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CONFORMITY

CONFORMITY. Definition:. Conformity is ” a change in belief or behaviour in response to real or imagined group pressure when there is no direct request to comply with the group nor any reason to justify the behaviour change” (Zimbardo &Leippe, 1991). Experimental study of conformity.

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CONFORMITY

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  1. CONFORMITY

  2. Definition: • Conformity is ” a change in belief or behaviour in response to real or imagined group pressure when there is no direct request to comply with the group nor any reason to justify the behaviour change” (Zimbardo &Leippe, 1991)

  3. Experimental study of conformity • Solomon Asch (1951) • YouTube - Asch's Conformity Experiment

  4. When have you experienced pressure to conform? • What did you do, did you conform? • What things affected your behaviour?

  5. The results of Solomon Asch’sstudy: • The mean conformity rate was 32% • Wide individual differences • no one conformed on all trials • 13 out of 50 (26%) conformed never • one participant conformed in 11 out of 12 trials • ¾ conformed at least at once

  6. Factors affecting conformity • Social support • one supportive member  only 5% conformed • breaking unanimity reduces conformity (Asch 1956, Allen & Levine 1971) • Attraction and commitment to the group • Size of the group • More members, more conformity, up to 3+1 members • Very big groups decrease conformity

  7. Sex • previous studies: women seemed to conform more • Later research: no sex difference - testing conditions were more familiar for men  systematic error caused by subtle biases in the methods used • men conform as much as women if their opinion is kept private • if opinion is made known to others women conform more (Eagly & Steffen 1984) • Personal factors • low self-esteem (Santee and Maslach 1982) • concern about social relationships (Mullen 1983) • strong need for social approval (Sears et al.1991) • attraction towards others (Wyer, 1966)

  8. Task • difficulty (Asch 1956) • unfamiliarity (Sistrunk & McDavid 1971) and • ambiquity (Shaw et.al.1957) of the task increase conformity • note: the task may be unfamiliar to one gender not the other (Sistrunk & McDavid 1971) • Culture: • more conforming behaviour in collectivistic cultures (Japan, India) than in individualistic cultures (USA) (Bond&Smith 1996, Triandis, X) • Larsen (1974): lower rates of conformity amongst American students • Larsen (1979): conformity rates were quite similar than those obtained by Asch • the effect of the change in cultural climate! • The effect of the change of the experimenters (Brown 1985)

  9. Evaluation of Asch’s study • Critics: • can the results be generalized to the real life situations (the question of ecological validity) • Importance of Asch’s study: • the power of social pressure to conform was well demonstrated • sparked a huge wave of additional studies knowledge of the factors affecting conformity

  10. Crutchfield (1954) (AL p.123) • Asch’s study is time consuming and uneconomical • Crutchfield device (1954) • each participant in an own cubicle • questions to the wall • participants were told that the lights on the panel represented the responses given by others (deception) • no need for stooges, several participants tested the same time, all together Crutchfield tested over 600 people • result: college students agreed with statements they probably wouldn’t have agreed with in other circumstances

  11. Moscovici & Faucheux (1972): • the participants of the Asch study were not the minority but the majority (representing the conventional), stooges were minority (unconventional)  Asch study is about the possible effects of minority

  12. Whydopeopleconform? • Deutsch and Gerard (1955): The dual process dependecy model of social influence: • Informational social influence (ISI) • Normative social influence (NSI) • Need to be accepted • Fear that others will reject (Schachter 1951, hand out p.75) -

  13. Distinction between • Internalisation: private belief becomes consistent with a public view  ”true conformity” (Mann) • Compliance: answer given publicly is not the one believed privately Critics: doesn’t take into account the psychological feeling of willingness to belong to the group --> those belonging to ”our group” have affect on us

  14. Conformitygood? • Helps to satisfy different needs, both social and non-social • Helps social life to proceed • May be a rational judgement • Help to preserve harmony

  15. Applications of conformity studies: • Cerwonka, Isbell & Hansen, 2000: The effects of conformity to HIV/AIDS knowledge risk behaviour • Mansfield, 2003: Conformity affecting men (for not seeking for help)

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