SOCIOL 41 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Arthur Schuster, Minority Influence
Document Summary
Conformity is an individual"s adherence to group norms and standards. Norms mean something when a group can oblige its members often change their behavior expressly so that it will conform to group norms. Conformity consists of the behaviors and/or attitudes consistent with social expectations that result from real or imagined pressure from individuals or groups. Compliance = behavioral conformity irrespective of attitudes. How a group"s majority pressures an individual member to conform or to adopt a specific position on some issue. Majority influence gives a group integrity and continuity over time. The amount of influence exerted by the majority on individual members. Asch conformity paradigm varies from group to group. The task was to judge which of the three comparison lines is closest in length to the standard line. Group pressure influenced subjects responses, they gave responses that corresponded to the erroneous answers given by confederates.