Week 26

Conformity
6 April 2016

26.01 Conformity
Unlike compliance, conformity is an indirect means of social influence but still very powerful in
shaping behavior.
Read pp. 119-123 of your Crane and Hannibal textbook, Section 4.2:
Sociocultural level of analysis: social and cultural norms.
Read pp. 24-27 of the Pamoja Supplementary eText, The Sociocultural Level of
Analysis: Section 3, Social Norms: C. Conformity to Group Norms.

Sociocultural level of analysis: social and cultural norms

Pg. 119-123
Social influence: conformity
o Conformity: indirect form of social influence which passes values and
behaviors of a culture to its members
Changing thoughts, feelings, and behaviors to be in agreement or
accepted by the social norms
Peer pressure in schools
o Asch Paradigm (1951)
to what extent a person would conform to an incorrect answer on
a test if the response from the other members of the group was
unanimous
6 men in suits and ties (confederates), researcher, and participant
Confederates helped to deceive participant
Answered correctly for some, but not most
group was told that they were going to take part in a
psychological experiment on visual judgement
Shown cards depicting Aschs line test
Asked to choose the line on the second card which matched the
length of the original line
18 trials
Some lines were clearly matches, while others were more
difficult
Results:
75% agreed with the confederates wrong answers at least
once
Average of 32% agreed with half or more of wrong
answers
24% never conformed
Asked how they felt
Experiencing self-doubt
Demand characteristics - knew they were wrong, but
conformed so they wouldnt ruin the data collection
Need to belong more than be right

o Factors that influence conformity

Group size
Asch 1956
3% conformed with only 1 confederate
14% with 2
32% with 3
Rate of conformity did not increase with larger groups
Very large groups may decreased level of conformity
Unanimity
Asch 1956 - all confederates agreed
More likely to disagree if one other person says a different
answer
Confidence
Less likely to conform if they make a decision with regard
to a field of expertise
Perrin and Spencer 1988 replication with engineers and
medical students
self-esteem
Stang 1973 - less likely to conform if high self-esteem
o Evaluation
Methodology
Artificiality and low ecological validity
Task and use of strangers arent natural
Asch said its a social situation which makes the participant
feel like an outsider
Demand characteristics
Feel required to act a certain way
Culture limited validity
One culture - cant be generalized
Postmodernism can even say this study is
irrelevant to the original culture studied
Friend et al. 1990
Says theres a bias in the interpretation of the
findings
Many people did not conform to unanimity
Ethical
Deception
Feel anxiety about their performance
o A different way of looking at the Asch paradigm
Minority can influence the majority
Moscovici and Lage 1976
4 participants and 2 confederates
Confederates described a blue-green color as green
Influenced 32% to make an incorrect judgement about the
color
Participants continued to give incorrect responses when
confederates left

Hogg and Vaughan 1995

Reasons minority influences
Dissent opinions create doubt
Alternative thoughts
Consistency shows commitment
Minority opinions are crucial in a groups decision-making
Groupthink
Irving Janis
Unanimous opinion and dont seek an alternative
Blinded by optimism that their decision will be successful
someone in a group suggests an idea, and everyone
accepts the idea without considering other possible
options.
o Why do people conform?
Deutsch and Gerard 1955
argue that conformity is a result of informational social
influence and normative social influence.
Informational social influence: cognitively processing
information
Festinger 1954
Evaluate personal opinions and ideas through social
comparison
Cognitive dissonance: When one notices that others are
not behaving in the same way, or that they think differently,
it causes anxiety
Conform and then rationalize your opinion and develop
confidence that its acceptable
Normative social influence
Nature as social animals - need to be accepted
Conform to avoid rejection and gain social approval
o Cultural aspects of conformity
Americans see it as negative
Asian cultures engage in more conforming behaviors
Cashmore and Goodnow (1986)
High level of conformity among Italians
Burgos and Dias-Perez (1986)
Puerto Ricans valued conformity and obedience in their
children
Smith and Bond (1993)
Review of 31 conformity studies
14% among Belgian students and 58% among Indian
teachers in Fiji, 31.2% average
Lower in individualist cultures - 25.3% - than collectivist
cultures - 37.1%
Bond and Smith (1996) found that people who score high on
Hoefstedes collectivism scale conform more than people who
score lower.
Berry (1967)

Temne people of Sierra Leone conformed significantly

more than the Inuit people of Canada
The Temne people have to survive on a single crop
that is harvested by all the people in the
community.
consensus and agreement
Inuit economy is based on continual hunting and
gathering on a relatively individual basis

SCLOA
Pg. 24-27
C. Conformity to Group Norms
Acting similar to other, but no direct pressure
Adapt in response to expected behavior
Types of conformity
o Informational conformity:
Unfamiliar situation
Look to others for how to act and inform us of the customs
o Normative conformity:
Conform to be like the group
Social conformity to make a good impression
Adopt group stance
Peer pressure for acceptance
Research on conformity to group norms
o Sherif 1935
Informational conformity study into the autokinetic effect (moving
light)
Objects moved and light was stationary, making the light
appear to move
Participants gave reasoning alone as to how far the light moved
Placed in groups of three - two had similar observations and the
other was different - each told their answer
Lack of information, look to group
Results:
Group came to a consensus of a common estimate - group
agreement
Conclusion: in an ambiguous situation, a person will look to others
for guidance
o Asch 1955
Normative conformity
Length of lines
Answers were ambiguously wrong
Conformed to avoid embarrassment of being the odd one out
The need to be part of the group was stronger than the desire to
give the correct answer.
Evaluation of research on conformity to group norms
o Artificial experiments - lack ecological validity
o Meaningless stimuli

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gender and culture bias in that only male US participants were used
Cant be generalized
Factors influencing conformity
75% conformed at least once in Aschs research
Gender
Historical context
Ethnicity
Self-esteem
Professional confidence
Age
Group size
Position of naive participants seat
Second person disagree with the incorrect answer
Group size
Social impact theory - Additional member add pressure to conform
Social influence model
Increase of conformity level to a certain extent
1-15 confederates
More than 3-4 confederate decreased conformity
Confidence
Perrin and Spencer (1980)
engineering, mathematics and chemistry students as subjects
on only 1 out of 396 trials did an observer join the majority and
make a wrong estimation
Cultural change - Americans in 1950s were taught to follow the
majority opinion
1960s- demand for social change
Culture and ethnicity
Neto, F. (1995)
women psychology students in a Portuguese university as a
minority of one, unanimous majority group, and control
participants
59% conformed at least once, 28% yielded three to twelve times
control condition 27% erred at least once, and 3.3% made more
than three errors
Minority influence
The majority is influenced to accept the beliefs of the minority
Minority exerts their disagreement to bring a change in society
Affected by group size, level of consistency, and situational factors
Moscovici and Zavalloni (1969)
Informational conformity
Ambiguous situation
32 groups of 6 females
Study of perception
36 blue slides differing by color/shade/intensity
Stooges either always of of the time said the slide was green
8% of the majority agreed

When less consistent, 1.25% agreed

Conforming to minority increased when private response opposed
to public
Consistency is important in decision making
Nemeth 1986
Flexibility and compromise have more of an effect than
consistency
Three participants and a confederate per group
Decide on amount of compensation to be given to the victim of a
skit-lift accident
Confederate suggested a low amount and couldnt persuade
participants
Increased slightly closer to majoritys amount and they also
compromised
standing up for one's beliefs - showed up as activity in brain areas
involved in emotion with fMRI
Study demonstrating conformity to group norms
Wood et al. (1997)
conformity to group norms does not only result in acceptance by
the group, but also in self-acceptance and positive feelings about
oneself
89 male and 164 female psychology students at a Texas university
Completed a questionnaire
think of an interaction with another person in which they
acted in a "dominant, powerful, and assertive manner" or in
a "warm, caring, close-to-others manner."
Written description of the event
series of scales on which they rated their feelings and their
self-views.
results suggested that positive feelings about the self in a
social interaction depended on the extent to which the
interaction reflected the stereotypic sex role norms of
dominance for men and warmth and intimacy for women
self-concept plays an important role in conformity to
gender norms
Normative beliefs that men are powerful, dominant,
and self-assertive and that women are caring,
intimate with others, and emotionally expressive

26.02 Research on Conformity to Group Norms

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA-gbpt7Ts8
Asch wanted to find out to what extent a person would conform to an incorrect answer on a test if
he observed others answer incorrectly.

IB Psychology
Name: Natalie Cassello
Teacher: Helen Loughran

12 April 2016

Learning Outcome
Evaluate research on conformity to group norms.
Aschs study is the most important investigation of conformity and a thorough evaluation is
essential. In addition more recent insights about cultural norms and conformity are relevant.
Evaluation
Evaluation of Asch (1951)
Methodology Considerations

Ethical Considerations

Gender/Cultural
Considerations

The experiment lacked

ecological validity because
there were a majority of
confederate who were acting in
this vision-test.
There were many controlled
variable, which means the
experiment can be
successfully replicated.
There were demand

Deception was used as well

as the cause of anxiety to
question ones decision in
comparison to the majority
decision.

Cannot be generalized
because participants only
included 123 male students
at Swarthmore College

characteristics.
Conformity and Culture
Study

Brief Description

What insights into conformity

are provided by the study?

Sherif
1935

Informational conformity study into the autokinetic

effect (moving light). Objects moved and light was
stationary, making the light appear to move.
Participants gave reasoning alone as to how far the
light moved and then were placed in groups of three two had similar observations and the other was
different - each told their answer. The lack of
information forced individuals to look to group for
assistance. Results showed that the group came to a
consensus of a common estimate, or a group
agreement.

This study concluded that in

an ambiguous situation, a
person will look to others for
guidance.
It confirmed that informational
conformity occurs in an
unfamiliar situation, even
though there is no direct
pressure to accept the belief
or behaviors of others.

26.03 Independent Assignment: ERQ on Conformity

exploring the question of why such a large percentage (75%) of his participants in all his trials
went along with the social pressure and conformed at least once.
Many variables were found to be relevant: gender, historical context, ethnicity, self-esteem,
professional confidence, age, group size, position of nave participants seat, and the effect of
having a second person disagree with the incorrect answer.

Write a response to the following ERQ:

o Discuss factors influencing conformity.
Save your response (800-1000 words) to your ePortfolio.

IB Psychology

Name: Natalie Cassello

APRIL 2016
Teacher: Helen Loughran
Learning Outcome
Discuss factors influencing conformity.

12

Aschs study identified factors that influence conformity, as have

subsequent investigators such as Stang (1973), Latan (1981),
Perrin and Spencer (1988) and Smith and Bond (1996). Add notes
to the graphic organizer below explaining how each factor
influences conformity.

G
roup SSize
ize
Group
A sch (1 956)
Additional
group
confederates
tend to add
pressure for
the
participa nts
to conform to
a certain
extent of
m em bers.
After there
are m ore than
4, conform ity
levels m ay
begin to
decrease.

o
o

U n anim ity
Unanimity
A sch (1 956)
w hen all of
the
confederates
agreed and
the
participa nt
w as m ost
likely to
agree. If one
confederate
sa id a
diff erent
asnw er, th en
the
participa nt
w as less likely
to conform .

C
onfi den ce
Confidence
Perrin a nd
Spencer
(19 88)
used
specialized
engineering,
m athem atics,
and chem istry
students to
replicate
A sch's 1951
experim ent to
fin d that an
observer
joined th e
m ajority and
m ade a w ron g
estim a tion
once out of
the 396
trials.. This
also show ed
the sultural
change and
postm odernis
m of
A m ericans in
the 1950 s
w hen they
w ere tau ght
to follow the
m ajority
opinion until
the 1960 a
w hen there
w ere
dem ands for
so cia l change.

Self-esteem
Self-esteem
Stang (1973)
Participants
w ith high selfesteem w ere
m ost likely to
stay w ith their
ow n choice
and not
conform to
incorrect
respon ses.

C ulture
Culture
Sm ith a nd
B ond (1996)
review ed
conform ity
studies and
found tha t
people w ho
score high on
H oefstede'sco
llectivism
scale tend to
conform m ore
than those
w ho score
low.

Discuss factors influencing conformity.

Offer a considered and balanced review that includes a range of arguments,
factors or hypotheses. Opinions or conclusions should be presented clearly and
supported by appropriate evidence.

Group size

Asch 1956

3% conformed with only 1 confederate

14% with 2

32% with 3

Rate of conformity did not increase with larger groups

Very large groups may decreased level of conformity

Unanimity
o

Asch 1956 - all confederates agreed

More likely to disagree if one other person says a different answer

Confidence
o

Less likely to conform if they make a decision with regard to a field of

expertise

self-esteem
o

Perrin and Spencer 1988 replication with engineers and medical students

Stang 1973 - less likely to conform if high self-esteem

Group size
o

Social impact theory - Additional member add pressure to conform

Social influence model

Increase of conformity level to a certain extent

1-15 confederates

More than 3-4 confederate decreased conformity

Confidence
o

Perrin and Spencer (1980)

engineering, mathematics and chemistry students as subjects

on only 1 out of 396 trials did an observer join the majority and
make a wrong estimation

Cultural change - Americans in 1950s were taught to follow the

majority opinion

1960s- demand for social change

Culture and ethnicity

o

Neto, F. (1995)

women psychology students in a Portuguese university as a

minority of one, unanimous majority group, and control
participants

59% conformed at least once, 28% yielded three to twelve times

control condition 27% erred at least once, and 3.3% made more
than three errors

Minority influence
o

The majority is influenced to accept the beliefs of the minority

Minority exerts their disagreement to bring a change in society

Affected by group size, level of consistency, and situational factors

Moscovici and Zavalloni (1969)

Informational conformity

Ambiguous situation

32 groups of 6 females

Study of perception

36 blue slides differing by color/shade/intensity

Stooges either always of of the time said the slide was green

8% of the majority agreed

When less consistent, 1.25% agreed

Conforming to minority increased when private response opposed

to public

Consistency is important in decision making

Conformity is an indirect form of social influence which values and behaviors of a culture
are passed on to its members. It forces people to adapt their feelings, behaviors, and
thoughts to be in agreement or to be accepted by the social norms of the group. In
schools, this influence is otherwise recognized by the phrase, peer pressure.
There are many different factors which influence conformity found in the Asch Paradigm,
studied by Soloman Asch in 1951. These include gender, age, historical context, culture
and ethnicity, group size, professional confidence, self-esteem, position of participants
seat, and unanimity or having more than one person choose the incorrect answer. There
were many follow-up studies and replications of the Asch 1951 study to investigate why
75% of participants were affected by the social pressures and conformed at least once
during the trials. I find it quite interesting that so many people tended to simply change
their own thoughts just to feel accepted into their group, even though there were no
consequences for going against the group or an expectancy of the group ever meeting
again.
In 1956, Asch continued his research and investigated some of these factors further.
Looking a group size, it was found that the social impact theory and social influence
model can be applied. The theory states that additional members add pressure for the
participant to conform and the model shows that the conformity level increases to a
certain extent before it eventually begins to decrease. The results of Aschs study

showed that 3% of participants conformed when they were only with one confederate,
14% conformed when in a group with two confederates, and 32% were influenced with
three confederates. The researcher concluded that the rate of conformity does not
increase with any larger groups, but may decrease with very large groups because
individuals feel more comfortable voicing their true opinion. This may be because of the
unanimity of the group. If all of the confederates were to agree on a single response,
then participants tend to go along with the incorrect answer, so they feel as if they hold a
sense of belonging to the group. However, if one confederate says a different answer,
then the participant will also most likely disagree with the rest of the group and give their
proper response, meaning they are less likely to conform.
Unless, the participant has high-self esteem or strong confidence. In 1973, Stang
studied conformity in relation to self-esteem. He came to a conclusion that people are
less likely to conform if they have a high self-esteem. They tended to stick with their own
choice and not conform to the response of the majority if they knew it was incorrect.
Perrin and Spencer investigated the factor of confidence in 1988. Their research found
that people are less likely to conform if they make a decision with regard to a field of
ones expertise. The procedure replicated the methodology of the Asch Paradigm, but
replaced the participants with engineering, mathematics, chemistry, and medical
students. The results supported their hypothesis, as only one participant conformed to
the wrong estimation of the majority, out of the 396 trials. This study also supports the
factor of culture influencing conformity, as Americans in the 1950s, when Asch
conducted his original experiment, were taught to follow the majority opinion, but
following the rules of postmodernism, especially after the demands for social change in
the 1960s, the effect of culture is obvious on conformity.

Smith and Bond also looked at culture and ethnicity, in 1996. After reviewing conformity
studied, they found that people who score high on Hoestedes collectivism scale tend to
conform more than those who score low. In 1995, Neto F. also researched how culture
affects conformity. The study included participants who were women psychology
students in a Portuguese university. They were put in a group in a group with an
unanimous majority group and control participants. The results showed that 59% of the
women who were minorities conformed at least once and 28% yielded three to twelve
times while 27% of the control condition conformed at least once and only 3.3% made
more than three mistakes. This investigation proved that there is an obvious difference
between the psychology students in Portugal and control group, being that there is a
lower conformity rate to unanimous peer group opinions than the American male
students from Aschs study. The females in this study were also the minority of the
experiment, which relates to the minority influence is when the majority of the group is
forced to accept the beliefs of the minority after exerting their disagreement to bring a
change in society. This is affected by the factors of conformity including group size, level
of consistency, and situational factors.
Conformity is influenced by the factors of gender, age, historical context, culture and
ethnicity, group size, professional confidence, self-esteem, position of participants seat,
and unanimity. All of these factors can be seen through the studies investigating the
psychological process of conformity further, including Asch 1956, Perrin and Spencer
1988, Stang 1973, Smith and Bond 1996, and Neto F. 1995. This idea of conformity with
support of these studies studied at the sociocultural level of analysis proves that humans
are social beings.

26.04 Psych Terms Wiki: Compliance and Conformity

http://recordings.eu.blindsidenetworks.com/pamojaeducation/c841bd048d8562147882d
32bab4b252f8d78a2c7-1458240547716/capture/