Conformity

Conformity

• First studied in 1932 by Jenness using a bottle of beans

• Type of social influence involving a change in attitudes, beliefs and behaviour in order to fit in with a group (Kiesler and Kiesler 1969)

• Change is in response to real (involving physical prescence of others) or imaginal (involving the pressure on social norms/expectations) group pressure also known as majority influence

Conformity

•“Conformity is not just acting as other people act, it is being affected by how they act. It is acting differently from the way you would act alone” – David Myers (1999)

Conformity• Indicate an agreement to the majority position

•Desire to “fit in” or be liked (normative)

•Desire to be correct (informational)

• Simply to conform to a social norm (identification)

• “yielding to group pressures” (Mann, 1969)

• An individual’s tendency to follow the unspoken rules or behaviours of the social group to which one belongs

Conformity Key Studies

•Sherif’s Conformity and the Autokinetic Effect Experiment (1935)

•Asch’s Visual Judgement Experiment (1951)

•Zimbardo’s Prison Stimulation Experiment (1971)

Sherif’s Conformity and the Autokinetic Effect Experiment (1935)

•The autokinetic effect: In this experiment, a single point of light in a dark room seems to move. In the experiment, the subjects are unable to keep their eyes perfectly still and, in the dark, there is no point of reference.

•Sherif conducted two versions of this experiment:

1.Individuals were asked to estimate how far they thought the light moved, then tested them together in a group. Estimates in the group converged as they established a 'group norm'. This was close to the average of estimates they gave individually.

2.A group was asked to give estimates of how far they thought the light moved then they were asked to give individual estimates, these were very close to the group estimate.

• Sherif claimed he had shown conformity. The individuals were experiencing informational social influence.

•Conclusion: 

The results show that when in an ambiguous situation (such as the autokinetic effect), a person will look to others (who know more / better) for guidance (i.e. adopt the group norm).  They want to do the right thing but may lack the appropriate information. Observing others can provide this information.  This is known as informational conformity.

Asch’s Visual Judgement Experiment (1951)

•He showed just how easy it is to influence someone into saying something blatantly wrong!

•Asch showed a group of people a series of cards

•Each test had only one innocent subject, the others in each group were stooges/confederates. When he gave the stooges a secret signal they all gave a predetermined incorrect answer.

•The results:

•74% of the innocent participants went along with the group and conformed, giving the incorrect answer at least once.

•If you count all the trials carried out, 34% showed conformity.

•Asch went on to test out different conditions on levels of conformity using the same set up. His method became known as the Asch paradigm.

• Asch found that three different kinds of reactions had contributed to the conformity:

• 1. Distortion of perception. A number of subjects said they were not aware their estimates had been distorted by the majority. They came to see the rigged majority estimates as correct.

• 2. Distortion of judgment. Most of the subjects who yielded to the majority concluded their own perceptions were inaccurate. Lacking confidence in their own observations, they reported not what they saw but what they felt must be correct.

• 3. Distortion of action. A number of subjects admitted that they had not reported what they had in fact seen. They said they had yielded so as not to appear different or stupid in the eyes of other group members.

•Asch concluded that various factors can affect the level of conformity:

1.Just one stooge not going along is enough to dramatically reduce conformity levels.

2.Difficult tasks tend to lead to more conformity.

3. Men may try to appear more independent because of social expectations.

4. Women tend to show more conformity than men do when their answers are said out loud, publicly.

5. Low self-esteem may lead to higher conformity. This reflects low self-confidence or strong need for approval of others.

6.Conformity rates are higher when people are attracted to other members of the group.

Zimbardo’s Prison Stimulation Experiment (1971)

• This experiment was designed to show conformity to social roles, this is an example of normative influence. Volunteers were given authority and asked to act as guards over other volunteers who were prisoners.

• Aim: to see the psychological effects of making 'normal', 'good' people into prisoners or guards.

• Volunteers: 24 middle class, male college students, mentally sound in tests and no criminal records, were paid $15 per day and divided into prisoners or guards by the flip of a coin.

• Procedure: Prisoners were arrested at their homes at the start of the study, blindfolded and taken to Stanford University Psychology Department basement, which had been converted into a realistic prison! From then on the volunteers were treated as prisoners by the other volunteers who were guards.

• End of the study: The study was stopped after six days because the guards became sadistic and the prisoners became extremely stressed.

Two Types of Conformity

1.Informational Conformity

2.Normative Conformity

1. Informational Conformity

• happens when a person lacks knowledge and looks to the group for information and direction.

• In situations where we are unsure of the correct response, we often look to others who are better informed and more knowledgeable and use their lead as a guide for our own behaviors

2. Normative conformity

• involves changing one's behavior in order to fit in with the group.

• stems from a desire to avoid punishments (such as going along with the rules in class even though you don't agree with them) and gain rewards (such as behaving in a certain way in order to get people to like you).

Normative Conformity Informational Conformity

Yielding to group pressure because a person wants to fit in with the group. E.g. Asch Line Study.

Conforming because the person is scared of being rejected by the group.

This type of conformity usually involves compliance – where a person publicly accepts the views of a group but privately rejects them.

This usually occurs when a person lacks knowledge and looks to the group for guidance.

Or when a person is in an ambiguous (i.e. unclear) situation and socially compares their behavior with the group. E.g. Sherif Study.

This type of conformity usually involves internalization – where a person accepts the views of the groups and adopts them as an individual.

•Man (1969) identified three types of conformity: Normative, informational and Ingratiational.

• Kelman (1958) distinguished between three different types of conformity: Compliance, Internalization and Identification.

Compliance Internalization

Publicly changing behavior to fit in with the group while privately disagreeing.

In other words, conforming to the majority (publicly), in spite of not really agreeing with them (privately).

This is seen in Asch’s line experiment.

Publicly changing behavior to fit in with the group and also agreeing with them privately.

This is seen in Sherif’s autokinetic experiment.

Ingratiational Conformity Identification

Where a person conforms to impress or gain favor/acceptance from other people.

It is similar to normative influence but is motivated by the need for social rewards rather than the threat of rejection, i.e., group pressure does not enter the decision to conform.

Conforming to the expectations of a social role.

Similar to compliance, there does not have to be a change in private opinion.

A good example is Zimbardo's Prison Study.