Week 5 Short Answer Questions
Briefly summarize the studies by Sherif, Asch, and Milgram by listing the topic and method of each. Be sure to also provide a real-life example of each study.
A) Muzafer Sherif - Norm formation Assessing suggestibility regarding movement of light even though the light did not move Example: Interpreting events differently after hearing from others; appreciating a tasty food that others love B)Solomon Asch - Conformity Agreement with others' obviously wrong perceptual judgments Example: Doing as others do; fads such as tattoos C) Stanley Milgram -Obedience Complying with commands to shock another Example: Soldiers or employees following questionable orders.
"Conformity is neither all bad nor all good." Do you agree? Why or why not?
I agree that conformity is neither all bad nor all good. Sometimes conformity is essential, as when a large group of people cooperate in an emergency situation such as a fire or natural disaster to evacuate an area for safety. Conformity is bad when a peaceful protest turns riotous and individuals start looting and usually rational individuals get caught up in the moment and participate. I know I do not want to be seen or known as a conformist but if the truth be told there are numerous occasions in my life when I have been just that a "conformist," but there are just as many instances where I have been a non-conformist. During the mid-nineties I homeschooled my two youngest children and eventually my oldest. It was not a popular stance to do so but I did because I felt that public schools in Pennsylvania did not support the family, rather they wanted us to believe that they could be considered surrogate parents to my children while they were in their care. I said, "No way is that true today or any other day" and I took my kids home. I feel that conformity has its place and we all conform on different levels each day. The bad comes when we stop thinking for ourselves and just follow the crowd because it is convenient. That type of conformity that slowly erodes us and our fundamental beliefs can and is a slippery slope.
John wants to go out with Sue, but Sue is playing "hard-to-get." John is all the more intrigued and motivated to get a date with Sue. Explain this scenario in terms of the reactance theory.
Reactance theory is the concept that when others tell us we should do something, we sometimes react in the opposite way to preserve our sense of control. Reactance theory can give insight on this example because as Sue is playing hard to get and acting uninterested, John reacts to the idea that he doesn't have a choice by trying harder to woo her.
Describe what was done and what was found in Asch's study.
Solomon Asch performed experiments to see if social pressure would influence individuals to give a wrong answer to a simple question. Using a line judgment task, like the one to the right. Asch's participants were 50 male students from Swarthmore College and each participant was unaware of the true nature of the experiment and was asked to sit in a room with seven confederates or stooges, people who were part of the experiment. Each confederate had been previously been assigned responses for when the line judgment task was presented. The participant assumed the other seven individuals were participants in the experiment just like them. When shown the line judgment task diagram (diagram above) each individual had to say aloud which line, A, B, or C, was most like the "target line." The answer was always obvious and the participant was the last person to answer (McLeod, 2018). The participants completed 18 trials. On the first two trials, the participant and the confederates gave the obvious, correct answer. On the third trial, the confederates all gave the same wrong answer. The confederates answered this way on the next 11 presentations of the remaining 15 trials. Those 12 presentations are the data or "critical trials" which Asch used to evaluate the willingness of the participants to change their answer to conform to those of the 7 confederates, despite their answers being wrong. Some participants never conformed but three-quarters (75%) did at least once and at the conclusion of the experiment it was found that 37% of the responses were conforming responses. While the majority of the participants were able to resist the pressure to conform (63%), 37 percent is still a significant number, considering there were no external rewards for conforming.
Group size, unanimity, cohesion, status, public response, and no prior commitment are all factors that influence people's conformity. Explain each.
a. Group Size - In laboratory experiments, a small group can have a big effect. Asch and others found that 3 to 5 people will elicit more conformity than are just 1 or 2. Groups greater than 5 yields diminishing returns (beyond a certain point the effects won't last or increase anymore - 5 is maximum). b. Unanimity - Experiments reveal that someone who punctures a group's unanimity deflates the group's social power. People will usually voice their own convictions if one other person has also differed from the majority. It is difficult to be a minority of one. Conformity experiments teach us the practical lesson that it is easier to stand up for something if you can find someone to stand up with you. The textbook used our own Church as an example of this, "Many religious groups recognize this. Following the teachings of Jesus, who sent his disciples out in pairs, the Mormons send two missionaries into a neighborhood together, The support of the comrade increases a person's social courage." (Myers & Twenge, 2017) We know also know that two or more witnesses of the Gospel is profoundly more convincing than the witness of one. c. Cohesion - The more cohesive a group is, the more power it gains over its members. It is the "Sticking together" or "we feeling," or when members of a group bond together. We are more influenced with the group of people we are involved with more than other groups with which we do not associate. Our inclination is to follow the group, group members who feel attracted to the group are more responsive to its influence (fear of rejection = power). Examples of this would fraternity groups binge drinking, group of teenagers liking similar music or college dorms where students' attitudes become similar to those living near them over time. d. Status - Higher status people tend to have more impact on others. Milgram's reported in his 1974 obedience studies, people of lower status accepted the experimenter's commands more readily than people of higher status (authority figure, well dressed). Status is an unconscious judgment based on the appearance of others. Among both humans and primates perceived "PRESTIGE" results in greater influence. e. Public Response - People conform more when they must respond in front of others, rather than writing their answers privately. Examples: When college instructors ask controversial questions, students express more diverse opinions when answering anonymously with a clicker versus raising of hands. It is much easier to stand up for what we believe in the privacy of the voting booth than before a group. (Myers & Twenge, 2017) I am still a bit hesitant to say that I voted for President Trump because I felt he was the lesser of two evils. I feel a lot of Trump supporter may be in the same boat but are afraid to voice it because it is not a popular opinion. Maybe I need to voice to create a cohesive opinion and then I wouldn't be worried right? f. No Prior Commitment - Once they commit themselves to a position people seldom yield to social pressure. Prior commitment also restrains persuasion. When simulated juries make decisions, a hung verdict is more likely if they are polled by show of hand rather than if a secret ballot system is utilized. (Myers & Twenge, 2017) Teens that say they're waiting until marriage to have sex are more likely to remain abstinent. If people state they are committed recycling, bus riding, and energy conservation they are more likely to be doing those things, (don't want to get caught putting those plastic bottles in the trash versus the recyclables).
Define and provide examples of both normative influence and informational influence.
a. Normative influence is based one's desire to be liked or to fulfill others' expectations, often to gain acceptance by the group. Normative influence to going along with the crowd to avoid rejection, to stay in people's good graces or to gain approval. (Myers & Twenge, 2017). Normative influence often happens without our awareness. We conform to what others are doing so that we are not socially exiled. Some examples would be peer pressure for smoking or drinking, bullying, or joining a particular club or organization to act like others. From our reading normative influence is seen in Solomon Asch's line diagram experiment from question 1. b. Informational influence usually occurs when the situation is unclear, we have a choice but are uncertain which is correct (an example of this would be the first time you attend a formal dinner and you watch your neighbor to see what fork or spoon they are using), when there is a crisis and we have no time to THINK, and a decision is required now, or we think others are the expert, we accept the authority of others because they must know better than we do. We naturally look to police, fireman and other first responders in crisis situations.