Class 18:

Conformity and Compliance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sno1TpCLj6A&feature=player_detailpage

Course Evaluation: SIRS Survey

https://sakai.rutgers.edu/portal/site/sirs

https://sakai.rutgers.edu/portal/site/sirs

Solomon Asch

Group A: intelligent-skillful-industrious-warm-determined-practical-cautiousGroup B: intelligent-skillful-industrious-cold-determined-practical-cautious

Swarthmore (1947-1966): Trained in Gestalt Psych under W. Kohler

Rutgers (1966-1972): Inst. Cog. Studies

U. Penn (1972-1979)

Impression formation: Order effects and critical attributes

Group A. intelligent-industrious-impulsive-critical-stubborn-enviousGroup B. envious-stubborn-critical-impulsive-industrious-intelligent

Purpose: To demonstrate the force of social pressure on public judgment.

Method: Ss are in study supposedly about spatial judgment

One of 6-8 other subjects (in fact confeds) On certain trials, all other Ss give clearly wrong answersCritical outcome: Will S answer in same way as others.

Result: 76% comply at least once vs. 5% wrong answer in control group.

Asch Compliance Study

Results of Standard Conformity Study

Erroneous Responses

Num

ber o

f Su

bjec

ts

Character of Non-Conformers

1. Confident in own perception: Most vigorous dissenters. Emotionally-driven.

2. Withdrawn: Non-emotional, non-spontaneous; principled and deliberate.

3. Conflicted: Torn and anxious, but stuck to demands of task not demands of group.

Character of Conformers

1. Distorted perception: Actually see lines in distorted manner

2. Distorted judgment: Do not trust own perceptions

3. Distorted action: Don't want to defy the group

The Power of Numbers--To Harm and to Help

Effect of one ally among bizarre majority?

Drops from 74% to 10%

How large a majority to produce conformity?

Just three unanimous others

What happens when ally joins majority?

Conformity totally restored

Late arrival of ally? Reduced conformity, but not totally reduced. Why?

Compromised partner--wrong, but not as wrong as majority

Reduced degree, but not number, of errors

Asch Study and Invisible Rope

Invis ble R pe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMLd4ohAffQ&feature=fvwp&NR=1

Asch Studyhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=sno1TpCLj6A&feature=player_detailpage

Situational Factors

Group unanimityGroup cohesivenessOpportunity to answer privately vs. publicly

Dispositional (Person) Factors

Desire to be liked (Normative Social Influence)Desire to behave adaptively

Reasons for Compliance

Reasons for non-complianceNeed for individuationDesire to maintain personal controlDesire to maintain personal integrity

Power of MinoritiesRequires that minority: be consistent

be non-rigid, non-dogmatic hold views consistent with circumstances

People comply with minority because:Minority motivated to think systematicallyMinority gets others to think systematically

Non-Compliance and the Power of Minorities

Bystander Intervention

John Darley Bibb LataneDaniel Batson

Kitty Genovese

Intervention Study Design

Ss told study involves personal disclosures. Anonymity important. All Ss in separate rooms. Only 1 naive S, rest are confeds.

One confed fakes an epileptic seizure

IV: How many other "subjects" witness distressed subject: 0, 1, or 4

DV: Does naive subject help? How long until subject helps?

Bystander Study Results

Reasons for Not Helping

Non-helpers in state of conflict: Avoidance/Avoidance

Why we dispositionalize:

a. Provides reason, meaning for bad eventsb. Provide ego-buffer from thoughts of own possible

failure to help.

From Jerusalem to JerichoDarley & Batson, 1973

Why doesn’t she help?

Design and PredictionsSubjects: 40 seminary students

Religiosity Measure: Extrinsic: Religion as means to endsIntrinsic: Religion as end in itselfReligion as a quest

Cover story: Study concerns vocational careers of seminarians

Task: Ss give talk on either: Parable of Good Samaritan (help relevant) Vocational opportunities (help irrelevant)

Time Pressure: Ample/Moderate/little time to get to audience

Helping: Response to moaning man huddled in doorway

Main effect for Time PressureNo Effect for MessageInteraction is not significantNOTE: Small n may have obscured possible interaction

Religiosity: Small but real effects; doctrinal types most ardent

Helping Measure

“Victim” rates S’s response:0 = Failed to notice1 = Noticed only2 = Indirect help 3 = Offered help4 = Insisted on helping

Moderators of Bystander Apathy

Situational ambiguity: In small groups, how often 1 person helps? 100% in non-ambig, 30% in ambig.

Competence of other potential helpers

Prior “social contract” with victimRadio at beach; Suitcase at “automat”“Contracted” more likely to NOTICE theft, and STOP theft

Countering bystander apathy

____ Will one of you please help?____ You, in the green shirt! Yes, you! Get help!X

Requesting Help: Pup Psychology

Implicit Bystander EffectsGarcia, Weaver, Moskowitz, & Darley, JPSP, 2002

Simply thinking about being in a group should induce bystander effects. Why?

Primes: Being “deindividuated” Lowered sense of accountability

Method Studies 1 and 3

1. Think about dinner with 1, 10, 30 friends2. Filler task

Study 1 DV: How much of your salary plan to donate to charity?Study 3 DV: How much time will you now give us on an experiment?

Studies 1 and 3 Results