Conformity and Obedience

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Conformity and Obedience

• Chapter 6

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Definitions

• Conformity- a change in behavior or belief
  resulting from real or imagined group pressure
• Compliance- outward conformity.
• Acceptance- inward conformity.

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Classic Studies involving Conformity

• Sherif (1936) Study of how norms develop in small
  groups
• autokinetic effect-Optical illusion
• Dot of light-2 seconds
• record how far it moves
• Individually and in groups

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Classic Studies involving Conformity

• Sherifs (1936) Results
• Alone/in group-develop personal norm, more
  divergent in group, quickly settle into a group
  norm.
• In group/alone-quickly settle into a group norm,
  keep norm when alone.
• Each group develops its own set of norms.
• Jacobs and Campbell (1961)

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The Chameleon Effect

• Chartrand and Bargh (1999)
• I.V. confederate rubbed eye, shook foot, or did
  nothing in particular.
• D.V. in what behaviors did participant engage?
• Results

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Classic Studies involving Conformity

• Soloman Asch (1951)
• Arrive for study with 6 other students
• Seated 6th out of 7 people
• Given one standard line, then 3 others, out of
  which you have to pick the one that matches the
  standard.
• Round 1 Yep, it that oneobviously.
• Round 2 Come onreally, what is this. 2.

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Classic Studies involving Conformity

• Round 3
• The first person gives the wrong answer, followed
  by the same wrong answer for the second, third,
  fourth, fifth, and then it is your turn.
• What do you say?
• They have to be wrong. Arent they?
• Did I not hear things correctly, am I confused??

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Classic Studies involving Conformity

• Results
• Participants went ahead with the incorrect
  majority 37 of the time...
• 75 of participants conformed at least once.
• Do you think we would still find this today?

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Classic Studies involving Conformity

• Larson, 1990Schneider Watkins, 1996
• Yep
• High levels of conformity found 30 years later
  and in recent studies involving other cognitive
  tasks

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Why do people conform?

• 1) Informational Influence
• When reality is ambiguous, we look to others as a
  source of information.
• This tends to produce acceptance (or private
  conformity).

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Why do people conform?

• 2) Normative influence
• People sometimes fear the consequences of being
  deviant. We want to avoid rejection, be
  accepted, be included, etc.
• Often leads to compliance (or public conformity).

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Sherif vs. Asch

• SHERIF
• Real answer ambiguous
• Others are source of information
• Informational influence

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Sherif vs. Asch

• ASCH
• Real answer clear
• Others are source of confusion
• Normative influence

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When do people conform?

• 1) Group Size
• up to a point
• Milgram et al (1969)
• 84

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When do people conform?

• 2) Unanimity
• Asch (1955) Unanimity important
• 10 wrong

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When do people conform?

• 3) Cohesion
• Festinger et al (1950) conformity greater for
  attractive group (friends/fam).
• Crandall (1988) binge eating

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When do people conform?

• 4) Status
• 5) Public response- say vs. write
• 6) No prior commitment
• Deutch Gerard (1955) write answer, then go
  around and say it. Less conformity if you already
  committed to an answer.

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Social Impact Theory

• Common bond that leads people toward or away from
  social influence.
• Social influence of any kind is a function of the
  others strength, immediacy and number.
• Social forces act as physical forces
• Ex. Headlights illuminating a surfacestrength
  distance and number.

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Social Impact Theory

• Strength - status, ability, or relationship to
  target. Higher strength better
• ex. Uniforms, prestigious affiliations
• Immediacy - Proximity in time and space to
  target. Closer they are more impact they have.
  Ex. Milgram
• Number of sources - As number increases so does
  influence

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Who conforms?

• 1) Gender - Results mixed
• 2) Personality - Not much research (1991)
• 3) Culture - Conformity varies by culture

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Resisting social pressure

• Reactance - A motive to protect or restore ones
  sense of freedom
• Alcohol consumption
• Dont eat these cookies!

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Milgram Experiment (1965, 1974)

• Teacher/learner situation.
• Teacher to shock learner when incorrect.
• Shocks are of increasing increments (15V)
• Moderate, strong, very strong, intense, danger
  severe, XXX.
• See page 216 for learners script.

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Milgram Experiment

• Experimenter prodded teacher to continue.
• Results
• 63 went to 450V (XXX)
• Well, Im sure no one would do this to an
  unhealthy man.
• 65 went all the way even if they were told that
  the learner had a heart condition!!!

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Milgram Experiments

• What breeds obedience?

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What breeds obedience?

• 1) Emotional distance of the victim
• Learner remote and heard no complaints (near
  100)
• Same room (40)
• Force hand (30)

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What breeds obedience?

• 2) Closeness and legitimacy of the authority
• Phone (21)
• Clerk (20)
• Thrown
• Hofling et al (1966) Overdose

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What breeds obedience?

• 3) Institutional authority
• Research associates of Bridgeport (48)

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What breeds obedience?

• 4) Group Influence
• 2 confederates rebel (10)

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What breeds obedience?

• 5) The situation
• Responsibility (MilitaryEichmann)
• When the participant administered the test and
  someone else gave the shock 37/40 continued until
  the end.
• Gradual escalation
• Foot-in-the-door (by330V already committed 22
  acts)
• Hitler
• Cults

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Do you think results would be different today?

• Meeus and Raaijmakers (1995)
• Volunteer to help with job interview
• ability to work under stress
• meet man (confederate)
• Take testpass, get jobfail, dont get it
• Read questions and harass applicant with
  escalating series of negative remarks
• Youre suited for lower functions this job is
  much too difficult for you

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Meeus and Raaijmakers (1995)

• Applicant
• Pleads with participant to stop
• angrily refuses to tolerate the abuse
• falls into state of despairbegs to stop
• Participant
• Felt task was unfair and distasteful
• HOW MANY DO YOU THINK WILL GO ALL THE WAY?

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Meeus and Raaijmakers (1995)

• Results
• With no experimenter present
• 0
• With experimenter (authority) present
• 92