ConformityWhat is Conformity?
Conformity is defined by Crutchfield as 'Yielding to Group Pressure'. This can be real (involving the physical presence of others) or imagined (such as the pressure of the social norms/ expectations). Social Norm: Expectations about what behavior, thoughts, or feelings are appropriate within a given group within a given context. Play the Urinal Game!!
Imagine you are standing in a room full of strangers and they are discussing yourpresidential candidate of choice. Would you agree with them?
Conformity involves the changing of one's attitudes, opinions, or behaviors to match the attitudes, opinions, or behaviors of other people. This pressure to act like other people, sometimes despite our true feelings and desires, is a common everyday occurrance. This is do to the implied and spoken rules of the situation.
Types of Conformity
Kelman (1958) suggests 3 types of conformity:
Compliance- A change in behaviour without a change in opinion (going along with the group).
Internalisation- A change in behaviour and opinion. 'True Conformity'.
Identification- Adopting the group's views because value group membership. Often temporary.
There are two main theories that try to explain conformity and why people conform.
Deutsch and Gerard (1955) Dual Process Dependency Model
Normative Social Influence (NSI) - people conform out of a desire to be liked and accepted.
Informational Social Influence (ISI) - people conform out of a desire to be right. This need for information on how to behave is especially true in novel or ambiguous situations.
Turner (1991) states that the dual process dependency model underestimates the psychological importance of group membership (like identification). We conform to the group because we define ourselves as part of the group. In other words, we 'self-stereotype'. There is a three-part process:
Acknowledge membership of the group
Learn the group norms
Behave according to those norms
These "norms" tell us what we should or ought to be thinking, feeling, or doing if we want to fit in with a particular group. Most people conform to norms without much thinking about it. For example, most people tip in restaraunts, raise their hand when wishing to speak in a group setting, or sit down when they eat. While none of these incidences involve formal rules, most people comply with them. However, there are certain times when people are more or less likely to conform to the existing norms. Several factors affect the degree to which conformity will occur.
Group cohesiveness (the degree to which we are strongly attracted to a group and desire to maintain membership in it) increases the occurrance of conformity. For example, countless research studies exist which display the degree of conformity in sororities and fraternaties. In a like manner, the number of persons exerting pressure increases the amount of conformity.
This is true only to a certain point. A group size of about three to four people will exert pressure to conform. However, a larger group size does not increase the likelihood of conformity.
Finally, having an ally -- someone who disagrees with the majority-- results in much less conformity than when no social support exists for the target of conformity.
Aschs conformity Study can be found here.
http://www.dushkin.com/connectext/psy/ch15/asch.mhtml
Zimbardo
The Stanford Prison Experiment (1973)
Zimbardo set out to investigate whether prison guards were sadistic. There had been numerous stories in America in the 1960s about prisoners being brutalised, humiliated and even killed by their guards. In order to investigate if the guards behaved like that because of personality or environmental factors, Zimbardo set up an experiment at Stanford University using student volunteers.
Go to the Prison Experiment Website and view the slide show of the actual events. Also of interest are the follow ups in the epilogue (under related links) that tell you what happened to some of the participants after the experiment.
The study is one of the best known, and most widely used outside psychological circles, because of the findings of the massive influence of situational factors, and the perceived 'role', on behaviour. This has implications in many areas, not just prison reform, although little has changed in the penal system in America.
Zimbardo was widely criticised on ethical grounds, especially because of what happened to the prisoners, and this led to greater emphasis being placed on the ethical guidelines.
Small Group Questions
1) Is conformity a good thing, or a bad thing? Why?
2) List 20 social norms, and if they are specific to a certain group or context, describe it.
3) For norms listed in number 2, how many of them do you think are positive, negative, or neutral?
Positive _______ Negative _______ Neutral _________
4) Can you think of five social norms that you are glad they exist? Describe them.
5) What would social life be like if there were no social norms?
6) In your opinion, why do people conform?
7) What determines whether a particular norm is good or bad?
Non-Conformity: Why Don't We All Conform?
Some people never seem to conform and most of us don't conform all of the time.
There are a number of reasons to explain this.
Asch's Three Categories of Independence
Confidence in their perceptions (e.g. Perrin and Spencer)
Withdrawal - the need to act as individuals (this can be seen by an avoidance of eye contact to isolate themselves)
Tension and Doubt - the participants who gave the 'correct' answer despite the discomfort that they felt
Individual Factors
Individuation - the wish to be distinct from others and maintain personal identity
Control - some people have a great need for personal control. This can be seen in those people who are not willing to ask for directions despite the fact that they are lost!
Discuss
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