PSYC*2310▯
Tuesday, February 4, 2014▯
Conformity and Obedience▯
Chapter 8▯
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- when people are free to do as they please, they usually imitate each other ▯
Definitions▯
- conformity is a change in behaviour or belief as a result of real or imagined pressure from
others▯
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Why Conform?▯
- 1. the need to know:▯
- life is undefined, situations are ambiguous, see what others do in the same situation,
according to others, you change your behaviour ▯
- informal social influence: “others know better than us,” if most people do it, it’s okay▯
- accepting others interpretation of an ambiguous reality in order to obtain accurate
information, we conform simply because we don’t know▯
- Muzafer Sherif’s studies▯
- Autokinetic effect▯
- stare at red dot 5m away, the light is going to disappear, every time it disappears and
then comes back, tell how much it moves▯
- 1 cm away, 4 cm away, etc.▯
- in reality, the light is not moving: visual illusion▯
- we see that the light is moving because it is dark and there is no anchor to use as a
landmark▯
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Autokinetic Studies (Sherif, 1936)▯
- now in a group: people have to report out loud how much the light is moving: use other
people’s responses to alter your own▯
- convergence: people come to an agreement about how much the light is moving▯
- conforming to an unestablished norm happening in a group▯
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- after doing it in a group, do it individually, conform to the prior existing norm and all report the
same even when they are alone ▯
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Multigenerational Norms▯
- study of transition of norms from generation to generation by MacNeil and Sherif (1976)▯
- once we establish a norm for a group, how long will people conform?▯
- four person group in laboratory (3 from experiment, 1 participant)▯
- establishing an arbitrary group norm of 12 inches▯
- 30 judgement trials▯
- replacing one of the confederates with a new naive member after each 30 judgement trials▯
- the norm stays the same even after replacing with more participants ▯
- continuing the study for 11 generations, each one involving the replacement of the oldest
- group member with a new member▯
norms continue for a long period of
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