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Conformity & Obedience. Module 75. Conformity. Is this really true? Find out HERE. Social Influence. How behavior is influenced by the social environment and the presence of other people It affects: Conformity Obedience Group Behavior. Conformity.
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Conformity & Obedience Module 75
Conformity Is this really true? Find out HERE
Social Influence • How behavior is influenced by the social environment and the presence of other people • It affects: • Conformity • Obedience • Group Behavior
Conformity • We are natural mimics – mirror neurons, empathizing with others, mood linkage to others • Conformity - Adopting attitudes or behaviors of a group • 2 general reasons for conformity • Informational social influence refers to behavior that is motivated by the desire to be correct • Normative social influence—behavior that is motivated by the desire to gain social acceptance and approval.
1 3 2 Standard lines Comparison lines Solomon Asch • Asch’s Experiment: • All but 1 in group was confederate • Seating was rigged • Asked to rate which line matched a “standard” line • Confederates were instructed to pick the wrong line 12/18 times 1907-1996 • Researched the circumstances under which people conform
Asch’s Experiments on Conformity • Results • Asch found that 76% participants conformed to at least one wrong choice during multiple trials. • BUT when data from all the trials was combined, subjects gave wrong answer (conformed) on only 37% of the critical trials. • Means that almost 2/3 (63%)of people did not conform & said correct answer even when others said the wrong one • However, Control group that responded alone (no group present) chose correctly 99%. • Why did 1/3 of participants conform to clearly wrong choices? • informational influence? • subjects reported having doubted their own perceptual abilities which led to their conformance – didn’t report seeing the lines the way the confederates had
Factors Increasing Conformity • The person feels incompetent or insecure. • The group has three or more people. • The rest of the group is unanimous. • Person is admires the status of the group. • No prior commitments were made. • The group is observing the person respond. • One’s culture encourages conformity.
Factors Decreasing Conformity • When we have an ally in our dissent from majority opinion, even if the dissenter’s competence is questionable.
Effects of a Nonconformist • If everyone agrees, you are less likely to disagree HOWEVER… • If one person disagrees, even if they give the wrong answer, you are more likely to express your nonconforming view • Asch tested this hypothesis • one confederate gave different answer from others • conformity dropped significantly
Culture & Conformity • In general, levels of conformity have steadily declined since Asch’s original study of U.S. college students in the 1950s • Individualistic cultures tend to emphasize: • Independence • self-expression • standing out from the crowd • Thus the whole notion of conformity tends to carry a negative connotation • Collectivistic cultures, however, publicly conforming while privately disagreeing is regarded as socially appropriate tact or sensitivity
1933-1984 Obedience • Obedience: • compliance of person is due to perceived authority of asker • request is perceived as a command • Milgram interested in unquestioning obedience to orders
Stanley Milgram’s Studies Basic study procedure • teacher and learner (learner always confederate) • watch learner being strapped into chair • learner expresses concern over his “heart condition”
Stanley Milgram’s Studies: Procedure Continued • Teacher goes to another room with experimenter • Shock generator panel – 15 to 450 volts, labels “slight shock” to “XXX” • Teacher asked by Experimenter to give higher shocks for every mistake Learner makes
120 150 300 330 “Ugh! Hey this really hurts.” “Ugh! Experimenter! That’s all. Get me out of here. I told you I had heart trouble. My heart’s starting to bother me now.” (agonized scream) “I absolutely refuse to answer any more. Get me out of here. You can’t hold me here. Get me out.” (intense & prolonged agonized scream) “Let me out of here. Let me out of here. My heart’s bothering me. Let me out, I tell you…” Stanley Milgram’s Studies • Learner protests more and more as shock increases • Experimenter continues to request obedience even if teacher balks saying, • “The Experiment Requires that you continue.” • “You have no other choice, you must continue.”
Milgram’s Results • How many people would go to the highest shock level? • Two-Thirds or 65% (26 out of 40) of the subjects went to the end, even those that protested • Those that did stop, not one stopped before the 300-volt level.
Obedience to Authority • Play “Obedience: The Milgram Study” (4:04) Segment #34 from Psychology: The Human Experience. • Or Click HERE to download & view actual video from his original experiment. (5 minutes) • Would it work today? 2009 retest of the Milgram Experiment (5 min) • 70% obey up to 150-volt point • Women obeyed at rates similar to men
Explanations for Milgram’s Results • Abnormal group of subjects? • Numerous replications with variety of groups shows no support • Milgram’s study has been repeated many times in the United States and other countries with identical results • People in general are sadistic? • videotapes of Milgram’s subjects show extreme distress & not enjoying the experience
Explanations for Milgram’s Results • A previously well-established framework to obey • The situation, or context, in which the obedience occurred (Authority of Yale and value of science) • New situation and no role model of how to behave or defy the orders • The gradual, repetitive escalation of the task • Experimenter self-assurance and acceptance of responsibility • The physical and psychological separation from the learner
Conditions that Decrease the Likelihood of Destructive Obedience • Willingness to obey diminishes sharply when: • buffers that separate the teacher from the learner are lessened or removed. • experimenter left the room and spoke to the subject over the telephone rather than in person. • teachers were allowed to act as their own authority and freely choose the shock level, • 95 percent did not venture beyond 150 volts—the first point at which the learner protested • People were more likely to defy an authority when they saw others do so
Critiques of Milgram • Did his experiment cause psychological trauma or harm to its participants? • Although 84% later said they were glad to have participated and fewer than 2% said they were sorry, there are still ethical issues • Do these experiments really help us understand real-world atrocities?
Were Milgram’s Obedience Experiments Ethical? • Attacked for the emotional stress, tension, and loss of dignity experienced by the subjects • Although 84% later said they were glad to have participated and fewer than 2% said they were sorry, there are still ethical issues • Follow-ups of Milgram’s subjects indicate that a large majority were glad to have taken part in the experiment and had no signs of harm or traumatic reaction • Milgram suggested that what was disturbing to people were not so much his methods but his results
Asch, Milgram, and the Real World • Being at odds with the majority or with authority figures is very uncomfortable for most people— • Enough so that our judgment and perceptions can be distorted and we may act in ways that violate our conscience • Each of us does have the capacity to resist group or authority pressure but… Will we do so?
