Introduction to Social Psychology
Conformity
Dr. Jay W Jackson
Conformity in Popular Thought
• Conformity is
typically thought of
in a negative way
• Conformity is good
and necessary at
times and certainly
destructive at other
times
• Conformity is a part
of everyday life
Conformity is that jailer of
freedom and the enemy of
growth. ~John F. Kennedy
MY LAI MASSACRE
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JONESTOWN
David Koresh and the Branch
WHY DO PEOPLE CONFORM?
• Conformity: A change in behavior in response to the
real or imagined influence of others
• Informational influence: being influenced by others
because of a desire to be correct
• Normative influence: being influenced by others to
gain acceptance or avoid rejection
• Informational and normative influence can occur
simultaneously
• Two famous lines of research: Sherif’s (1930s) and
Asch’s (1950s)
Sherif’s Studies of Norm Formation
►Social norm: an unwritten
social rule about what
behaviors are appropriate
and inappropriate in a give
situation
►May be widespread in a
culture, or particular to a
smaller group (family, peer
group, etc.)
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Sherif’s Studies of Norm Formation
► The autokinetic effect is an optical illusion: A tiny
point of light at the end of a dark room will appear to
move after some time of observation.
► Sherif asked individuals to estimate how far the light
moved on several trials.
► First gave estimates alone. Estimates ranged from less
than an inch to more than 9 inches
► Then, put in groups and publically gave estimates
► After several trials, a group norm became established
► Little variation within groups regarding estimates
► Each group established a different norm
Sherif’s Studies of Norm Formation
• In another condition, participants made their
judgments in the group situation first.
• Group norms were established very rapidly.
• During the last (fourth) session, the participants were
separated and made their judgments alone.
• The individualized judgments closely followed the
group norm
Sherif’s Studies of Norm Formation
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Sherif’s Planted Norm Study
• Participants assembled in groups of two: one naïve
subject, one accomplice (plant).
• The accomplice gave estimates to encourage a
specific norm (from 2-8 inches)
• First 50 trials: the two participants made their
judgments together
• Second 50 trials: Naïve participant tested alone.
• The results are shown on next screen.
Sherif’s Planted Norm Study: Results
Blue line: naïve participants’
responses during initial trails
(accomplice present and gave
responses for a standard of 2-8”)
Purple line: naïve participant’s
responses during the second set of
trials, when accomplice not present.
The arbitrary standard introduced by
the accomplice clearly established a
group norm, and that norm
influenced the naïve participant’s
judgments when alone.
Sherif’s Studies are a good Example
of Informational Influence at work
►people like to be certain and confident in the
correctness of their actions
►The situation was ambiguous and uncertain
►People looked to others to help define “reality”
►Once developed, the norm persists beyond the
immediate situation
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“We all kissed one another
and felt we would all die”
• Why were so many
Americans convinced that
there was an actual alien
invasion ?
• Due in part to Informational
influence, and Interpreting
events to fit “invasion”
schema
– “We looked out the window
and Wyoming Avenue was
black with cars. People were
rushing away, I figured”
– No cars came down my street.
Traffic is jammed on account
of the roads being destroyed,
I thought.
http://www.wnyc.org/shows/radiolab/episodes/2005/06/29
Normative Social Influence
• Why would anybody engage in
such behaviors?
• Not a function of informational
influence!
• Normative influence is part of the
reason – we have a fundamental
need for social acceptance
• But would we conform if we didn’t
really care about the group and
we knew we were right?
Train surfing
Car surfing
The Asch
Line
Judgment
Studies
•
•
•
Completely unambiguous task
On 12 of the trails, the others
(accomplices) unanimously
give the wrong answer
Now, it’s your turn to give an
answer. What do you do?
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Results of Asch’s Experiment
• 23% never went along with the group
• 77% gave wrong answer at least once
• 32% gave wrong answer on more than
half of the trials
• 37% on average
• 5% always
Why Did People Conform in the Asch study?
• Normative influence
• One participant explained: “I was standing out like a
sore thumb; I didn’t want particularly to make a fool
of myself -- I felt I was definitely right but they might
think I was peculiar”.
• Normative pressures usually result in public
compliance without private acceptance
• People are often concerned about looking foolish in
front of complete strangers.
• In one variation, Asch had participants write their
responses (private rather than public
announcement). Conformity reduced to 1.5 average
Non-Conformity and the Brain
• Berns et al. scan brains (fMRI) of people in an Aschlike situations
• When the participants conformed, activation
occurred in typical areas of the brain dedicated to
perception.
• However, when participants went against the group:
the amygdala, an area devoted to negative emotions,
and the right caudate nucleus, an area devoted to
modulating social behavior, are more active
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Crutchfield’s studies of military officers
• Which has more area? The circle or star?
– 46% denied their senses and conformed
• "I doubt if I would make a good leader”
– private: 100% reject the statement
– if believed others agreed with statement: 40% reject
Factors That Affect The Degree Of Conformity
• Task Ambiguity (and crises)
• Task Difficulty
• Why do ambiguous and difficult tasks produce more
conformity than clear and easy tasks?
• Having just a single ally
• Personality
• Age
• Culture
• Gender?
Changes in Jury Composition in the US
► 1879 US Supreme Court rules that excluding women from
juries is constitutional
► 1920 Women given the right to vote but not the right to serve
on juries
► 1957 Civil Rights Act gives women the right to serve on federal
juries
► 1975 US Supreme Court rules that excusing women from
juries because of their gender is unconstitutional
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Resisting Conformity Pressures
• It is possible to resist conformity pressures
• Are other people’s reactions more legitimate than
mine?
– Do other people know any more about what is going on
than I do?
– Is there an expert handy, someone who should know
more?
– Do the actions of other people or experts seem sensible?
– If I behave the way they do, will it go against my common
sense or my moral compass?
• Find someone or group who thinks the way you do
Minority influence
. . . refers to those instances when a
group’s decision is substantially
influenced by the views of an
individual or a small subset of
individuals that are not in line with
the views of most group members.
• Great film! 12 Angry Men (1957)
• Serge Moscovici pioneered research
on minority influence
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Moscovici, Lage, & Naffrechoux (1969)
% green responses
• Conducted a study based on Asch’s paradigm
• Participants were presented with a blue slide and
asked to name the color
• 3 conditions:
1. Control (6 naïve participants)
2. Inconsistent minority (said “green” 2/3 of time +
“blue” 1/3 of time)
3. Consistent minority (always said “green”)
8.42%
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
1.25%
.25%
Control
Inconsistent minority
Consistent minority
Experimental Condition
Moscovici, Lage, & Naffrechoux (1969)
When is Minority Influence Most Likely?
• When the person or group
• Is steadfast in their views
• Does not appear overly dogmatic or rigid
• Offer a compelling argument against the majority position
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Using Conformity Norms to Promote
Beneficial Behavior
• Robert Cialdini’s work
• Injunctive norms have to do with what we think
other people approve or disapprove of
• Descriptive norms concern our perceptions of the
way people actually behave in a given situation
Example Study
• Cialdini, Kallgren, and Reno (1990)
– Participants saw someone litter (descriptive norm) or saw
someone pick up litter (injunctive norm)
– The surrounding environment is either littered or clean
– You find a handbill on your car windsheld – what do you do
with it?
General Conclusion: injunctive norms are more powerful
than descriptive norms in producing desirable behavior.
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Conclusions
• Conformity is a part of human nature
• Can be good or bad
• Understanding how conformity works
precisely can help us reduce conformity that is
destructive and promote conformity to
positive behaviors
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