Conformity
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
SnAyr0kWRGE
Video task
• What is conformity?
• How did the group (Audience) react to the
order of ‘ find your own walk’?
The assessment
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•
•
•
•
Covers
1.1
2.1
2.2
Difference between conformity and obedience
Minority influence
Conformity basics
Conformity definition:
• Conformity is a type of
social influence involving a
change in belief or
behaviour in order to fit in
with a group (McLeod,
2007)
• In conformity it is the whole
group that has the power,
which differs from
Obedience which the power
is centralised on the
authority figure.
• Example of conformity:
• https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=nPobACr9oL4
Solomon Asch : Elevator experiment
• Originally conducted as
part of the 1962 candid
camera episode ‘Rear
faces’
First study of conformity: Minds and
models handout
• Jenness (1932)- Glass
bottle filled with beans
• Aim
• Method
• Results
• Conclusion
• Since then we have
identified other types of
conformity
Types of conformity
•
•
•
•
Normative- Asch’s line study
Informational- Sherif’s study
IngratiationalIdentification- Zimbardo’s prison study
• Types of conformity
Normative Conformity
• The person wants to fit in
with the group
• The motivation is fear of
rejection and public
shaming
• Publicly accepts the views
of a person but privately
disagrees- Don’t get
confused with Obedience
here!!
• Asch’s line experiment
• https://www.youtube.co
m/watch?v=NyDDyT1lDh
A
Last Lesson
• We looked at
• Types of conformity
• Introduced Normative
conformity
• Ashe’s line experiment
This lesson: Conformity and minority
influence
Conformity
Informational
Normative
Sherif (1935)
experiment
Asch Line Study
Identification/
Deindividuation
Zimbardo
prison study
Identification- deindividuation
• Conforming to the
expectations of a social
role
• When people lose their
own identity and fall
back on perceived roles
• What other examples
can we use?
• Zimbardo
https://www.youtube.com
/watch?v=760lwYmpXbcei
cher
BBC Prison study
Reicher and Haslam –
handout 74/ 163
Informational conformity
• If you are in an
unfamiliar situation and
you don’t know the
correct way to behave.
• You look to others for
information about how
to behave
• Sherif (1935)
experiment- Handout
page 73
Criticisms of research into conformity:
page
• Cultural differences : a
product of time and
culture
• Personality may
influence independent
behaviour
• Handout page 76
• Handout page 77
First part of assignment
• Distinguish between conformity and
obedience
• Pick two types of conformity
• Define, and explain these two types
• Use two key studies to help you explain them
• Evaluate these studies –what is good about
the study and relating to day to day) what is
not so good (criticisms of the study
• Criticsims of conformity being situational
Minority Influence
1.
2.
3.
4.
Definition
Evidence to support it (studies)
Further evidence to support- day to day
Criticisms of minority influence
1: Definition
• Deviant subgroup rejects the established
group norms and persuades the majority to
conform to the minority attitude, belief, and
behaviour pattern
• This thereby changes the norm
Oxford Psychology Dictionary (2006)
3. An Example to support definition
https://www.youtube
.com/watch?v=9_q2A
w464KI
Could these be
classed as
Terrorists? Are
there any more
examples?
Task: But how does the minority
influence work? What does the
minority group have to do?
2How does it work: Consistency:
Moscovici et al 1969 handout 164
• Consistency- must be consistent in their beliefs in
order to change the majority
• This consistency leads to internalisation and
lasting social norm change
• Wood et al (1994) –meta-analysis
97 studies found that minorities perceived as
being consistent were particularly influential in
changing the views of the majority
• For example the suffragettes in USA Their fight
for the vote continued for 15 years, even when
some were imprisoned.
2.Informational social influence
• Aiming for converting people
• They don’t want to scare people into
conformity
• Imagine you are selling an idea.. How would
you go about it?
2. The snowball effect
• Research: Clark 1994- Jury decision making
• Handout Page 165
• Once a few majority begin to move towards
the minority position, then the influence of
the majority begins to gather momentum as
more people gradually pay attention to the
minority
4. Criticisms of the minority influence
• Criticise the studies what is wrong in
• Moscovici et al- Consistancy
• Clark - Snowball
Handout page 166
• Other explanations:
• The Group Membership
• The Dissociation model