Social Influence: Lesson 2

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Questions and Answers

What are the three factors that Asch investigated to see how they affected conformity?

Group size, unanimity, and difficulty of task.

Match the following types of conformity with their corresponding definitions:

Identification = Involves public as well as private acceptance. Generally temporary. "Conforming to what is expected of you to fulfil a social role. This means changing your behaviour because you want to fit into a specific role in society (e.g. nurse/teacher) or trying to imitate the behaviour of a role model." Internalisation = TRUE conformity. Public and private acceptance. Not dependence on the presence of the group. "Going along with the majority and believing in their views. Accepting them and internalising them as your own. Leads to more permanent behaviour change, e.g. religion." Compliance = Comes from a desire to fit in. Public not private acceptance. "You go along with the majority, even if you don't share their views. You do this to appear the same as the group or 'normal'. Going against the majority might lead to exclusion from the group."

In Asch's study, participants were more likely to conform to the incorrect majority when the task was difficult.

True (A)

Which type of conformity describes public but not private acceptance, driven by a desire to fit in?

Compliance (B) Signup and view all the answers

In Asch's study, the _ variable was the level of conformity, while the _ variable was the group size, unanimity, or difficulty of the task.

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In Asch's study, what was the dependent variable?

The level of conformity. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is NOT a factor investigated by Asch in his study on conformity?

Individual personality traits (B) Signup and view all the answers

In Asch's original study, participants conformed to the incorrect majority on more than half of the critical trials.

True (A) Signup and view all the answers

When a person conforms because they want to fit in and avoid social rejection, this is known as _____.

compliance Signup and view all the answers

Match the following types of conformity to their definitions:

Internalisation = Public and private acceptance of the majority's views, leading to a permanent change in behaviour. Compliance = Public conformity only, without internal acceptance, driven by a desire to fit in. Identification = Conforming to the behaviour expected of a social role, often temporary, and involving public acceptance. Signup and view all the answers

What is the main reason for conformity in compliance?

Fear of social rejection (B) Signup and view all the answers

Describe a situation where you might experience identification conformity.

Answers may vary. An example could be a student dressing professionally in a classroom because they want to feel like they fit in with the other students. Signup and view all the answers

Conformity always leads to negative outcomes.

False (B) Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Lesson Objectives:
- Explain the effects of factors like group size, unanimity and task difficulty on conformity, referencing Asch's research.
- Recap, apply and evaluate Asch's study.

Task

Complete the conformity task on page 3 of the notes.

Homework (Flipped Learning)

Read and summarise Asch's study from the resource sheet.

Plenary

Define types of conformity on whiteboards.

Identification

Involves public and private acceptance.
Generally temporary.
Conformity to fulfil a social role, changing behaviour to fit into a role or imitating role models (e.g., nurse, teacher).

Internalisation

True conformity (public and private acceptance).
Independent of the group's presence.
Accepting majority views as one's own, leading to permanent behaviour changes (e.g., religion).

Compliance

Driven by the desire to fit in.
Public but not private acceptance.
Going along with the majority to appear normal, avoiding exclusion from the group.
A type of normative social influence.

Answers

The answers to the conformity definitions are Identification, Internalisation, and Compliance.

Describing Asch

Watch and describe Asch's study.
Answer accompanying questions without referring to notes.

Asch Variations

Factors affecting conformity in Asch's study:
- Group size: influence increases with larger groups (e.g., 1 person vs 15?).
- Unanimity: a unanimous majority impacts conformity more, opposed to a divided one.
- Task difficulty: influence is often higher when the task is complex.

Starter – Whiteboard Questions

Number of participants in Asch's study?
Percentage of conformity in critical trials reported in Asch's original study?
Independent and dependent variables for Asch's study?
Number of participants in Zimbardo's study?
Duration of Zimbardo's study?

Evaluating Studies using GRAVE

GRAVE is a useful acronym to evaluate studies throughout the course.
Detailed understanding of studied concept is more important than rote memorization of evaluation points.

Evaluating Asch

Complete the evaluation worksheet for Asch's study as a class.

Homework (Flipped Learning)

Read and summarise Zimbardo's study by the next lesson.

Plenary – Whiteboards

Quick review of key terms from the lesson.

Homework

Complete the evaluation of Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment.

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Description

Explore the dynamics of conformity through Lesson 2, focusing on Asch's research. This lesson covers factors influencing conformity, types of conformity, and the distinctions between public and private acceptance. Engage with the material through tasks and a summary of Asch's study.

Social Influence: Lesson 2 - Conformity

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