{"id":316,"date":"2015-02-06T23:15:43","date_gmt":"2015-02-06T23:15:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.candelalearning.com\/ospsych\/?post_type=chapter&p=316"},"modified":"2024-05-17T15:02:54","modified_gmt":"2024-05-17T15:02:54","slug":"conformity-compliance-and-obedience","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymaker-psychology\/chapter\/conformity-compliance-and-obedience\/","title":{"raw":"Conformity and Obedience","rendered":"Conformity and Obedience"},"content":{"raw":"
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Learning Objectives<\/h3>\r\n
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  • Describe the results of research on conformity, and distinguish between normative and informational social influence.<\/li>\r\n \t
  • Describe Stanley Milgram\u2019s experiment and its implications<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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    Conformity<\/h2>\r\nSolomon Asch conducted several experiments in the 1950s to determine how people are affected by the thoughts and behaviors of other people. In one study, a group of participants was shown a series of printed line segments of different lengths: a, b, and c (Figure 1). Participants were then shown a fourth line segment: x. They were asked to identify which line segment from the first group (a, b, or c) most closely resembled the fourth line segment in length.\r\n
    \r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"444\"]\"A Figure 1<\/strong>. These line segments illustrate the judgment task in Asch\u2019s conformity study. Which line on the right\u2014a, b, or c\u2014is the same length as line x on the left?[\/caption]<\/figure>\r\nEach group of participants had only one true, na\u00efve subject. The remaining members of the group were confederates of the researcher. A confederate<\/strong> is a person who is aware of the experiment and works for the researcher. Confederates are used to manipulate social situations as part of the research design, and the true, na\u00efve participants believe that confederates are, like them, uninformed participants in the experiment. In Asch\u2019s study, the confederates identified a line segment that was shorter than the target line\u2014a wrong answer. The na\u00efve participant then had to identify aloud the line segment that best matched the target line segment.\r\n\r\nHow often do you think the true participant aligned with the confederates\u2019 response? That is, how often do you think the group influenced the participant, and the participant gave the wrong answer? Asch (1955) found that 76% of participants conformed to group pressure at least once by indicating the incorrect line. Conformity<\/strong> is the change in a person\u2019s behavior to go along with the group, even if he does not agree with the group. Why would people give the wrong answer? What factors would increase or decrease someone giving in or conforming to group pressure?\r\n\r\nThe Asch effect<\/strong> is the influence of the group majority on an individual\u2019s judgment.\r\n\r\nWhat factors make a person more likely to yield to group pressure? Research shows that the size of the majority, the presence of another dissenter, and the public or relatively private nature of responses are key influences on conformity.\r\n
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    • The size of the majority: The greater the number of people in the majority, the more likely an individual will conform. There is, however, an upper limit: a point where adding more members does not increase conformity. In Asch\u2019s study, conformity increased with the number of people in the majority\u2014up to seven individuals. At numbers beyond seven, conformity leveled off and decreased slightly (Asch, 1955).<\/li>\r\n \t
    • The presence of another dissenter: If there is at least one dissenter, conformity rates drop to near zero (Asch, 1955).<\/li>\r\n \t
    • The public or private nature of the responses: When responses are made publicly (in front of others), conformity is more likely; however, when responses are made privately (e.g., writing down the response), conformity is less likely (Deutsch & Gerard, 1955).<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nThe finding that conformity is more likely to occur when responses are public than when they are private is the reason government elections require voting in secret, so we are not coerced by others (Figure 2). The Asch effect can be easily seen in children when they have to publicly vote for something. For example, if the teacher asks whether the children would rather have extra recess, no homework, or candy, once a few children vote, the rest will comply and go with the majority. In a different classroom, the majority might vote differently, and most of the children would comply with that majority. When someone\u2019s vote changes if it is made in public versus private, this is known as compliance. Compliance can be a form of conformity. Compliance is going along with a request or demand, even if you do not agree with the request. In Asch\u2019s studies, the participants complied by giving the wrong answers, but privately did not accept that the obviously wrong answers were correct.\r\n
      \r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"394\"]\"A Figure 2<\/strong>. Voting for government officials in the United States is private to reduce the pressure of conformity. (credit: Nicole Klauss)[\/caption]<\/figure>\r\nNow that you have learned about the Asch line experiments, why do you think the participants conformed? The correct answer to the line segment question was obvious, and it was an easy task. Researchers have categorized the motivation to conform into two types: normative social influence and informational social influence (Deutsch & Gerard, 1955).\r\n\r\nIn normative social influence<\/strong>, people conform to the group norm to fit in, feel good, and be accepted by the group. However, with informational social influence<\/strong>, people conform because they believe the group is competent and has the correct information, particularly when the task or situation is ambiguous. What type of social influence was operating in the Asch conformity studies? Since the line judgment task was unambiguous, participants did not need to rely on the group for information. Instead, participants complied to fit in and avoid ridicule, an instance of normative social influence.\r\n
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      Try It<\/h3>\r\nhttps:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/5aaefc9b-ee84-4fe4-b5b9-010b1d680198\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nAn example of informational social influence may be what to do in an emergency. Imagine that you are in a movie theater watching a film and what seems to be smoke comes in the theater from under the emergency exit door. You are not certain that it is smoke\u2014it might be a special effect for the movie, such as a fog machine. When you are uncertain you will tend to look at the behavior of others in the theater. If other people show concern and get up to leave, you are likely to do the same. However, if others seem unconcerned, you are likely to stay put and continue watching the movie (Figure 3).\r\n
      \r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"649\"]\"Photograph Figure 3<\/strong>. People in crowds tend to take cues from others and act accordingly. (a) An audience is listening to a lecture and people are relatively quiet, still, and attentive to the speaker on the stage. (b) An audience is at a rock concert where people are dancing, singing, and possibly engaging in activities like crowd surfing. (credit a: modification of work by Matt Brown; credit b: modification of work by Christian Holm\u00e9r)[\/caption]<\/figure>\r\nHow would you have behaved if you were a participant in Asch\u2019s study? Many students say they would not conform, that the study is outdated, and that people nowadays are more independent. To some extent, this may be true. Research suggests that overall rates of conformity may have reduced since the time of Asch\u2019s research. Furthermore, efforts to replicate Asch\u2019s study have made it clear that many factors determine how likely it is that someone will demonstrate conformity to the group. These factors include the participant\u2019s age, gender, and socio-cultural background (Bond & Smith, 1996; Larsen, 1990; Walker & Andrade, 1996).\r\n
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      Watch It<\/h3>\r\n
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      \r\n\r\nWatch the following\u00a0to see a clip\u00a0of the Asch experiment:\r\n