Conformity (VCE SSCE Psychology): Revision Notes

Conformity

What is conformity?

Conformity describes the process through which individuals adjust their thoughts, feelings, behaviours, or perspectives to align more closely with those of groups they belong to or wish to join. We conform in social situations because we want to fit in, even when we disagree with the group's particular belief, attitude, or action.

Common examples of conformity include using the same language as friends, laughing at jokes you don't understand, styling your garden like your neighbours, or wearing similar clothes to colleagues. When entering a crowded elevator, most people automatically face the door like everyone else, conforming to the unspoken expectations of those already inside.

Asch's conformity studies

Background

In the 1950s, psychologist Solomon Asch investigated the factors that influence conformity. His research aimed to determine how group pressure could lead people to conform even when they knew the group was incorrect.

Procedure

In 1956, Asch recruited 50 male students from Swarthmore College in the United States to participate in what they believed was a vision test. The experimental setup involved:

Participants:

• One genuine participant
• Seven confederates (individuals aware of the study's true purpose who followed predetermined instructions)

Task: Participants viewed a stimulus line (Line X) and had to identify which of three comparison lines (A, B, C) matched its length. The correct answer was obvious to anyone without vision impairment.

Arrangement: All participants sat around a table in a semicircle. The genuine participant was positioned last, meaning they heard all the confederates' responses before giving their own answer.

Trials:

• 18 total trials in the experimental condition
• 12 'critical trials' where confederates deliberately gave incorrect answers
• Initially, confederates answered correctly to avoid suspicion
• The study aimed to examine whether participants would modify their answers to match the obviously incorrect group response

Control group:

• 37 participants completed the task individually by writing their answers
• This ensured people could accurately judge line lengths without group pressure
• Control group accuracy: 99%

Findings

The results demonstrated the powerful influence of group pressure on individual judgement:

• Average conformity rate: Approximately 32% (one-third) of responses conformed to the incorrect majority during critical trials
• At least one conforming response: 75% of participants conformed at least once across the 12 critical trials
• No conforming responses: 25% of participants never conformed
• Control group error rate: Less than 1%, confirming the task was straightforward

Asch concluded that people conform for two main reasons: to be accepted by the group (normative influence) and because they believe the group possesses better information than they do (informational influence).

Evaluation: strengths

• Used a control group to establish baseline accuracy levels, allowing for meaningful comparison
• Clear operational definition of conformity (choosing the incorrect line to match the group)
• Quantifiable results that could be replicated and compared across studies

Evaluation: weaknesses

Methodological issues:

Issue	Explanation
Biased sample	Only male participants of a similar age were tested, limiting the ability to generalise findings to other genders or age groups
Artificial experimental setting	Laboratory conditions do not reflect the environments in which conformity typically occurs in everyday life

Ethical issues:

Issue	Explanation
No harm principle violated	Participants were not protected from psychological stress or embarrassment that may have resulted from disagreeing with the majority
Deception	Asch deceived participants by telling them the study concerned vision rather than conformity. However, this deception was necessary to produce valid results, as knowledge of the true purpose would have influenced their responses

Factors that affect conformity

Asch's research sparked interest among other psychologists, leading to further studies that identified several factors influencing conformity. These include normative influence, culture, informational influence, unanimity, group size, social loafing, and deindividuation.

Normative influence

Normative influence occurs when we conform because we want others to like us. We assume that behaving similarly to group members will increase their acceptance of us. The social norms adopted by a group guide our behaviour within that group. When we're aware of these norms, this awareness influences both whether we conform and how strongly we conform.

This process is explained by our desire for acceptance rather than rejection. We're more likely to conform with people we like, admire, or aspire to be like, because similarity to others represents a valuable means of gaining acceptance and approval. Research shows that individuals who care little about others' opinions conform less than those who care considerably.

Culture

Cultural background plays a vital role in determining conformity likelihood. Psychologists Bond and Smith compared results from 133 different studies based on Asch's original experiment, conducted at various times across 17 countries. Their analysis revealed cultural differences in conformity rates.

Countries such as Japan, Fiji, and those in Africa demonstrated higher conformity levels than Western countries including the United States, Canada, France, and Portugal. The researchers attributed this difference to the distinction between individualist and collectivist cultures:

Individualist cultures:

• Focus on individuality, personal achievement, and independence
• Conforming is viewed as undesirable and may be seen as weakness
• Lower conformity rates observed

Collectivist cultures:

• Work towards group goals
• Encourage uniformity and values promoting group aims
• Stepping out of line is considered rude and works against group cohesion
• Higher conformity rates observed

Informational influence

Informational influence involves conforming because we want to be correct, so we look to others whom we believe have more knowledge. When uncertain about a situation or lacking expertise, people conform to the group's behaviour or viewpoint, assuming the group is better informed.

Some participants in Asch's experiment believed they were wrong because nobody else agreed with them, leading them to change their responses to be 'correct'. This phenomenon appears in everyday situations as well.

Examples include:

• At a formal restaurant, someone unsure about which fork to use might observe nearby diners
• When travelling to different countries, people often rely on observing locals to guide appropriate behaviour
• Jury members uncertain about a defendant's guilt might be influenced by more confident jurors' opinions

Unanimity

Unanimity refers to complete agreement among group members regarding the answer. Group unanimity was a key factor in Asch's results. When the majority is unanimous in their beliefs, individuals experience considerable pressure to conform. However, when just one person disagrees with the majority, conformity among other members drops substantially.

In Asch's experiments, when one confederate was set up to disagree with the majority view, participants' conformity dropped to under 10%. This demonstrates the powerful effect of breaking unanimity.

You may have experienced this yourself. If all your friends express dislike for a certain teacher, you might do the same even if you have no problem with that teacher. Because all your friends feel the same way together, you conform to their beliefs. However, if just one friend admitted the teacher was acceptable, you would be more likely to admit you also don't mind that teacher.

Group size

In his 1951 experiment, Asch manipulated the number of confederates present, ranging from one to 15. The results showed that up to a certain point, larger dominant groups (more confederates) led to more frequent conformity:

• Group of 1: 3% conformity
• Group of 2: 12% conformity
• Group of 3: 32% conformity
• Group of 4 or more: 32% conformity (no significant increase)

Further research by David Wilder suggested that a group's actual size matters less than its psychological size. When everyone in a group gives the same verbal answer, you would probably only regard the first few responses as independent assessments. After three or four people respond identically, you'd likely assume they're simply following everyone else. Therefore, you'd only consider the first few responses when forming your own.

Social loafing

Social loafing describes a person's tendency to reduce effort when working in a group compared to working alone. Examples include:

• A group member contributing minimally to an assignment or work project
• A team sport player making less effort to win the game

In terms of conformity, when a task requires effort (such as carefully distinguishing between similar-length lines in the Asch experiment), an individual may conform with the majority simply to avoid the effort involved in making a personal judgement.

Deindividuation

Deindividuation occurs when people act in certain ways because they have 'disappeared' into a group, becoming 'faceless'. It can be described as the loss of individuality and the gained sense of anonymity that occurs in group situations.

Regarding conformity, if an individual is anonymous or has no social status within a group, they're more likely to absolve themselves of responsibility for providing a correct answer. In Asch's experiments, individuals believed they were part of a group, and therefore their individual responses didn't matter. They could justify an incorrect response by thinking 'everyone else was doing it' and responding in the same manner.

Remember!