change in behavior or belief as the result of real or imagined group pressure.

What are the two types of conformity?

Acceptance and Compliance

A type of compliance

Obendience

Involving both acting and believing in accord with social pressure.

Compliance (Conformity)

Involving publicly acting in accord with an implied or explicit request while privately disagreeing.

Obedience

Involving acting in accord with a direct order or command

Three classic sets of studies that demonstrate the methods for studying conformity:

Studies of Norm Formation by Sherif, Asch’s Studies of Group Pressure and Milgram’s Obedience Studies

Simplify and Stimulated

Researchers use laboratory microcultures that _____ and _____ important features of everyday influences.

Sherif

Studies of Norm Formation: In 1930, wanted to isolate and then experiment with norm formation to figure out how people come to agree on something.

During the norm formation study….

Over a sequence of exposures of a light in which the position of the light did not change, Sherif asked participants to determine how the point of light had moved. BUT, light was not actually moving.

Autokinetic Phenomenon

The apparent movement of a stationary point of light in the dark.

Mass Hysteria

Suggestibility to problems that spreads throughout a large group of people.

Disturbing forms of mass hysteria:

socially contagious conversion disorder; suicide; gun violence.

Other examples of suggestibility in relation to norm formation are:

Contagious yawning, comedy-show laugh tracks, mood linkage in social systems, chameleon effect and natural mimicry and mass hysteria

Group Pressure

Asch’s Studies are about…

Studies of Pressure

By Asch, who offered a series of comparisions for which 6 confederates gave incorrect answers to see if participant would agree even when he knew they were not correct.

75%

In Asch’s study, some people never conformed by giving the wrong answer; but 75% did so at least once.

37%, 63%

In Asch’s study, ___ of the responses were confirming, but ___ did not conform.

Yes

Over the decades, when similar experiments were help, fewer student were willing to conform.

Because they involved no obvious pressure to conform

Why are Sherif and Asch’s results startling?

Dental flossing, cancer screening, soccer referee decisions and eating.

What are some examples of real-life experiments exploring conformity?

Obedience and electricity (shocking)

What did Milgram’s study look at and use?

Authority

Milgram’s studies tested what happens when the demands of _____ clash with the demands of conscience.

Authority

Because of what did participants felt the pressured to continue although they could of just walked out and leave the experiment in Milgram’s study?

What was Milgram’s procedure?

Milgram’s procedure was that a participant to teach a list of word pairs to another participant and punish errors by delivering shocks of increasing intensity.

65%

What percent of participants continued the shocks to the highest voltage?

True

True or False: Results to the electric shock study remained similar even when the learner’s protests were made more compelling; and when later studies included women.

The 4 feautures of Milgram’s study that mirror well-documented psychological effects that increase compliance and obedience.

“slippery slope” of small requests that escalate, framing of shock-giving as a social norm, oppurtunity to deny responsibility, limited time to reflect on the decision.

True

True or False: Does “slippery slope” start small and then escalates?

Criticisms of Milgram’s Studies

Experiment stressed the participants against their will, studies were unethical because participants were deceived about their purpose and participants’ self-concepts may have been altered.

Yes and also Milgram believed that the results generated important lessons!

Were participants supportive after the deception of the experiment was revealed?

4 factors that determined obedience

The victim’s distance, closeness and legitimacy of the authority, institutional authority and the liberating effects of group influence.

“I was only following orders”

What was the famous saying that was said in Milgram’s results that followed horrific slaughter?

Obedience

Brutality of war and genocide goes beyond ______,it may have as much or more to do with indoctrination.

4 similarities that Asch and Milgram’s study share

Show how compliance can take precedence over moral sense, succeed in pressuring people to go against their consciences, sensitize us to moral conflicts in our lives, affirm to two familiar social psychological principles: link between behavior and attitudes and power of the situation or social norms.

Sherif’s Norm Formation

Asessing suggestibility regarding seeming movement of light.

Sherif’s Norm Formation

Interpreting events differently after hearing from others; appreciating a food others love.

Asch’s Conformity

Agreement with others’ obviously wrong perceptual judgements.

Asch’s Conformity

Doing as others do; dangerous social media “challenges”

Milgram’s obedience

Complying with commands to shock another

Milgram’s obedience

Soldiers or employees following questionable orders.

Conformity

What grows if the judgements are difficult or if the participants feel imcompetent?

Insecure

We are more influenced by others when we feel ___ about our judgements.

Yes

In group attributes, such as size and status also matter? Yes or no?

Conformity

What is the highest when the response is public and made without prior commitment?

3 to 5

What group will elicit more conformity? A group of 3 to 5 people or group of 1 or 2?

Unanimity

What is also significant in a group when observing another’s dissent, even when it is wrong, that can increase our own independence?

Cohesiveness

A “we feeling”; the extent to which members of a group are bound together.

True

True or False: Higher status people have more impact; and junior group-members acknowledge more conformity.

In front of others

Where to people conform more rather than writing their answers privately?

Prior commitments

What can also restrain persuasion?

Friends

Who has an extra influence on you for both informational and normative reasons?

Normative Influence

Conformity based on a person’s desire to fulfill others’ expectations, often to gain acceptance.

Normative Influence springs?

Springs from our desire to be liked.

Informational Influence

Conformity occurring when people accept evidence about reality provided by other people.

Informational Influence springs?

Springs from our desire to be right.

To please others and comfortable following rules

What type people are most likely to conform?

Cultures

What impacts people to be more or less socially responsive?

Social roles

What involves a certain degree of conformity?

Expectations

What is a important tasks to conform to when taking on a new social role?

Yes, but not too different because we like to be unique

Do we ever want to be different?

When we understand the forces pushing upon us

When we we might act accordingly to our own values?

Reactance

A motive to protect or restore one’s sense of freedom and arises when someone threatens our freedom of action.

Western Culture

In what culture, will we act in ways that preserve our sense of individuality, asserting our uniqueness- but we are wary of being too different.

In a group

Where are we most conscious of how we differ from others?

Western culture

In what culture is community prized, however conformity is more accepted?

Neither

Is conformity good or bad?

Yes!

Do we do well to balance our “me” and our “we”, our needs for independence and for attachment, our individuality, and our social identity?