Conformity

Three types of conformity

internalisation, identification, compliance

What is conformity?

when we change our behaviour or beliefs to fit in with others

What is compliance?

adjust opinions and behaviour to the group around them to be accepted, their private opinions stay same

What is identification?

adjust behaviour to those in a group because they want to be in that group
opinions change publicly and privately

What is internalisation?

deepest level of conformity
individuals change views publicly and privately

What are the explanations of conformity?

Normative social influence
Informational social influence

Informational social influence

changing behaviour from a desire to be right

Normative social influence

changing behaviour from desire to be liked

Study supporting informational SI

Jeness (1932)

Jeness aim and method

how group discussion might affect peoples judgement
101 P, shown glass jar filled with 811 beans
P made private estimate then met and discussed
P made group estimate then another private estimate

Jeness findings and conclusions

found almost all P answer changed when they met as group
Second private answer converged to group
changed their answers through desire to be right

Evaluation of Jeness study

Low temporal validity
sample was all psych students
easy replicable

Study supporting normative SI

Asch (1951)

Asch aim

influence of others on peoples answers on an unambiguous task
123 male undergraduates

Asch procedure

5 coactors, 1 P
real P sat on end of row, each P asked to state which line matched
real P answered last

12 of 18 trials, actors answered incorrectly

Asch pilot study

36 people tested on line task, only 3 mistakes from 720 trials

Asch study results

12 critical trials, 37% conformity rate
75% conformed at least once
5% conformed on every trial

Evaluate explanations of SI

+supporting evidence for both
+NSI has practical implications
-don’t take into account individual diff
-they aren’t separate and probs happen at same time

What does GUT stand for referring to Asch?

Group size
Unanimity
Task difficulty

Group size of the majority

conformity drops to 3% - smaller group, less pressure to fit in

Unanimity of the group

P conformed to half
P more confident someone else agrees with them

Task difficulty

conformity increases when task is more difficult

What are social roles?

set of behaviours thought to be appropriate to a person in particular situation

Zimbardos study - aim

-find out if people conform to prisoner or guard
-is bad behaviour nature or nurture

Zimbardo method

24 male students selected from 75 volunteers
Given $15 a day
random assign guard or prisoner
prisoners arrested in homes day before meant to hand themselves in

What uniform did the guards or prisoners have?

prisoner- smock, number not name
guard- shades, handcuffs

Results of Zimbardo study

1/3 guards became bullies
prisoners became passive
after 3 days, 1 prisoner released
study stopped after 6 days

Zimbardo study observation

Participant, overt, controlled

Conclusions of Zimbardo study

-people rapidly conformed to roles
-study favours nurture over nature

Method evaluation for Zimbardo study

Zimbardo placed himself in the study, affected his judgement

Zimbardo investigator effects

-guards reported they felt pressure to give results wanted

Zimbardo ethics

-sleep deprived, humiliated
-lack of consent regarding arrest
-not fully given right to withdraw

Real life implications of Zimbardo study

used conclusions to explain why good people do bad things
Abu Ghraib, US soldiers, Zimbardo represented one soldier in court, argued it was the conditions of the prison

Zimbardo socially sensitive conclusions

victims may feel that guards aren’t taking responsibility for their actions