Conformity

Conformity

  • When people change their behvaouir or beliefs to match those of other member of a group, they are to conform

  • Conformity occurs as a result of group pressure, real or imagined i.e., real or implied pressure from others

Definition - Conformity

Changing one’s behaviour or beliefs to match those of other generally as a result of real or imagined, though unspoken, group pressure.

Normative social influence

  • when people conform to group stands in order to be part of a group and be liked and accepted by the group (to “fit in”)

  • Peer pressure is a classic example of normative conformity

  • Friendships groups exert strong influence on the ways we dress, speak and behave

  • Breaking social norms can lead to disapproval or even exclusion from the group!

Informational influence:

  • we take our cues on how to behave from watching the people around us

  • Informative influence is the change of opinion or behaviour that occurs when people conform to other people who they believe are a source of accurate information

  • Eg. You’re at a new school and you don’t know where your maths class is and you overhear a group of students discussing maths. You may be tempted to follow, assuming they know where the classroom is

Deindividuation:

  • Deindividuation is a state in which you become so immersed in the norms of the group that you lose you sense of identity and personal responsibility. An individual relinquishes individual responsibility for action and sees behaviour as a consequences of group norms and expectations.

SolomonAsch in 1955

Conformity was first studied experimentally in a classic study reported by SolomonAsch in 1955.

Asch’s experiments

Aim

To observe the impact of group behaviour on conformity

Hypothesis

The majority of people would not conform to something obviously incorrect

Independent variable

The amount of group pressure - the size of majority. whether the wrong answer was given unanimously, presence of a correct partner

Dependent variable

How much the participants conformed

Findings

Most people would knowingly provide an incorrect answer n order to conform to the group

Method

  • Asch’s experiment: simple visual judgement task

  • Groups of 8-10 participants seated around a table where shown two cards

    • one was a set of three lines of different lengths

    • the other was a single line

  • One by one the participants were asked which of the three lines was the same length as the single standard line

  • Unbeknown to the real participant the others in the groups were not real participants but stooges - confederates of the experimenter

There were 18 comparison trials:

  • first few trials everyone agreed about which line was the same length as the standard, giving the obviously correct answer

  • But on 12/18 trials the confederates all agreed on an answer that was incorrect, sometimes obviously so!

Results

  • 75% of his participants agreed with the confederates on at leat one trial

  • 50% of his participants echoed the confederates on six or more trials

  • Only ¼ of the people in the study actually stuck with the evidence of their senses all the time