Conformity

Aim:To discover the effect on judgement of listening to other people 

Method:Participents were told to estimate how far a spot of light moved when they were sitting in a dark room which never really moved, it was an optical illusion

Results:Participents gave a variety of estimates which differed quite widely from each others.However after being allowed to undertake the same task in group of 3, their estimates becames more similar unitl finally they where very close

Conclusion:The participents used other peoples opinions to help them form a jugement in an unclear situation

Evaluation: Some argued it was flawed because it wa ambiguous the distance the light moved was unknown by the participents so did not demonstrate conformity also lacks ecological validity because was conducted in a lab

Conformity-A change in a persons behaviour or opinions which is a result of group pressure 

Factors affecting conformity 

Group size: As the group size increases a larger incorrect majority in higher levels of conformity but with smaller groups conformity drops 

anonymity:when people are able to write their answers conformity levels are reduced because peoples veiws are private and dont need to worry about what others thought 

The need to be right: When we are in a situation where we are unsure whether the answer is correct, we will do what others so and assume they are right 

The need to be liked: When we have a stong desire to be accepted by the rest of the group we are more likley to say or do what makes us popular within the group