2024 Social Psychology Conformity PDF

10 Definition References: Social Psychology Lectures Conformity =...

10 Definition References: Social Psychology Lectures Conformity = by: Richard Williams etc. A change in behavior or belief /CMH-lect5 Conformity as a result of real or imagined group pressure. Types of conformity Classic studies A. Compliance. Publicly acting in accord with social pressure while privately disagreeing. This term best describes the behavior of a person who is motivated to A. Sherif's studies of Norm formation. Sherif (1935) conducted an gain reward or avoid punishment. Most of us respond to rewards and punishments. experiment with the aim of demonstrating that people conform to group norms when they are put in an ambiguous (i.e. unclear) B. Identification. As with compliance, we do not behave in a particular way because such behavior is intrinsically satisfying. Rather, we adopt a particular behavior because situation.... Sherif said that this showed that people would it puts us in a satisfying relationship to the person or persons with whom we are always tend to conform. Rather than make individual judgments identifying. We do come to believe in the opinions and values we adopt, though not they tend to come to a group agreement. very strongly. We want to be like some particular person. B. Asch's studies of group pressure. Why did the participants EX: Want to be just like your father. conform so readily? When they were interviewed after the C. Internalization (or acceptance). Both acting and believing in accord with social experiment, most of them said that they did not really believe their pressure. This is the most permanent, deeply rooted response to social influence. conforming answers, but had gone along with the group for fear Internalization is motivated by a desire to be right. If the person who provides the of being ridiculed or thought "peculiar. influence is perceived to be trustworthy and of good judgment, we accept the belief A few of them said that they really did believe the group's he or she advocates and we integrate it into our belief system. answers were correct. History Conformity is something that happens regularly in our social worlds. Sometimes we are aware of our behavior, but in many cases, it happens without much thought or awareness on our parts. In some cases, we go along with things that we disagree with or behave in ways that we know we shouldn't. Some of the best-known experiments on the psychology of conformity deal with people going along with the group, even when they know the group is wrong.  10 An example of informational social influence may be In normative social influence, people what to do in an emergency situation. Imagine that you are in a movie theater watching a film and what conform to the group norm to fit in, to seems to be smoke comes in the theater from under feel good, and to be accepted by the the emergency exit door. You are not certain that it group. However, with informational is smoke—it might be a special effect for the movie, social influence, people conform such as a fog machine. When you are uncertain you will tend to look at the behavior of others in the because they believe t h e g ro u p i s theater. If other people show concern and get up to competent and has the correct leave, you are likely to do the same. However, if information, particularly when the task or others seem unconcerned, you are likely to stay put situation is ambiguous. and continue watching the movie. Apparently, people conform for because they want to fit in with the group (normative influence) and because they believe the group is better informed than they are (informational influence). Asch (1956) found that group size influenced whether subjects conformed. The bigger the majority group (no of confederates), the more people conformed, but only up to a certain point. Asch found that three different kinds of reactions had C. Milgram's obedience experiments. There was no explicit pressure contributed to the conformity. to conform. Milgram did his electric shock studies. 1. Distortion of perception. A number of subjects said they were not These studies show compliance can take precedence over one's own aware their estimates had been distorted by the majority. They came moral senses. Evil situations have enormous corrupting power. to see the rigged majority estimates as correct. Fragmenting evil makes it even more effective. 2. Distortion of judgment. Most of the subjects who yielded to the We tend to make the when looking at majority concluded their own perceptions were inaccurate. Lacking such things - but Milgram said confidence in their own observations, they reported not what they saw but what they felt must be correct. "The most fundamental lesson of our study is 3. Distortion of action. A number of subjects admitted that they had that ordinary people, simply doing their jobs, not reported what they had in fact seen. They said they had yielded and without any particular hostility on their part, so as not to appear different or stupid in the eyes of other group can become agents in a terrible destructive members. process."  10 What Is the Fundamental Attribution Error? The fundamental attribution error refers to an individual's tendency to attribute another's actions to their character or personality, while attributing their behavior to external situational factors outside of their control. In other words, you tend to cut yourself a break while holding others 100 percent accountable for their actions. For instance, if you've ever chastised a "lazy employee" for being late to a meeting and then proceeded to make an excuse for being late yourself that same day, you've made the fundamental attribution error. More about Sherif, Asch and Milgram... Asch's Conformity Experiments Sherif's Autokinetic Effect Experiments In this series of famous experiments, conducted in the 1950s, In a series of experiments, Muzafer Sherif asked participants to estimate psychologist Solomon Asch asked participants to complete what how far a dot of light in a dark room moved. In reality, the dot was static, they believed was a simple perceptual task. They were asked to but it appeared to move due to something known as the autokinetic effect. choose a line that matched the length of one of three different lines. Essentially, tiny movements of the eyes make it appear that a small spot of light is moving in a dark room. When asked individually, participants would choose the correct line. When asked in the presence of confederates who were in When asked individually, the participants' answers varied considerably. on the experiment and who intentionally selected the wrong line, When asked as part of a group, however, Sherif found that the responses around 75% of participants conformed to the group at least once. converged toward a central mean. Sherif's results, published in 1935, demonstrated that in an ambiguous situation, people will conform to the group, an example of informational influence  10 Milgram (1963) was interested in researching how far people would go in obeying an instruction if it involved harming another person. Stanley Milgram was interested in how easily ordinary people could be influenced into committing atrocities, for example, Germans in WWII. Influential Factors Individual differences: Personal Human behavior and psychology is complex. characteristics, such as motivation to People may conform in some situations and not in achieve and strong leadership abilities, others, depending on factors including: are linked with a decreased tendency to The difficulty of the task: Difficult tasks can lead conform. to both increased and decreased conformity. Not knowing how to perform a difficult task makes Group size: People are more likely to people more likely to conform, but increased conform in situations that involve difficulty can also make people more accepting of different responses, leading to less conformity. between three and five other people. Situation: People are more likely Certain factors can impact whether to conform in ambiguous situations or not people conform to the group. where they are unclear about how The size of the group, the difficulty they should respond. of the task, the ambiguity of the situation, and the status of the Cultural differences: People from individual are just a few influences collectivist cultures are more likely that play a role. to conform.  10 The Effects of Conformity Socialization Conformity can play an important role in the Conformity can have a powerful learning and socialization process during child development. influence on how people behave in different settings. It can Kids often learn by watching and imitating the potentially lead people to change actions of others, a process that is known as observat iona l l e a r n i n g. T h i s c a n c o n v e y their opinions and behaviors in important information about what to do and how various ways, both for good and to behave in various situations. for bad. Social Persuasion However, such pressure can also lead people to engage in risky or even harmful Social pressure continues to influence life. behaviors. It can also play a role in social People often alter their behavior, appearance, phenomena such as the bystander effect, attitudes, or opinions to fit in with the rest of in which the presence of other people their social group. This can contribute to discourages people from helping others. In social harmony and group cohesiveness. It such situations, people observe others not can help people to feel that they belong to a intervening when help is needed, and the group, which an be a positive influence on a pressure to conform leads people to also person’s mental health. fail to lend assistance. Resisting social pressure. Knowing that someone is trying to coerce us may even prompt us to react in the In many cases, members of the opposite direction. group may utilize a range of tactics, A. When social pressure becomes so blatant that it including modeling, persuading, threatens their sense of freedom, people often rebel. Reactance = A motive to protect or restore one's sense of and even bullying to try to get other freedom. Reactance is aroused when freedom of action is members of the group to conform threatened. Can lead to social rebellion. to a certain set of expectations. B. Asserting our uniqueness. People also feel discomfited by appearing like everyone else. When people are deprived of their feeling of uniqueness, they are more likely to assert their individuality by nonconformity.  10 Reactions to Deviance (non-conformity) within groups. Non- The group can reject the deviant. If majority conformity represents a serious problem for the rest of the members in a group lack the capability or the group. It disrupts normal operations and challenges the group's conception of reality. If allowed to continue, deviation inclination to apply pressure to a deviant, they have may eventually cause a group to perform poorly or even to another option available to them: they can reject the collapse. How, then, can groups deal with non-conforming deviant. Reject can assume various forms. behavior? 1. The member can be expelled The group can try to restore conformity. Group members can speak to the deviant, remind him of the group's expectations, 2. The group may not invite the deviant back to the explain and justify these expectations, and urge him to comply. next meeting. If this doesn't work, the group can apply more pressure, including threats of direct punishment. Whether the deviant will be 3. - The majority will ignore sanctioned, and how severely, depends on several things. the deviant and refuse to interact with him even though he is physically present. The group can change its own position Rejection and sanctioning often occur and move into line with the deviant's. A small minority will sometimes sway, at the same time. Rejection of the and then even become, the majority. deviate is a means of reestablishing Even when the majority does not accept equilibrium within the group because the minority's views, dissent often it "purifies" the membership. After the increases the majority's self-doubts and deviant is ostracized, only the prompts it to consider other alternatives conforming members remain. more seriously. How Can People Avoid Conformity Enlist social support: You’re less likely Conformity can have a positive and negative influence. to conform to social pressure if you have On the plus side, it can encourage positive social behaviors and provide information that allows a few people who are willing to resist individuals to function effectively in their environments. alongside you. Talk to your friends and On the negative side, it can stifle creativity and lead loved ones in such situations and ask people to give in to destructive peer pressure. them to stick with you when it comes to avoiding conforming to the rest of the group.  10 Develop an internal locus of control: Locus of control refers to whether you believe you Form clear, committed values and have control over your own destiny, or if you beliefs: You are more likely to conform feel that outside forces are primarily when you aren’t really sure about how responsible for what happens in your life. to think, behave, or feel in a specific Having an internal locus of control means that situation. Spend time thinking about you feel that you have the power to control your own beliefs, what’s important to what happens and that your own efforts can you, and how you can commit to those create change in your life. By strengthening this sense of control, you’ll be better able to values. resist social pressure to conform. Are conformity and obedience the same? Practice: Resisting conforming requires practice. This doesn’t mean that you While conformity and obedience share some similarities, they are different concepts. should be intentionally argumentative. Conformity involves changing your behavior, Instead, work on standing your ground in thoughts, or appearance to fit in with the rest of situations where you might have your social group. Obedience involves following otherwise conformed to the rest of the the orders of another person, often a person with group. authority or status. Is conformity good or bad? Why do people care about fitting in? Conformity is often viewed negatively, Belonging is a basic human need. Human particularly when it involves engaging in beings are inherently social creatures, so behaviors that are risky or destructive. However, being accepted by others is a way to gain a conformity can also be a positive influence, sense of community and closeness. In broader particularly when it encourages people to terms, social cohesion plays an important role engage in prosocial behaviors that support in the success of a group. Conformity can individual and community well-being. allow groups to meet their goals, increase social harmony, and minimize interpersonal conflict.  10 Why do people conform to what others are doing? One factor that can play a role in conformity is In some instances, we conform to the a phenomenon known as group's expectations to avoid looking is a psychological phenomenon first foolish. This tendency can become described by psychologist Robert Cialdini in particularly strong in situations where we which people copy the actions of others to are not quite sure how to act or where the know how to act in a certain situation. This expectations are ambiguous. idea stems from the assumption that if other people are doing something, it must be the correct thing to do.