PSYA2 Social Influence
Conformity
Forming normative perception (Myers
2002)
Number of inches
of movement observed
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Alone
Group
trial 1
2
3
Alone
1. Types of Conformity
How many
pasta
shapes in
the
container?
BATs
AO1 – Define different types of conformity
• Identify different types of conformity from
research studies
• Identify different types of conformity from
real life situations
AO2 – Evaluate Asch’s research
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1euWT3NZjY candid
camera lift
Majority Influence (Conformity)
• What is meant by the term SOCIAL INFLUENCE?
It’s the study of how thoughts, feelings and
behaviour of individuals are influenced by the
presence of others, whether that presence is
actual or imagined.
• We are all influenced by social influences, some
of which we’re aware of and some of which we’re
not.
• Sometimes we give way to this social influence
to “fit in” with those around us and sometimes
we do it because we’re not sure of the right way
to think or act so we use others as a source of
information.
Majority Influence (Conformity)
• Children learn by imitating others and adults follow the
most common form of behaviour in their society.
• Therefore CONFORMITY becomes common, even in
large groups.
• Our life is characterised by Social Norms, which are the
generally accepted ways of thinking, feeling and
behaving that are shared by other members of the social
group.
• When a social group has well-established norms that
specify appropriate behaviour, there is pressure for
members of the group to maintain this norm (i.e. to
conform).
• Deviants who go against social norms may experience a
lot of pressure to bring them back into line.
Sherif’ Experiment
 In an classic experiment Sherif (1935) showed participants a
single pinpoint of light in a dark room
 Participants were asked to estimate individually how far the
light moved from its original position
 After the initial individual attempt participants worked in
pairs & then groups to try & reach consensus.
 Group consensus was reached by establishing an agreed point.
Criticism of Sherif’s work:
The ‘group’ used consisted of three people. They may not have considered
themselves to be a group.
There was no right or wrong answer, it was an ambiguous task, and Sherif
told them that he was going to move the light, so they were more likely to
change their minds anyway.
Sherif (1935) Autokinetic Effect
Forming normative perception (Myers
2002)
Number of inches
of movement observed
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Alone
Group
trial 1
2
3
Alone
Conformity (Majority Influence)
psychlotron.org.uk
“A change in behaviour due to real or
imagined pressure from other people”
psychlotron.org.uk
This is a replication of a
very influential
Psychological investigation
by Solomon Asch in 1951
A
B
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C
A
B
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C
A
B
psychlotron.org.uk
C
Asch (1951)
– Will someone go along with an answer that is
obviously wrong?
– What is more important – being right or fitting
in?
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=wGfJUi
90Pxc
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=R6LH1
0-3H8k
psychlotron.org.uk
• A research study of conformity to group
pressure
Asch (1951)
– 75% conformed at least once
– 5% conformed every time
– 25% never conformed
psychlotron.org.uk
• When all the confederates gave the right
answer, the PPs made almost no errors
• When the confeds gave the wrong answer,
the PP went along with it 37% of the time
• Of the PPs:
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Why would someone go along with an
answer they knew to be wrong?
Asch (1951)
• PPs reported conforming for different
reasons including:
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– Genuinely doubted own judgement
– Didn’t want to ‘upset the experiment’
– Fear of rejection by confeds
Types of Conformity
Task 1:
Use your text books and the worksheet to
find out 3 different types of conformity.
Task 2: Apply what you have learned about
different types of conformity to complete
the worksheet.
Types of conformity
• Internalisation – we adopt the group norm as
our own
– Private beliefs and public behaviour coincide
• Compliance – we follow the norm, but do not
adopt it as our own
• Identification (Acceptance)
– elements of
compliance and internalisation – the person adopts the
attitudes and beliefs as they accept them as right and
true (internalisation), but the purpose is to be accepted
as a member of a group (compliance)
psychlotron.org.uk
– Private beliefs and public behaviour diverge
psychlotron.org.uk
©2004 Easyoar
Is this a non-conformist?
Try it out …
• Replicate Jeness’s experiment
1. Use the sheet to fill in either some over or
under exaggerated numbers for the box of
pasta.
2. Take your pasta box and sheet out at
break and ask as many people as possible
to guess the number of pasta shapes –
record their answers
3. Back in the class – analyse results
Evaluating Asch’s research
• Is Asch’s study a ‘child of its time’?
• Were these findings unique to ..
Males
USA –
individualist
culture
1950’s –
McCarthyism
strong anti-communist feeling, people scared to be different.
Evaluating Asch’s research
Perrin and Spencer (1980) – replicated Asch’s
study in UK in late 70’s
• Science and engineering students only 1/396
conformed
• Youths on probation as ppts, probation officers
as confederates – similar results to Asch.
• Nicholson 1985 – British students – some
evidence of conformity – due to greater feeling of
national cohesion as a result of the Falklands
war
Conformity or Independence?
• Only 37% of cases showed conformity to
the majority.
• 2/3 did not conform
• Asch believed that rather than showing
people as being overly conformist, his
study demonstrated that many stick to
what they believe – INDEPENDENT
behaviour
What factors may affect
conformity?
• In groups research one factor from the list
below.
• Produce an A3 poster to show how it can
affect conformity
• Group size, time, culture, task difficulty,
unanimity, gender.
• Once finished, put on a desk.
• Make notes from each poster – fill in worksheet
if it helps.
Plenary
Watch the clip – http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=VsyfQeSITww
- What kind of conformity is shown here?
- Give reasons for your answer
• Homework:
• Answer questions 1-5 on p158 of Exploring
Psychology
• Use the internet or p71 in your revision guide to
find out about Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison
experiment
• What kind of conformity is shown? Give reasons
for your answer.