conformity conformity conformity conformity conformity

X A B C

X A B C

X A B C

Conformity (Majority Influence) “A change in behaviour or opinions as a result of group pressure”

Asch (1951) A research study of conformity to group pressure Will someone go along with an answer that is obviously wrong? What is more important – being right or fitting in? Asch did an experiment using “confederates” (who deliberately lied) in order to fool naïve participants (who had no idea what was going on).

Method: A B C Asked in this direction, with NP near the end; what would he say? C C C C C NP C C = confederate, NP = naïve participant

Asch (1951) When all the confederates gave the right answer, the naïve participants made almost no errors When the confederates gave the wrong answer, the naïve participant went along with it 37% of the time Of the participants: 75% conformed at least once 5% conformed every time 25% never conformed

Why would someone go along with an answer they knew to be wrong?

Asch (1951) Participants gave reasons for why they conformed, including: They genuinely doubted own judgement They didn’t want to ‘upset the experiment’ They didn’t want to appear odd How would you feel if you were a naïve participant in Asch’s experiment?

Other Studies of Conformity Situations where there is no clear cut right answer Jenness (1932) – estimating the number of beans in a jar Sherif (1935) – estimating how far a light appeared to move

Conformity Processes Normative Social Influence We want to be liked Informational Social Influence We want to be right

Your turn … Write a sentence or two under each of the headings AIM METHOD RESULT CONCLUSION - for this experiment by Asch

Evaluation Complete these sentences to evaluate this experiment: + This was the first conformity e………….. that was not ambiguous + It was a lab experiment and so easily c……………….. and r…………………… - But because it was a lab experiment, it was artificial - i.e. not ………………. ………….. - Participants were deceived, confused & embarrassed so it was un………… - Only white American college students were used so the results are not g………………………. - It all happened 50 years ago, so the results may not be …………………………………………………………..