Conformity

Social Influence How behavior is influenced by the social environment and the presence of other people. Three things are influences by this: Conformity Obedience Helping Behaviors

Conformity Adopting attitudes or behaviors of others because of pressure to do so; the pressure can be real or imagined People bring their attitudes or behaviors in line with that of a group.

Social Norms Social Norms – typically we join groups that share our social norms. These are the standards that you share with your group. Social Norms are broken into 2 categories: Explicit Norms – Spoken or Written Rules School dress code, traffic rules Implicit Norms – Unspoken or unwritten rules How to dress so you fit in Social Norms can be good or bad: Good – Not talking during a movie, taking regular baths. Bad – Smoking, binge drinking

Solomon Asch (1907-1996) Social psychologist who researched the circumstances under which people conform 1907-1996

Asch’s Experiments on Conformity Previous research had shown people will conform to others’ judgments more often when they were unsure of what the right answer was. Asch wanted to see how often would someone conform with a group even when they knew the group was wrong. Currently, I am trying to reproduce Asch's experiment in my classroom, but am still working out the details. However, even if you can't get conformity from the subject, the students think it is a fun and informative demonstration. In addition, film clips are available with replications of his study, although not on the Gray CD. another approach is to stop lecture at the point where you will introduce conformity and ask the students to do something (e.g., get up and change seats) -- then discuss their behavior as it relates to conforming -- individual instructors may prefer to use this demonstration under obedience, however.

Asch’s Experiments on Conformity All but 1 in group was confederate Seating was rigged Asked to rate which line matched a “standard” line Confederates were instructed to pick the wrong line 12/18 times Comparison lines Standard lines 1 2 3 Discovering Psy 2e slides, Shulman

Asch’s Conformity Study

Asch’s Conformity Study

Asch’s Experiments on Conformity Results Asch found that 2/3 participants conformed to at least one wrong choice during multiple trials. 1/3 went along with the group at least half the time ¼ went along with the group almost all the time. Most admitted they knew the answer was wrong but went with the group anyways. Control group that responded alone (no group present) chose correctly 99%.

2 general reasons for conformity Why do we conform? 2 general reasons for conformity Informational social influence - Our the desire to be correct Normative social influence— Our desire to gain social acceptance and approval.

Why did so many of the participants in Asch’s study conform to clearly wrong choices? Subjects reported having doubted their own perceptual abilities which led to their conformance – didn’t report seeing the lines the way the confederates had Is this Normative or Informational Social Influence? Informational because they wanted to be correct.

Factors Increasing Conformity The person feels incompetent or insecure. The group has three or more people (8 is ideal). The rest of the group is unanimous. The person is impressed by the status of the group. No prior commitments were made. The group is observing the person respond. One’s culture encourages conformity. Collectivists are more likely to conform.

Factors Decreasing Conformity When we have an ally in our dissent from majority opinion, even if the dissenter’s competence is questionable.

Effects of a Nonconformist If everyone agrees, you are less likely to disagree HOWEVER… If one person disagrees, even if they give the wrong answer, you are more likely to express your nonconforming view Asch tested this hypothesis one confederate gave different answer from others conformity dropped significantly I like to discuss with students the effect of a nonconformist on others in the group by discussing a study by Moscivici & Personnaz: (a) Showed blue slides to a group of people with a few confederates sprinkled in there. In group 1, a majority of the group said “green” when the slide was actually blue; in group 2 a minority of people said “green” when the slide was actually blue (b) The hypothesis was that when a minority of people stuck up for their position (green not blue) that other people might listen and really try to see green (c) When they showed a white screen and asked for the color of the afterimages, group 1 reported yellow afterimages (seeing only blue), but group 2 reported orange afterimages (seeing a little red in there which is the complement of green!!)

Culture & Conformity In general, levels of conformity have steadily declined since Asch’s original study of U.S. college students in the 1950s Individualistic cultures tend to emphasize independence, self-expression, and standing out from the crowd; thus the whole notion of conformity tends to carry a negative connotation Collectivistic cultures, however, publicly conforming while privately disagreeing is regarded as socially appropriate tact or sensitivity