Social Influence What is conformity?
As a society today, many of us often feel pressured to change our beliefs or actions to duplicate the people that surround us. For example, high school students may dress a certain way because they see other people dressed that way and think its “cool” and want to fit in. Conformity is when we change out thoughts, actions, or behaviors to match those of a group that we want to belong to.
Explaining Sherif’s Results Why did Sherif’s participants change their estimates when they had to call out their answers in the presence of other people?
Sherif’s participants changed their estimates when they had to call out their answers in front of other people simply because they didn't want their answers to be different from the norm. When the participants were alone in the room they were able to give an honest answer. However, when accompanied by other people the participants didn't want to be judged for having an incorrect answer or an answer that varied too far from the answers of the other group members. Therefore, they decided to conform to the group and give answers that were close to the other group members regardless of what they actually thought the answer was.
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Asch’s real participants denied the evidence of their eyes and reported incorrect answers because they didn't want to be made fun of or thought of as different by the other members of the study. Had this experiment been different in that the participants wrote down their answers or didn't share them in front of the group, then perhaps they would have given their honest answer.
Motives for Conformity Explain the difference between the two main motives for conformity: informational social influence and normative social