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IB Psychology HL - SCLOA - Evaluate Research On Conformity To Group Norms

Psychology9 CardsCreated about 1 month ago

Sherif’s (1935) autokinetic effect study showed that in ambiguous situations people tend to conform by forming group norms—initial individual estimates of light movement converged when done in groups, and even when alone afterwards participants’ estimates shifted toward the group norm.

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conformity

  • tendency to change one’s thoughts, feelings, or behaviour

  • specifically in ways that agree with those of a particular individual/group/situation

Main studies:

  • Sherif (1935)

  • Asch (1951)

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Key Terms

Term
Definition

conformity

  • tendency to change one’s thoughts, feelings, or behaviour

  • specifically in ways that agree with those of a particular individ...

Sherif (1935) - process

  • participants were led to believe the study was investigating visual perception

  • relied on autokinetic effect of light in dark...

Sherif (1935) - findings and conclusion

First phase: participant estimates gradually converged to a standard estimate (personal norm)
Second phase: in a group, participant estimates gr...

Sherif (1935) - evaluation

Strengths:

  • sophisticated methodology with clear IV/DV to show clear cause-effect (determinism)

  • influential, spurred fu...

Asch (1951) - procedure

  • participants were to believe they were participating in study on visual perception

  • were asked to indicate which one of three...

Asch (1951) - findings and conclusion

  • 76% of participants conformed at least once on a critical trial

  • only 24% of participants remained independent

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IB Psychology HL - SCLOA - Evaluate Research On Conformity To Group Norms
TermDefinition

conformity

  • tendency to change one’s thoughts, feelings, or behaviour

  • specifically in ways that agree with those of a particular individual/group/situation

Main studies:

  • Sherif (1935)

  • Asch (1951)

Sherif (1935) - process

  • participants were led to believe the study was investigating visual perception

  • relied on autokinetic effect of light in darkness

  • were told the experimenter was going to move the light (never actually happened)

  • participants made 100 judgments on how far the light moved

  • first phase: individual

  • second phase: in groups, each participant called out estimates

  • third phase: individual again

Sherif (1935) - findings and conclusion

First phase: participant estimates gradually converged to a standard estimate (personal norm)
Second phase: in a group, participant estimates gradually converged to one group norm (social norm), and reflected influences from all group members
- participants denied that estimates were influenced by other group members (!!!)
Third phase: despite moving back to individual stage, estimates showed continued continued adherence to group norm estimate

Conclusion: social norms influence people’s judgements (perhaps on a subconscious level)

Sherif (1935) - evaluation

Strengths:

  • sophisticated methodology with clear IV/DV to show clear cause-effect (determinism)

  • influential, spurred further research into conformity

Weaknesses:

  • low ecological validity: task was artificial/ambiguous, and conformity in real life generally occurs due to subtle cues (such as media and advertising)

  • deception/no informed consent: participants were not told about the purpose of the study (but no harm, and it was necessary)

  • culturally specific: was conducted in 1935, may not be applicable in the present day as research into conformity is now well known

Asch (1951) - procedure

  • participants were to believe they were participating in study on visual perception

  • were asked to indicate which one of three comparison lines was equal in length to a standard line (repeated 18x)

  • control condition: participants performed alone

  • test condition: participants performed in a group; each participant stated their answer aloud in the presence of 6 other participants (in reality, confederates)

  • confederates gave wrong answers on 12 out of 18 trials

  • real participants were always last to answer

Asch (1951) - findings and conclusion

  • 76% of participants conformed at least once on a critical trial

  • only 24% of participants remained independent

  • when asked why they conformed, participants said it was to avoid social disapproval/criticism

Asch (1951) - evaluation

Strengths:

  • sophisticated methodology has clear IV/DV to show clear cause-effect (determinism)

  • study has been replicated many times with similar results (reliable)

  • can explain why people conform to social/cultural norms

Weaknesses:

  • should be noted that participants were acting in a way that they felt was required by the experiment

  • culturally specific: study was conducted in 1950s USA, which was very conservative at the time – standing out was not encouraged and perhaps compliance has changed from then to present day

  • sample bias: all participants were male students in 1950s USA

  • deception/no informed consent: participants were not told about the purpose of the study (but no harm, and it was necessary)

usefulness of Sherif (1937) and Asch (1951) in explaining real-life conformity

Nicholson et al. (1985):

  • participants now conform less to studies like Asch (1951)

  • may indicate that levels of conformity change over time or according to culture

Moscovici (1976):

  • traditional conformity research does not explain how the minority can influence the majority (as seen in independence movements, etc)

  • the idea that ingroup minorities exert more influence than outgroup minorities is empirically supported

evaluate

  • describe + explain

  • include background info/reasons for every point

  • give your own judgment and opinion supported by evidence

  • while discussing strengths and limitations, make clear comments about its significance, usefulness (e.g. how applicable it is, its usefulness in explaining sth), accuracy

evaluating the studies:
• discuss the extent to which the theory can be universally applied – are the explanations culturally- or gender-specific?
• evaluate strengths and limitations of methodology
• judge validity and reliability
• discuss sampling method and relate to the issue of generalisability of findings
• assess if the study has cultural, ethical, and gender considerations