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SOCIAL INFLUENCE (CONFORMITY (TYPES OF CONFORMITY. (Conformity: Yielding…

- - - - Aims: Investigate whether individual judgement was influenced by discussion in groups.
      - Procedure: Made individual private estimates of jellybeans. Then discussed estimates in groups – individuals differed widely in estimates. Group estimate. Then second individual estimate.
      - Findings: Second private estimates tended to converge their group estimates. Females conformed more.
      - Conclusions: Judgements of individuals affected by majority opinions especially in ambiguous or unfamiliar situations. Discussion not effective in changing opinion, unless individuals who enter discussion become aware that opinions of others is different to theirs,
      - Evaluation: Deception in study less severe than other social influence ones. More ethical. Laboratory based – artificial task. Lacks mundane realism, does not reflect actual behaviour in real-life situation. Doesn’t tell us about majority influence in non-ambiguous situations.
  - - - Asch 1955
      - Aims: Investigate degree to which individuals would conform to majority who gave obviously wrong answers.
      - Procedure: 123 American male students – told was study of visual perception. Individual placed in room with 7-9 confederates. Say which comparison line (A, B or C) matched other line. 18 different trials – on 12 confederates gave identical wrong answer, participant always answer last or second last.
      - Findings: 32% conformity rate to wrong answers. 75% conformed to at least one wrong answer. 5% conformed to all 12. Post experiment interview – reasons for conforming: believed perception must be wrong so conformed, doubts concerning judgement so conformed, majority of participants conformed publicly but not privately to avoid ridicule.
      - Conclusion: Judgements affected by majority opinions, even when obviously wrong. Big individual difference in amount people affected by majority influence. Conformed publicly not privately –NSI.
      - Evaluation: Method of study became paradigm, accepted way of conducting conformity research. Uneconomical, time-consuming – only one participant tested at a time. Situation unrealistic, lacks mundane realism. Unethical – deceit, psychological harm – put under stress. Overall conformity rate 32% - majority no conformist but independent.