Social influence

Explanations for conformity

-Conformity: a change in someone's behaviour/opinions as a result of imagined or real pressure from someone else or a group

Why does conformity happen?

1. Normative social influence (NSI)

-Changing your behaviour/opinion because you want to be liked eg. Asch's line study

-Asch: people said the same answer as others because they wanted to be liked

-Sherif's autokinetic study: Light 'moving' on a wall, participants asked to say how much it was moving, answers varied individually but merged to a similar answer when answering in a group setting

2. Informational social influence (ISI)

-Changing your behaviour/opinion because you want to be right eg. Lucas et al- the harder the maths problem, the more people conformed to a similar answer

-Jenness: People asked to estimate number of jellybeans in a jar, individually= answers varied, as a group=conformed to a similar answer

Types of conformity

1. Compliance 

-Going along with others in public but not changing your opinion privately. Singular occurrence eg. Asch's study

2. Identification

-Conforming to the opinions/behaviour of a group because there is something about the group we value and want to be part of 

-Publicly changing your opinion/behaviour but not agreeing privately eg. Zimbardo's study

3. Internalisation

-When a person genuinely accepts the group norms. Private and public conformity. Possible permanent change eg. Sherif's autokinetic study

Asch's line study

-Do people still conform with the answer if the answer is not ambiguous?

-123 male participants (androcentric)

-7 participants to 9 confederates

-Participants asked to state which line matched the original line

-1 person opposing the participant's opinion: 4% conformity

-2 opposing: 14% 

-3 opposing: 32%

-4 opposing: 37% 

-1/3 participants conformed the majority of the time

-25% participants didn't conform at all, 75% conformed at least once

Evaluation

-Lab experiment= extraneous variables controlled

-Consent given as self-selected. No researcher bias. 

-Large sample

Disadvantages

-Androcentric as all male college students. 

-Artificial stimulus-= lack of external validity and mundane realism

-Perrin and Spencer 1980s UK: barely any conformity. Lacks cultural and temporal validity. 

-Deception as the participants were told that the study was about eyesight. May increase internal validity.

Zimbardo's study of conformity to social roles

-Do prison guards act sadistically because of their personality or their roles as a prison guard?

-Stanford Uni: 24 self-selected male participants. Tested for any psychological abnormalities. 

-Participants randomly assigned role of prison guard or prisoner

-Stopped after 6 days instead of 2 weeks

-Prisoners dehumanised: deloused, stripped, referred to as a number, wore a uniform, chain on foot, excessive exercise, sprayed with a fire distinguisher, not allowed to use the toilet. Some prisoners released because they had a mental breakdown,

-Prison guards wore sunglasses, whistles and told to control the prisoners without using violence

-Zimbardo as the superintendent, not the researcher

Evaluation

-Abu Ghraib application

-Lab experiment= extraneous variables reduced

-10 year extensive debrief to come to terms with what happened

-Consent

Disadvantages

-Haslam and Reicher 2006 TV show study: completely different results. Prisoners overtook the…