Conformity Chapter 8

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Conformity (Chapter 8)
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Conformity

• How sensitive are people to social forces?

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Conformity

• Sherifs studies of norm formation
• Examined whether people will conform in absence
  of direct pressure

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Sherifs Study
Guess (in inches)
10 8 6 4 2 0
Participant 1
Participant 2
trial 1 trial 2 trial 3 trial 4
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What did Sherifs study demonstrate?

• Informational influence
• Conformity that results from accepting evidence
  about reality provided by other people
• Motivated by desire to be correct
• Leads to acceptance conforming because you
  truly believe in the behavior

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Informational Influence

• When does it occur?
• When the situation is ambiguous
• When others appear to be experts
• Mass suggestibility

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• Conformity
• Aschs Classic Conformity Studies (1955)

standard
comparisons
1
2
3
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Aschs Classic Conformity Study

• Again, people conformed in absence of direct
  pressure!
• 75 conformed at least once
• 37 of all responses were conforming

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What did Aschs study demonstrate?

• Normative influence
• Conformity based on a persons desire to gain
  approval or acceptance from others
• Leads to compliance publicly conforming even
  though privately you dont believe in the
  behavior

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Normative Influence

• When does it occur?
• When membership in the group is important
• When the group has at least three group members

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Normative Influence

• When there is unanimous consensus among group
  members
• If confederate gives non-conforming, wrong
  answer, conformity decreases
• When response is public
• When no prior commitment
• If you answer 1st, you stick to your
  non-conforming answer

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Asch and Social Impact Theory

• Number
• As number in group goes up, so does conformity
  (to a point)
• Strength
• As status and importance of others goes up, so
  does conformity
• Jaywalkers study
• Immediacy
• not manipulated

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Compliance Techniques

• Foot-in-the-door Technique
• people who have agreed to a small request are
  more likely to comply later with a larger,
  related request

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Foot-in-the-Door

• Drive Safely Study
• Some people asked first to put small sticker in
  window
• Will you put ugly billboard in yard?
• 65 in sticker condition said yes
• 20 in billboard-only condition said yes
• Why does this work?
• People dont want to be inconsistent

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Compliance Techniques

• Low-balling Technique
• After getting people to agree to a small request,
  the requester changes the terms of the agreement
• Car salespeople

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Low-Balling

• Extra Credit Study
• Students asked to participate in study
• If told upfront study was at 7am 31 complied
• If told after agreed to participate 56
  complied
• Why does this work?
• Once people make a decision, they feel committed
  to it

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Compliance Techniques

• Door-in-the-face Technique
• After a person turns down a large, unreasonable
  request, people are more likely to comply when
  the requester offers a more reasonable request.

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Door-in-the-face

• Volunteer Counseling Study
• Some asked first to volunteer 2 hours per week
  for 2 years
• Take kids on 2 hour trip to zoo?
• If refused first request 50 complied
• If only asked the small request 17 complied
• Why does this work?
• Reciprocity requester made a concession, so we
  should comply

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Resisting Conformity

• Reactance
• A motive to protect or restore ones sense of
  freedom. Arises when someone threatens our
  freedom of action.
• Graffiti Study

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Where does all this get us?

• Explains (but does not condone!) how negative
  behaviors may come about