1. Conformity and Obedience

2. I. Conformity: a change in behavior or belief as
the result of real or imagined group pressure.
Conformity often occurs in response to
established norms.
A. Conformity: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly…
and The Neutral
B. Two Levels of Conformity…
Level 1… Compliance: conformity that involves acting in
accord with an implied or explicit request while privately
disagreeing.
Level 2… Acceptance: conformity that involves acting
and believing in accord with social pressure.

3. C. Informational Influence: the influence of other people that
leads us to conform because we see them as a source of
information to guide our behavior. We conform because we
believe that others’ interpretation of an ambiguous situation is
more correct than ours and will help us choose an appropriate
course of action.

4. D. Believing is Seeing… Sherif’s Research on Conformity
1) Autokinetic Phenomenon: the apparent movement of a
stationary point of light in the dark.

5. E. Social Contagion: the rapid spread of emotions or
behaviors through a crowd.
Contagious Yawning
Shuffling Papers
Pitted Windshields!
1) Mass Psychogenic Illness: the occurrence, in a group
of people, of similar physical symptoms with no known
physical cause.
School Sick for a Day
Meowing Nuns!

6. F. Social Proof: we tend to see an action as more appropriate
or correct when others are doing it.
Coffee Houses
Red Bull
Canned Laughter
Elevator in Candid Camera
When in Rome…
Monkey See, Monkey Do… Monkey Die!
Social Proof accounts for the increase in suicides and murders
that occurs soon after highly publicized suicides and murders
take place. The idea here is that the new suicides and murderers see themselves as similar to the people involved in the initial events.

7. G. Normative Influence: the influence of other people that
leads us to conform in order to be liked and accepted by them;
this type of conformity results in public compliance with the
group’s beliefs and behaviors but not necessarily private
acceptance of those beliefs and behaviors.
H. Is Everyone Nuts?!… Asch’s Research on Conformity
1) The Ally Effect: if you
introduce a dissenter into the
group (someone who takes the
side of the real subject), then
the real subject’s likelihood of
conforming drops significantly.

8. II. What Other Factors Predict Conformity?
A. Group Size
1) Social Influence Model: three to five pseudo subjects in
the group yields the greatest rate of increase in conformity;
conformity begins leveling off after that.
2) Social Impact Theory: greater group size = greater overall
conformity; although the first source of influence yields the
greatest rate of increase in conformity.
Groups have normative influence when group members want to be
liked and informational influence when group members want to be right.
When being liked is important, groups with three to five pseudo subjects
lead to more conformity than only two pseudo subjects
(Social Influence Model).
When being right is important, the first person added to a group has the
most influence (Social Impact Theory).

9. III. Non-Conformity: Let’s All Be Different Together
B. Public Response
C. Role Reversal
III. Non-Conformity: Let’s All Be Different
Together
A. Distinguishing between true independence of thought
and non-conformity.
B. How do we react to those that react against established
norms (norm-violators)?

10. IV. Obedience: acting in accord with a direct
order or command; usually when given by a
person with perceived authority.
The Shocking Truth… Milgram’s Research on
Obedience to Authority
1) Initial Predictions
2) Outcome

11. 3) Evidence for an “authority explanation”… Sex differences? NO
Unaware of the true
harm that was being
inflicted? NO
Not a representative
sample? (subjects
were a bunch of bad
apples?) NO

12. B. What Breeds Obedience?
1) Victim’s distance or depersonalization
2) Closeness and legitimacy of the authority
3) Institutional authority
4) Liberating effects of group influence
C. Examples from the Real World
Follow your doctor’s orders?