Fall 2024 PSY199 Seminar 11 Day 1 PDF

11/6/24 PSY199: THE MIND AND THE PERSON ‘- Seminar 11 Day 1 1 1 LEARNING OUTCOMES: ‘- CONFORMITY TO GROUP NORMS - INTRODUCTION 2 2...

11/6/24 PSY199: THE MIND AND THE PERSON ‘- Seminar 11 Day 1 1 1 LEARNING OUTCOMES: ‘- CONFORMITY TO GROUP NORMS - INTRODUCTION 2 2 1  11/6/24 Conformity Conformity refers to the “changes in behaviour and/or attitudes that occur in response to group pressure” (Eysenck, 2022, p. 259) ‘- Social influence – “the process whereby attitudes and behaviours are influenced by the real or implied presence of other people” (Vaughan & Hogg, 2014, p. 214; as cited by Eysenck, 2022) 3 3 Solomon Eliot Asch 14 September 1907 – 20 February 1996 Polish gestalt psychologist Pioneer in social psychology ‘- Asch experiment on conformity (1951) Image credit: https://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/28/science/28brai.html 4 4 2  11/6/24 ‘- 5 5 Conformity Why does conformity occur? Normative influence – “they conform to be liked or respected by group members” (Eysenck, 2018, p. 228) ‘- Informational influence – “they conform because of others’ superior knowledge” (Eysenck, 2018, p. 228) 6 6 3  11/6/24 ‘- 7 7 8 4  11/6/24 Muzafer Sherif Born Muzaffer Şerif Başoğlu 29 July 1906 – 16 October 1988 Turkish-American social psychologist ‘- Pioneer in social psychology Autokinetic effect, Realistic Conflict Theory and the Robbers Cave Experiment (1951) Image credit: https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volume-27/edition-11/unknown-muzafer-sherif 9 9 Autokinetic Effect Autokinetic effect – “perceptual illusion whereby a small point of light, though stationary, is perceived as moving if the individual is in a dark room where there is no frame of reference against which to see the light” (Moskowitz, 2005, p.‘- 38) 10 10 5  11/6/24 11 12 6  11/6/24 13 14 7  11/6/24 15 A Study of Some Social Factors (Sherif, 1935) Used the autokinetic effect in 2 ways: 1. To study the extent of movement experienced by the observer under different conditions: a) When alone; ‘- b) When in a group situation; c) When brought into a group situation after being experimented upon when alone; d) When the experimented upon alone after being in a group situation 2. Studied the effect of suggestion on the direction of the movement experienced by the observer 16 16 8  11/6/24 A Study of Some Social Factors (Sherif, 1935) Sherif writes that: The closeness of the medians of individuals in the group, which suggests the establishment of a ‘-common norm for the group in the cases of groups starting with the group situation, is a very important fact that we wish to stress. Especially important is the fact that the divergence of the median values established by the subjects in the individual session after the group sessions is small. (p. 31, emphasis in original) 17 17 A Study of Some Social Factors (Sherif, 1935) Sherif writes that: Compared with this, when the subject starts with an individual and then is brought into a group the convergence ‘- of the medians … is not so close – suggesting that if an individual faces a stimulus situation and patterns it in his own way first, the group influence is not so dominating as when he faces the situation in the group first. (p. 31, emphasis in original) 18 18 9  11/6/24 A Study of Some Social Factors (Sherif, 1935) Sherif writes that: …once an individual faces a stimulus situation in the group situation for the first time and reacts to ‘-it with the norm of the group, there is a tendency to continue to react to the same situation with the same norm established in the group, even when the subject is no longer in the group situation. (pp. 31- 34, emphasis in original) 19 19 A Study of Some Social Factors (Sherif, 1935) Sherif concludes that: When individuals face this new and unstable situation first individually and then in a group, each establishes ‘- a range and a norm (standard) within that range; the range and the norms tend to converge when the subjects come into a group situation. But the convergence is not as close as when they start with the group situation first. (p. 41) 20 20 10  11/6/24 A Study of Some Social Factors (Sherif, 1935) Sherif concludes that: When individuals face this new and unstable situation as members of a group for the first time, a‘-range (a scale) and a norm (standard) within that range are established which are peculiar to the group, and afterwards when they face the same situation alone they stick to the range and norm established in the group. (p. 41) 21 21 ‘- BREAK TIME 22 22 11  11/6/24 Minority Influence Moscovici (1980) makes a distinction in his dual-process theory. Compliance – “the influence of a majority on a minority based on its power; this influence is generally on public ‘- influence rather than private beliefs” (Eysenck, 2022, p. 263) Conversion – “the influence of a minority based on convincing the majority that its views are correct; this influence is on private beliefs more than public behaviour” (Eysenck, 2022, p. 263) 23 23 Minority Influence According to Eysenck (2022, p. 263), conversion is most likely to occur under the following conditions: 1. Consistency – “the minority must be consistent ‘- in their viewpoint” 2. Flexibility – “the minority must not appear to be rigid and dogmatic in how they present their viewpoint” 3. Commitment – “a committed minority will lead the majority to re-think their position” 24 24 12  11/6/24 Minority Influence Moscovici et al. (1969) study Aim is to see if a consistent minority can influence a majority to give an incorrect answer in‘- a colour perception task 172 female participants who were told they were taking part in a colour perception task Placed in groups of 6 (4 participants, 2 confederates) and shown 36 slides which were all varying shades of blue Participants had to state what colour the slides were 25 25 Minority Influence Moscovici et al. (1969) study In condition (consistent), confederates said all slides were green ‘- In the other condition (inconsistent), confederates said 24 of the slides were green and 12 were blue 26 26 13  11/6/24 Minority Influence Moscovici et al. (1969) study Authors found that in the consistent condition, participants agreed on 8.2% of the ‘-trials In the inconsistent condition, they agreed 1.25% Meaning that a consistent minority is 6.95% more effective than an inconsistent minority when it comes to minority influence. 27 27 Group Decision Making Class Activity: There is an assumption when it comes to decision making in groups. For example, group decisions may reflect the average views of all or most of ‘-all its group members. Let us see if this is true. 28 28 14  11/6/24 Group Decision Making Read this Scenario and pick the lowest probability that you would consider acceptable for Leslie to write the novel. ‘- 1 in 10 meaning there is a 1% percent chance that Leslie would succeed and so Leslie should attempt. 10 in 10 meaning that Leslie should only attempt if 100% certain there is a success. 29 29 Group Decision Making Enter your options ‘- 30 30 15  11/6/24 Group Decision Making Split up into groups of 4. and Discuss the scenario and come to consensus. ‘- 31 31 Group Decision Making Enter your group options ‘- 32 32 16  11/6/24 Group Decision Making Group polarisation – “a change in individual preferences from pre-group discussion to post-group discussion in the direction that is favoured by individuals’ average pre-discussion ‘- preferences” (Siber & Ziegler, 2019, p. 1482; as cited by Eysenck, 2022, p. 269). 33 33 Group Decision Making Factors that can influence group polarization: 1. Social comparison – individuals want to be positively evaluated by other group members. ‘- 2. Persuasive arguments – suppose most group members initially favour a decision then during the discussion the individuals hear new arguments that support their position (Larson et al., 1994). This would lead to their views becoming more extreme. 34 34 17  11/6/24 Group Decision Making Factors that can influence group polarization: 3. Members of an ingroups usually want to distinguish their group from other groups. ‘- 35 35 Groupthink Groupthink – “a mode of thinking in highly cohesive groups in which the desire to reach unanimous agreement overrides the motivation to adopt proper rational decision-making procedures” ‘- (Vaughan & Hogg, 2014, p. 312; Eysenck, 2022, p. 270) Suppression of dissent, exaggerating group consensus and sense of group invulnerability (Eysenck, 2022) 36 36 18  11/6/24 Groupthink 5 factors were identified that increases the chances of groupthink (Janis, 1982): The group is very cohesive ‘- The group considers only a few options The group is isolated from information coming from outside the group There is much stress (e.g., time pressure, threatening circumstances) The group is dominated by a very directive leader 37 37 Groupthink 8 Symptoms indicative of groupthink (Janis, 1971): Illusions of invulnerability Rationalising ‘- Unquestioned belief in the group’s morality Stereotyping Direct pressure to conform Self-censorship Illusions of unanimity Mindguards 38 38 19  11/6/24 Groupthink Consequences of groupthink (Janis, 1971): Limiting discussions to only a few alternatives Making little or no attempts to obtain or ‘- disconfirm evidence Failing to consider potential obstacles Lacking a contingency plan Lack of creativity Overconfidence in decisions 39 39 Groupthink Example: Challenger Shuttle Disaster (1986) In January 1986, the orbiter Challenger exploded 73 seconds after launch. ‘- After the explosion, the Rogers Commission examined the causes of the explosion and found one of the “potentially catastrophic” elements was a rubber part called an O-ring which was known to be sensitive to cold and could only work above 53 degrees. Temperature on the launch pad that day was 36 degrees. Despite having this knowledge, why did NASA and Morton Thiokol managed to get approval for the launch? 40 40 20  11/6/24 Groupthink Example: Challenger Shuttle Disaster (1986) There were a few reasons: There was national, group and political ‘- pressure on NASA and Morton Thiokol, the company that built the solid rocket boosters to launch the Challenger on time. There was dwindling interesting space shuttle program and President Ronald Reagan also announcing the launch later that evening at the Union, and so this led to the faulty decision to launch the Challenger which ultimately led to the death of 7 people. 41 41 Groupthink Suggestions to prevent groupthink (Janis, 1971): Each member should be a “critical evaluator” assigned to object and voice concerns; Leaders should not express their opinions when ‘- assigning tasks; Leaders should remove themselves from group meeting to avoid influencing the outcome; Organisations should have several independent groups working on the same problem; Each member should discuss the group’s ideas with trusted members outside of the group; The group should invite experts into the meetings; At least one member should play “devil’s advocate” and the person should be switched out each meeting. 42 42 21  11/6/24 Summary Overview of conformity Autokinetic effect study (Sherif, 1935) Conformity to Group Norms ‘- Minority influence Group decision making 43 43 ‘- Thank you and see you next time! 44 44 22