Transcript SN4 : Discuss Factors Influencing Conformity

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Conformity: Person changes attitude or
behavior on his/her own to fulfill social
norms
Why do we conform?
 Two basic sources of influence:
 Normative social influence: Need to be
liked, accepted by others
 Informational social influence: Need to
be correct; to behave in accordance
with reality
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Imagine yourself in the following situation: You sign up for a psychology
experiment, and on a specified date you and seven others whom you think
are also participants arrive and are seated at a table in a small room.
You don't know it at the time, but the others are actually associates of the
experimenter, and their behaviour has been carefully scripted. You're the
only real participant.
The experimenter arrives and tells you that the study in which you are about
to participate concerns people's visual judgments. She places two cards
before you. The card on the left contains one vertical line. The card on the
right displays three lines of varying length.
The experimenter asks all of you, one at a time, to choose which of the three
lines on the right card matches the length of the line on the left card. The
task is repeated several times with different cards.
On some occasions the other "participants" unanimously choose the wrong
line. It is clear to you that they are wrong, but they have all given the same
answer.
What would you do? Would you go along with the majority opinion, or would
you "stick to your guns" and trust your own eyes?
If you where involved in this experiment how do you think you would
behave? Would you conform to the majority’s viewpoint?
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The influence of culture on conformity
can be seen in two ways –
› Firstly, across different cultures
› Secondly within a culture at different periods
in history
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People conform for two main reasons:
› because they want to fit in with the group
(normative influence)
› they believe the group is better informed
than they are (informational influence).
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Individualist- is the moral stance, political
philosophy, ideology, or social outlook
that stresses "the moral worth of the
individual". Individualists promote the
exercise of one's goals and desires and
so value independence and selfreliance while opposing most external
interference upon one's own interests,
whether by society, family or any other
group or institution.
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Collectivism is any philosophic, political,
religious, economic, or social outlook that
emphasizes the interdependence of every
human being.
Collectivism is a basic cultural element that
exists as the reverse of individualism in human
nature (in the same way high context culture
exists as the reverse of low context culture),
and stresses the priority of group goals over
individual goals and the importance of
cohesion within social groups (such as an "ingroup", in what specific context it is defined).
The participants gave the wrong answer on
average on 31.2% of the trials across these
studies, which is slightly lower than the figure
reported by Asch.
 The highest figure was 58% wrong answers
for Indian teachers in Fiji, and the lowest
figure was 14% among Belgian students.
 The meta-analysis showed that more
conformity was obtained in collectivistic
countries like the Fiji Islands, Hong Kong and
Brazil than in individualistic countries like the
USA, the UK or France.
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It seems plausible to predict that people
from individualist cultures (ex. North
America and Western Europe) will conform
less than people from collectivist cultures
(ex. Asia).
 Compared to people in individualist
cultures people in collectivist cultures are
more concerned about their relationships
with others, value tradition more highly, and
define themselves more in terms of their
social roles.
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Groupthink- a term coined by social psychologist
Irving Janis (1972), occurs when a group makes
faulty decisions because group pressures lead to a
deterioration of “mental efficiency, reality testing,
and moral judgment”.
Groups affected by groupthink ignore alternatives
and tend to take irrational actions that
dehumanize other groups. A group is especially
vulnerable to groupthink when its members are
similar in background, when the group is insulated
from outside opinions, and when there are no clear
rules for decision making.
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Why did the participants conform so
readily? When they were interviewed
after the experiment, most of them said
that they did not really believe their
conforming answers, but had gone
along with the group for fear of being
ridiculed or thought "peculiar". A few of
them said that they really did believe the
group's answers were correct.
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When people are in groups, they make decision about risk differently from
when they are alone. In the group, they are likely to make riskier decisions, as
the shared risk makes the individual risk less.
They also may not want to let their compatriots down, and hence be riskaverse (this is sometimes called cautious shift). The overall tendency towards
a shift in risk perception is also sometimes called choice shift.
There are a number of reasons as to why this might happen. Theories have
included:
› Wallach, Kogan, and Bem (1964) proposed that greater risks are chosen
due to a diffusion of responsibility, where emotional bonds decrease
anxieties and risk is perceived as shared.
› Collins and Guetzkow (1964) suggested that high risk-takers are more
confident and hence may persuade others to take greater risks.
› Brown (1965) indicates that social status in groups is often associated with
risk-taking, leading people to avoid a low risk position.
› Bateson (1966) suggests that as people pay attention to a possible
action, they become more familiar and comfortable with it and hence
perceive less risk.
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Myers and Bishop (1970) put highly
prejudiced students together to discuss
racial issues. They became even more
prejudiced. The reverse happened with
unprejudiced students, who became
even more unprejudiced.
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In many of the conformity studies described so
far it was a minority group who were
conforming to the majority. Moscovici (1976,
1980) argued along different lines. He claimed
that Asch(1951) and others had put too much
emphasis on the notion that the majority in a
group has a large influence on the minority. In
his opinion, it is also possible for a minority to
influence the majority. In fact Asch agreed
with Moscovici. He too felt that minority
influence did occur, and that it was potentially
a more valuable issue to study - to focus on
why some people might follow minority opinion
and resist group pressure.
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Minority influence is a form of social
influence, takes place when a minority,
like an individual, influences a majority to
accept the minority's beliefs or
behaviour.
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Moscovic (1976, 1980) made a distinction between
compliance and conversion.
Compliance is common in conformity studies (e.g.
Asch) whereby the participants publicly conform to
the group norms but privately reject them.
Conversion involves how a minority can influence
the majority. It involves convincing the majority that
the minority views are correct. This can be
achieved a number of different ways (e.g.
consistency, flexibility). Conversion is different to
compliance as it usually involves both public and
private acceptance of a new view or behaviour
(i.e. internalisation).
Just Kidding!
 But seriously, we are playing a game!
 Rules
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› You Only get to look at your study guide
twice per team
› Only one person will answer, then another
person from that team will rotate in
› Now, split up into 3 groups, make them even
› Have Fun!!!
Conformity
Culture
Group
Think
Minority
Influence
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Risky Shift
Phenomen
on
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What is Conformity?

Conformity: Person changes attitude or
behavior on his/her own to fulfill social
norms
Jeopardy Board
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Why do we Conform? Give one reason.
Jeopardy Board
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Why do we conform? Give one reason.
Jeopardy Board
What does it mean to be an Individualist?
 Individualist- is the moral stance, political
philosophy, ideology, or social outlook that
stresses "the moral worth of the individual".
Individualists promote the exercise of one's
goals and desires and so value
independence and self-reliance while
opposing most external interference upon
one's own interests, whether by society,
Jeopardy Board
family or any other group or institution
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If I were to say that I’m from a Collectivist
country, what would I mean?
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I stress the priority of group goals over
individual goals and the importance of
cohesion within social groups (such as an
"in-group“)
Jeopardy Board
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What can we assume after the
experiment done on individualist vs.
collectivist countries?
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People from individualist cultures (ex.
North America and Western Europe) will
conform less than people from Jeopardy Board
collectivist cultures (ex. Asia).
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The influence of culture on conformity
can be seen in 2 ways, List one way.
› Firstly, across different cultures
› Secondly within a culture at different periods
in history
Jeopardy Board
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What experiment was done on the
Culture?
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Smith and Bond (1998)
Jeopardy Board
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What is Group Think?
A
term coined by social psychologist
Irving Janis (1972), occurs when a
group makes faulty decisions because
group pressures lead to a
deterioration of “mental efficiency,
Jeopardy Board
reality testing, and moral judgment”.
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Who performed the experiment for
Group Think? (Just the name of him/her)
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Asch’s experiment
Jeopardy Board
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Explain the experiment done for Group Think.
The card on the left contains one vertical line.
The card on the right displays three lines of
varying length.
 The experimenter asks all of you, one at a time,
to choose which of the three lines on the right
card matches the length of the line on the left
card. The task is repeated several times with
different cards.
 On some occasions the other "participants"
unanimously choose the wrong line. It is clear to
you that they are wrong, but they have all given
Jeopardy Board
the same answer.

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What is Risky Shift Phenomenon?
 When
people are in groups, they
make decision about risk differently
from when they are alone. In the
group, they are likely to make riskier
decisions, as the shared risk makes the
individual risk less.
Jeopardy Board

Name a theory of why Risky Shift
Phenomenon occurs.
› Wallach, Kogan, and Bem (1964) proposed that greater risks are
chosen due to a diffusion of responsibility, where emotional bonds
decrease anxieties and risk is perceived as shared.
› Collins and Guetzkow (1964) suggested that high risk-takers are more
confident and hence may persuade others to take greater risks.
› Brown (1965) indicates that social status in groups is often associated
with risk-taking, leading people to avoid a low risk position.
› Bateson (1966) suggests that as people pay attention to a possible
action, they become more familiar and comfortable with it and
Jeopardy Board
hence perceive less risk.

What happened in the experiment for
Risky Shift Phenomenon?
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People put highly prejudiced students
together to discuss racial issues. They
became even more prejudiced. The
reverse happened with unprejudiced
students, who became even more
Jeopardy Board
unprejudiced.
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What experiment was done for Risky Shift
Phenomenon? (Just the name)

Myers and Bishop (1970)
Jeopardy Board
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What is Minority Influence?

Is a form of social influence, takes place
when a minority, like an individual,
influences a majority to accept the
minority's beliefs or behaviour. Jeopardy Board

What did ________ and Asch believe
about Minority Influence?

It is also possible for a minority to
Jeopardy Board
influence the majority
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What is Compliance?
 Compliance
is common in conformity
studies (e.g. Asch) whereby the
participants publicly conform to the
Jeopardy Board
group norms but privately reject them.

What is Conversion?
 Conversion
involves how a minority
can influence the majority. It involves
convincing the majority that the
Jeopardy Board
minority views are correct.

Who made the distinction between
compliance and conversion?
 Moscovic
(1976, 1980)
Jeopardy Board
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http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/286303/individualism
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1151025
http://ibpsychologynotes.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/10-discussfactors-influencing-conformity.pdf
http://www.usu.edu/psy3510/influence.html
http://www.simplypsychology.org/asch-conformity.html
http://books.google.com/books?id=l8j_z5qZfAC&pg=PA727&lpg=PA727&dq=smith+and+bond+conformity&sourc
e=bl&ots=iCp9s1yGV2&sig=t4zyBc8I_J4lwssA5Gc0zclAxxE&hl=en&sa=X&
ei=gwMsT8zlFMW_2QXa2On_Dg&sqi=2&ved=0CCUQ6AEwAQ#v=onepa
ge&q=smith%20and%20bond%20conformity&f=true
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minority_influence
http://www.psysr.org/about/pubs_resources/groupthink%20overview.ht
m
http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/risky_shift.htm
http://www.simplypsychology.org/minority-influence.html