C o n f o r m i t y a n d O b e d i e n c e Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or displayChinaFotoPress/Getty Images

What Is Conformity? Change in behavior or belief as the result of real or imagined group pressure Three types of conformity Acceptance: Conformity that involves both acting as expected and having internalized the action Compliance: Conformity that involves publicly acting in line of an implied or explicit request, while publicly disagreeing Obedience: Acting in accord with a direct order or command, often from a person who holds power over the individual Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

Is Conformity Good or Bad? This question has no scientific answer: At times it may be bad, at times good, and at times inconsequential In Western, individualistic societies the word “conformity” carries a negative value judgment In Asian cultures, that tend to be more collectivistic, going along with others is not a sign of weakness but of tolerance In such cultures people know what to expect from each other

More about the Meaning of Conformity Conformity is not just acting the way other people act; it is also being affected by how they act It is acting or thinking differently from the way you would act or think if you were alone The key is to consider whether your behavior and beliefs would be the same apart from the group which serves as your reference Conformity is an important topic in Social Psychology, as it can lead people to do terrible things to other people.

The Nature of the Conformity Studies Social psychologists who study conformity and obedience usually conduct their study in the lab, where they attempt to simulate (imitate) important aspects of everyday social influence Let us remember that we all are sensitive to social expectations from people around us, as we have evolved, in the context of our evolutionary history, to depend on group acceptance and support for our survival. The conformity and obedience studies described here are milestone studies

Sherif’s Norm Formation studies (1935, 1937) Sherif used in his studies a visual illusion called the autokinetic phenomenon. In a dark room there is a stationary point of light; that is, the light does not move The as a person watches, the light starts to seem to be moving (actually it remains static), then disappear This phenomenon is based on the fact that in the absence of stimulation, the brain creates its own stimulation A subject was asked to estimate how far has the point of light moved; in reality the light never moved !!

Results of Sherif’s Study Subjects heard via earphones responses of other “participants” (actually instructed by the experimenter to give “false” responses) The subjects changed their estimates markedly This study illustrated the power of suggestibility

What Are the Classic Conformity and Obedience Studies? Sherif’s Studies of Norm Formation Used autokinetic phenomenon then asked groups of men to determine how much the point of light had moved – the responses of the men changed markedly The point of light never moved A Sample Group from Sherif’s Study of Norm Formation Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

What Are the Classic Conformity and Obedience Studies? Sherif’s Studies of Norm Formation Suggestibility Contagious yawning Chameleon effect Mimicry Mass hysteria Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

What Are the Classic Conformity and Obedience Studies? Asch’s Studies of Group Pressure Perceptual judgment experiment Six confederates gave incorrect answers to see if participant would agree even if he knew it was the incorrect answer Sample Comparison from Solomon Asch’s Conformity Procedure Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

Asch Studies of Group Pressure In contrast to the subjects in Sherif Studies, using the autokinetic phenomenon which presented an ambiguous situation seen for the first time, Asch’s subjects could see clearly which line was the right comparison. Three-quarters of the subjects in the line-comparison experiment gave the wrong answer at least once when the other members of the group (confederates of the experimenter) gave the wrong answer This experiment lacked “mundane realism” but had “experimental realism” : the subjects became emotionally involved.

What Are the Classic Conformity and Obedience Studies? Milgram’s Obedience Experiments Tested what happens when the demands of authority clash with the demands of conscience Teacher “shocks” learner at the insistence of experimenter 65 percent of participants continued beyond expectations Figure Milgram’s Obedience Experiment Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

The Background of Milgarm’s Obedience Studies During the second World War ( ) the Nazi regime in Germany systematically killed 6 million Jewish people and other groups (e.g. gay, mentally- retarded) that were deemed “inferior” This is known as the Holocaust After the defeat of the Nazi regime those Nazi leaders that did not escape to South America were brought to justice In the trial they claimed that they were just obeying orders Milgram wanted to test this argument in the lab

Results of Milgram Obedience Studies Sixty-five percent of the participants (those who were the “teachers” who administered the “shocks” to the “learner” who made mistakes) went all the way to administer the highest level of the “electrical shock” to the learner, even when the “learner” was screaming and yelling “Get me out of here” When the “teacher” was hesitating to continue the experimenter just gave verbal prods, such as “The experiment requires that you continue”

Under what Conditions was the Obedience greatest? The victim’s distance: When the “learner” was in the other room and was silent When the “learner” was in the same room “only” 40% obeyed to the maximum 450 volts (described as “deadly” on the “shock machine”) Today people post nasty comments on the Internet In the Holocaust the Nazi devised a killing method that would visually separate he killers and their victims They constructed concrete gas champers and administered poisonous gas via “showers”

Conditions (cont-d): Closeness and Legitimacy of the Authority The physical presence of the experimenter also affected obedience When the experimenter gave the commands by telephone full obedience dropped to 21% The authority must be perceived as legitimate Note hospital studies how nurses were ready to obey a physician command (an unknown “physician” who gave a clearly dangerous command involving medication to a patient) The physician is clearly an authority in the hospital

Conditions (cont-d): Institutional Authority One of the explanations given by the subjects in Milgram’s studies was that if not the prestige of Yale University, where the study had been conducted, they would not have had obeyed In response to this claim Milgram moved the study to store-front facility that did not have Yale’s fame Under this condition 48% of the participants obeyed and admisitered the shock to its highest, lethal level.

What Are the Classic Conformity and Obedience Studies? Ethics of Milgram's Experiment Critics said the Milgram’s experiment stressed the participants against their will They argued that the participants’ self-concepts may have been altered Milgram stated that the ethical controversy was “terribly overblown” Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

What Are the Classic Conformity and Obedience Studies? Reflections on the Classic Studies Behavior and attitudes Mutually reinforcing A small act of evil to foster the attitude that leads to a larger evil act Power of the situation Heroism can occur as well as evil Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

What Predicts Conformity? Group Size 3 to 5 people will elicit more conformity than just 1 or 2 Groups greater in size than 5 yields diminishing returns Unanimity Observing another’s dissent – even when it is wrong- can increase our own independence Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

What Predicts Conformity? Cohesion “We feeling”; extent to which members of a group are bound together, such as by attraction for one another The more cohesive a group is, the more power it gains over its members Status Higher-status people tend to have more impact Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

What Predicts Conformity? Public Response People conform more when they must respond in front of others rather than writing their answers privately Prior Commitment Most people having made a public commitment stick to it Example: Teens who make a public virginity-till-marriage pledge become somewhat more likely to remain sexually abstinent Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

Why Conform? Normative Influence Based on a person's desire to fulfill others’ expectations, often to gain acceptance Produced by social image Informational Influence Occurring when people accept evidence about reality provided by other people Produced by desire to be correct Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

Who Conforms? Personality Is a poor predictor of conformity; situations are better Culture Different cultures socialize people to be more or less socially responsive Social Roles Conforming to expectations is an important task when taking on a new social role Role reversal Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

Do We Ever Want to Be Different? Reactance Motive to protect or restore one’s sense of freedom Arises when someone threatens our freedom of action Asserting Uniqueness We act in ways that preserve our sense of individuality In a group, we are most conscious of how we differ from others Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.