社会心理学英文版Lecture6-ConformityandObedience

1、Guo, TieyuanOutlinesClassic conformity and obedience studiesWhat predicts conformityWhy conform? Who conform? And do we ever want to be different?What Is Conformity? Change in behavior or belief as the result of real or imagined group pressureConformityInvolves both acting and/or believing in accord

2、 with social pressure.ComplianceInvolves publicly acting in accord with an implied or explicit request while privately disagreeing.ObedienceActing in accord with a direct order or command.Sherifs Studies of Norm Formation Sherifs Studies of Norm Formation Used autokinetic phenomenon then asked group

3、s of men to determine how much the point of light had moved the responses of the men changed markedlyThe point of light never moved A Sample Group from Sherifs Study of Norm FormationSherifs Studies of Norm Formation When participants were tested a year later, they still follow the group norms.The f

4、ormed norm can be transmittedExperiment- Confederate with participant A Participant A with participant B Participant B with Participants C, etcResults: the formed norm can be transmitted to the five generations of participants.SuggestibilityComedy-show laugh: VideoHappiness and depression contagious

5、Contagious yawningPeople are more likely to yawn when they see others yawn.ExperimentParticipants were exposed to a 5-minute video of a men either yawning or smiling repeatedly.Results: Yawn video- 55% yawned.Smiling video- 21% yawned.8Contagious yawningSuggestibilityChameleon (變色龍) effectAutomatic

6、imitation of behaviorExperimentsParticipants working on a task with a confederate who either rubbed face or shook foot. Results- Participants mimiced confederates behavior.And more importantly, we tend to like people who mimic our behavior and words. SuggestibilityWerther effect -Copycat suicide, me

7、dia induced imitation effects of suicidal behavior. The number of suicides in August increased following Marilyn Monroes August 6, 1962, suicide. The number of suicides in Hong Kong in April increased 32% following Leslie Cheungs April 1, 2003, suicide.The number of suicides and suicide attempts in

8、the 6 moths following the issue of the Media Guidelines for Reporting on Suicides in Australia in 1987, dropped 80%. Aschs Studies of Group PressurePerceptual judgment experiment- None ambiguousSix confederates gave incorrect answers to see if participant would agree even if he knew it was the incor

9、rect answerSample Comparison from Solomon Aschs Conformity ProcedureConformity in Everyday LifeDental flossingPeople tend to floss their teeth more frequently if they were told others floss their teeth more frequently.Cancer screeningPeople are more likely to sign up for information regarding cancer

10、 screening if they were told the majority of people signed up.Conformity in Everyday LifeCialdini - Arizonas Petrified Forest National Park“Your heritage is being vandalized every day by theft losses of petrified wood (木頭化石) of 14 tons a year, mostly a small piece at a time.”Conformity in Everyday L

11、ifeSave water?Save energy?Protect the forest?Milgrams Obedience ExperimentsMilgrams Obedience ExperimentsMilgrams Obedience ExperimentsTested what happens when the demands of authority clash with the demands of conscienceTeacher “shocks” learner at the insistence of experimenter Figure 6.4 - Milgram

12、s Obedience Experiment Milgram Experiments“Teacher” and “student” (confederate)-”a study of effects of punishment on learning”The “student” was in one room with electrodes attached to his arm. The teacher and the experimenter were in another room.Whenever the “student” made a mistake, the “teacher n

13、eeds to shock the “student”After each wrong answer, the teacher should increase the shock to the next level (from 15 volt to 450 volt)The “teacher” can hear the sound from the student, such as “Ugh!” at high level of shock, no response from the “student”Whenever the “teacher” want to stop, the exper

14、imenter ask him to continue (no physical coercion ).Milgram (1963, 1974, 1976)“Slight Shock” to “Danger: Severe Shock” to “XXX” next to the highest levelsMilgram Experiments15v Slight shock75 Moderate shock135 Strong shock195 Very strong shock255 Intense shock315 Extreme intensity shock375 Danger: S

15、evere shock 435 - XXXMilgram ExperimentsThe learners response75 volts- begin to moan and grunt150 volts- demand to leave180 volts- cry out that he could stand the pain longer300 volts- yelled out his heart condition and must be released345 volts- no response any more.The Prods Used in Milgrams Exper

16、iment“Please continue (or please go on).”“The experiment requires that you continue.”“It is absolutely essential that you continue.”“You have no other choice; you must go on.”Milgrams Experiment in VideoMilgrams ResultsEthics of Milgrams ExperimentEthics of Milgrams ExperimentCritics said the Milgra

17、ms experiment stressed the participants against their will They argued that the participants self-esteem may have been altered Milgram stated that the ethical controversy was “terribly overblown”What Breeds Obedience?Victims distance or depersonalizationThe obedience rate was a) 94% when learner cou

18、ldnt be seen or heard; b) 40% when the learner and the teacher were in the same room, and c) 30% when the teacher were required to force the learners hand into contact with a shock plate. Closeness and legitimacy of the authority When the commands were given by telephone, the obedience rate dropped

19、to 21%.Institutional authorityReflections on the Classic StudiesBehavior and attitudesMutually reinforcingA small act of evil to foster the attitude that leads to a larger evil actHeroism can occur as well as evil Power of the situation Summary of Classic Obedience StudiesOutlinesClassic conformity

20、and obedience studiesWhat predicts conformityWhy conform? Who conform? And do we ever want to be different?What Predicts Conformity? Group Size 3 to 5 people will elicit more conformity than just 1 or 2Groups greater in size than 5 yields diminishing returns What Predicts Conformity? Unanimity Obser

21、ving anothers dissent can increase our own independence , even if the dissenter is wrong.Difficulty to be a minority In U.S. Supreme Court decisions, 1 in 10 has had a lone dissenter, and others are unanimous or a 5-4 split.What Predicts Conformity? Cohesion“We feeling”: extent to which members of a

22、 group are bound together, such as by attraction for one another A minority from an outgroup has less influence on us than a minority form the ingroup.The more cohesive a group is, the more power it gains over its members Observing a student from the same university cheating- cheated more; and obser

23、ving a student from a competing university cheating- cheated less. What Predicts Conformity? StatusHigher-status people tend to have more impact Jaywalking baseline rate is 25%. And it decrease to 17% with a non-jaywalking confederate, and the rate decrease even more when the non-jaywalker is well d

24、ressed, i.e., indicating higher status. For your information, the rate is 44% with the presence of another jaywalker. What Predicts Conformity? Public ResponsePeople conform more when they must respond in front of others rather than writing their answers privately Being asked controversy questions,

25、students generate more diverse opinions when answering anonymously, than when answering publicly.Prior CommitmentMost people having made a public commitment stick to itExample: Teens who make a public virginity-till-marriage pledge become somewhat more likely to remain sexually abstinentOutlinesClas

26、sic conformity and obedience studiesWhat predicts conformityWhy conform? Who conform? And do we ever want to be different?Why Conform? Normative InfluenceBased on a persons desire to fulfill others expectations, often to gain acceptance Produced by social image (the desire to be liked)Informational InfluenceOccurring when people accept evidence about reality provided by other people Produced by desire to be correct Who Conforms? PersonalityIs a poor predictor of confo