Social influence: Topic 1 Conformity (studies)

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A level Psychology Flashcards on Social influence: Topic 1 Conformity (studies), created by Ella Stokes on 14/10/2018.
Ella Stokes
Flashcards by Ella Stokes, updated more than 1 year ago
Ella Stokes
Created by Ella Stokes about 6 years ago
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Question Answer
What is Myers definition of conformity? A change in behaviour or belief as a result of real or imagined group pressure (Myers 1999). -shows people will go along with others not because they are told to but because they feel they need to follow group "norm"
How did psychologists explore conformity in the early 1930s? They asked people to estimate how many beans were in a jar. People were asked to guess the number of beans and were then asked to discuss this with others. Once asked again the estimates were much closer together.
What was the Asch (1951) Study method? -wanted to find out if people conform even if the task is easy -123 college students had to say which of the three alternative lines matched the standard line -tested in small groups only 1 real naive participant all the others were confederates and real participant always sat towards end of row -18 tasks and for 12 confederates gave same wrong answer
What were the findings of the Asch study? -average conformity rate of 37% -on average 74% of participants conformed at least once -26% never conformed to answers given
What conclusion was come to after the Asch study? -People will conform even in simple tasks and go along with others in the group even if it means denying what they see themselves. 3 main reasons for this; participants came to see lines as confederates did,did not trust there own judgement or trusted public answer to avoid disapproval
Name a methodological strength of the Asch study? It was a well controlled investigation meaning extraneous variables were kept to a minimum.. means results obtained were more reliable and trustworthy (scientific)
Name a methodological weakness of the Asch study? lack of ecological validity- controlled studies tend to be artificial and unrelated to everyday life-not a real life conformity situation
Name a methodological weakness of the Asch study? unrepresentative sample- made up of American University male so this means that the result should not be generalised to other people beyond those in the sample
Name a Ethical strength of the Asch study? People knew they were taking part in the study and had given consent
Name a Ethical weakness of the Asch study? Deception and Anxiety- Participants did not know what the studies were actually about so they may have experienced these things
What was a major criticism of the Asch study? His use of confederates- they may not have behaved in a natural manor so the real participant may have realised what was going on
How did Mori annd Arai solve these criticisms? Adapted the Mori technique ( Manipulation of overlapping rivalrous images by polarizing filters) used previously in eyewitness research. They used filter glasses so participants view the same display but can see different things
What was the method for the mori and arai (2010) experiment ? Replicated Aschs line comparison task with 104 participants tested in groups of 4 at a time( on successive trials participants said aloud which line matched). 3 participants had the same glasses one had different so there were no longer confederates. Participants were also given a questionnaire to complete so researchers could see the factors that made them conform
What were the findings for the mori and arai (2010) experiment ? This study involved both men and women.. women-the new findings closely matched the original research, with the minority participant being influenced by the majority on average of 4.41 times out of 12(original 3.44 times) men- were not affected by majority view and conformity rates were very low
What are the possible reasons for men not conforming? cultural difference-study conducted in Japan and generational changes -participants in this study knew eachother whereas in Aschs they didnt
Why is mori and arais research seen as more useful? -conforming behaviour among acquaintances is more important as a psychological research topic than conformity among strangers -conformity generally takes place among friends and family
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