He used a lab experiment to study conformity. He put participants in a dark room and projected a small spot of light onto a screen. The light was still, however it appeared to move. He discovered that when participants were individually tested, their estimates of how far the light moved varied considerably. The participants were then tested in groups of three.
Conformity within a group entails members changing their attitudes and beliefs in order to match those of others within the group. Those that conform tend to be obedient and compliant. In order to conform, the group member must attribute someone as having the legitimacy and credibility to lead or influence the group's behaviour. Without this "leader", conformity toward the group's goals will be less prevalent. If a member of the group fails to conform to the groups needs, he/she would lose credibility with the rest of the group.
Discuss research into conformity Asch has conducted a study into conformity. His aim was to see if participants would yield to majority social influence and give incorrect answers when the correct answers were always obvious. A group of student volunteers took part in a vision test. Only one of the participants were genuine, the others were confederates. The participants were seated in a room and asked to look at 3 lines of different length and asked to state which line was the same length as the standard line.
When considering this issue, sociologists should also consider that participants should also be offered the right to refuse. This is an important ethical issue for sociologists to consider throughout their studies as refusal to participate in parts of the study could also alter the data. Another ethical problem sociologists may face is vulnerable groups. Special care should be taken when the participants are particularly vulnerable due to their age, disabilities, physical health or mental health. For example, children being studied in
Conformity is a type of social influence involving a change in belief or behavior in order to fit in with a group. This change is in response to real (involving the physical presence of others) or imagined (involving the pressure of social norms / expectations) group pressure. Basically, it can be summed up as yielding oneself to group pressures and differs based on the social setting and pressures thereof. A person adjusts his/her thinking or behavior to coincide with a particular group’s standard. Explaining Sherif’s Results • Why did Sherif’s participants change their estimates when they had to call out their answers in the presence of other people?
Having Fun With Operational Definitions Adapted from teachpsychscience.org Directions: Identify and operationally define the independent and dependent variables in each of the following research ideas. Research Idea #1: A social psychologist was interested in whether people are more likely to exhibit conformity when they are in situations that make them feel nervous and unsure of themselves. What is the independent variable? How would you define it operationally? What is the dependent variable?
Stereotypes lead people to expect certain actions from members of social groups. These stereotype-based expectations may lead to self-fulfilling prophecies, in which one's inaccurate expectations about a person's behavior, through social interaction, prompts that person to act in stereotype-consistent ways, thus confirming one's erroneous expectations and validating the stereotype. (Page 94–97) Often time’s people are fairly ignorant of the customs and
The teacher was told that the object of the experiment was to study the effects of punishment on learning. They are also told that their role in the experiment was to read word lists to the learner and the learner must remember the second word from a list of word pairs they had read earlier. If the learner got the answer wrong, then the teacher was told to administer shocks, for each answer that the learner got wrong, and the shocks had to increase in intensity. The teacher is unaware of the fact that the learner is actually an actor, and receives no shock. The experiments, involving the Undergrad students from Yale, resulted in 60
The presence of others affects our behaviors through influence. Peer pressure being the best example of this. Through peer pressure our peers influence us by encouraging use to change our attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs in order for us to conform to the group norm. A person who is influenced by peer pressure may not want to actually be a part of the groups or associate with them and as such change their behavior accordingly to the group behavior when around that group. A person may change his or her attitudes and behaviors when around social groups in order to feel accepted even if they don’t particularly believe in the group behaviors.
One individual’s religious and political beliefs will be different from another’s. Their ideas about, for example, how to dress, what to eat, how to behave, what is right and wrong, just and decent will also differ. Tips to ensure personal attitudes or beliefs do Not obstruct the quality of work. Find out about individuals – their history. Understanding the individual may challenge your own attitudes and values.