Week 6 - Conformity & Obedience PDF

2023-10-12 PSYC 1400 WEEK 6: CONFORMITY & OBEDIENCE 1 Class Overview  Conformity: Informational Social Influence   Conformity: Normative Social Influence   Classic research: Sherif autokinetic effect Classic research: Asch line judgment Obedience  Classic research: Milgram 2 Confo...

2023-10-12 PSYC 1400 WEEK 6: CONFORMITY & OBEDIENCE 1 Class Overview  Conformity: Informational Social Influence   Conformity: Normative Social Influence   Classic research: Sherif autokinetic effect Classic research: Asch line judgment Obedience  Classic research: Milgram 2 Conformity WHEN ARE WE LIKELY TO “GO ALONG WITH THE CROWD”, AND WHY? 3 1 2023-10-12 Discussion Questions  Define conformity, in your own words. Is the word positive, negative, or neutral to you in terms of what it implies?  Do you consider yourself to be mainly a conformist, or a nonconformist? To what do you attribute this trait in yourself – i.e., why do you tend to either conform or rebel? 4 Conformity: When and Why Conformity:  A change in behaviour due to the real or imagined influence of others  North American culture: importance of nonconformity  Individualism, independent thought preferred  So why then do we sometimes conform? 5 Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What is “Right” Informational social influence:  Conforming because we believe that others’ interpretation of an ambiguous situation is more correct than ours  Believe that others will tell us what is the correct action 6 2 2023-10-12 Informational Social Influence: Classic Research Sherif (1936) Autokinetic effect:  Point of light on the wall of a darkened room  Visual illusion that light is moving  Variability across people, but consistency for individuals  Sherif had participants first report in private, then in small groups 7 8 Sherif: Results Sherif found:  People’s estimates moved closer to the group norm  This happened even when they were alone again https://opentextbc.ca/so cialpsychology/chapter/t he-many-varieties-ofconformity/ 9 3 2023-10-12 Public Compliance vs Private Acceptance Public compliance:  Conforming to others publicly, without necessarily believing in what they say or do Private acceptance:  Conforming to the behaviour of others out of a belief that what they are doing is right 10 When Will People Conform to Informational Social Influence? When the Situation is Ambiguous:  Fire alarm: is it real, a drill, or a false alarm?  Look to the behaviour of others in building to know how to respond  Are others panicking, or running for the exits? 11 When Will People Conform to Informational Social Influence? When the Situation is a Crisis:  No time to stop and think about precise course of action  Look to others for quick behaviour cues  Problem: when others are unsure and panicky, everyone panics 12 4 2023-10-12 When Will People Conform to Informational Social Influence? When Other People are Experts:  We see experts or authorities as valuable resources during crises  Smoke filled airplane: look for flight crew to guide behaviour 13 Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted  Drugs, excessive alcohol, driving recklessly  Why do some people engage in risky behaviour that could kill them?  “Everybody else is doing it…”  Not wanting to be odd one out 14 Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted Normative social influence:  Conforming in order to be liked or accepted by the group  Involves public compliance with group’s beliefs and behaviours, but:  NOT necessarily private acceptance of group norms 15 5 2023-10-12 Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted Social norms:  Implicit or explicit rules a group has for acceptable behaviours, values, and beliefs of its members  Often we “go along” with the wishes of others not because we believe they’re right, but because we want to be accepted  Violation: Public pjs 16 Conformity and Social Approval: The Asch Line Judgment Studies Asch (1951) conformity studies:  Line judgment task: which of 3 comparison lines matches the target?  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyDDy T1lDhA 17 Conformity and Social Approval Asch (1951) conformity studies:  Critical trials (on 12 of 18 trials, confederates all supplied incorrect answer)  How many would give same answer as confederates?  66% answered incorrectly at least once  25% refused outright to conform  Overall, 37% agreement with incorrect answer 18 6 2023-10-12 Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted Violation of social norms can lead to:  Ridicule  Rejection  Punishment  Unwanted attention 19 When Will People Conform to Normative Social Influence? Social impact theory (Latané, 1981):   Conforming to social influence depends on the strength, immediacy, and number of other people in a group  Conformity increases as strength and immediacy increase  Conformity pressures peak at around 4 or 5 others Normative pressures stronger when groups are important or attractive to us 20 Culture and Social Influence  “The squeaky wheel gets the grease” – North American expression  “The nail that stands out gets pounded down” – Japanese expression  Asch-type conformity studies show:  High conformity rates in collectivist cultures  Declining conformity rates in individualist cultures 21 7 2023-10-12 Discussion Question  Think back to yourself in high school. What social norms were you conforming to, in terms of your clothing, hairstyle, musical taste, etc.? How much pressure to “fit in” do most teenagers in high school feel, and what are the consequences for resisting the pressures? 22 Obedience to Authority WHY DO WE OBEY OTHERS? 23 Discussion Question  In situations where people face pressure to do something that they know is wrong, will they generally resist the pressure, or do what they’re being told to do?  Why do people obey?  When will people refuse? 24 8 2023-10-12 Obedience to Authority Obedience:  Conformity in response to the commands of an authority figure  My Lai massacre in Vietnam (1968)  Genocides in Germany, Ukraine, Bosnia, Cambodia, Rwanda, and the list goes on  Why obedience to orders that are wrong?  Both informational and normative social influence at work 25 Obedience to Authority Milgram (1963) shock experiments:  Experiment on learning word lists (cover story)  Teacher/learner (confederate is always learner)  Teacher must “shock” learner for incorrect answers  Shocks labeled “Slight” to “XXX”  Full documentary (1962):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdrKCilEhC0  How many people will deliver the maximum shock? 26 Milgram Experiments How many participants go the full 450 volts?  62.5% delivered maximum shock  Average maximum shock: 360 volts  80% of participants continued after learner screamed “Let me out of here!” 27 9 2023-10-12 The Role of Informational Social Influence  Confusing situations lead us to look for someone who can tell us what to do  Authorities are assumed to know best  Handing over control to authorities releases us from responsibility 28 The Role of Normative Social Influence  Why are people so willing to obey an authority figure?  Normative pressures make refusal difficult, especially with authority figures  We are taught from a young age to listen to authorities, to follow rules  Resistance? Variation on Milgram study:  Seeing peers disobey the authority figure caused drop in compliance  only 10% gave maximum shock 29 Obedience Experiments: Variations  Note all of the experimental variations done by Milgram, and the effects those variations had on obedience of participants  Table from: https://opentextbc.ca/socialpsychology/cha pter/obedience-power-and-leadership/ 30 10 2023-10-12 Other Factors that Influence Obedience  Distance from the victim  Proximity of authority  The more distance, the less obedience  Legitimacy of authority  The more distance, the more obedience  Authorities  must be seen as having legitimate authority Gender??  Milgram found no real gender effects 31 11