Question 1

Studies of the importance of normative social influence are particularly noteworthy in that they show that people conform even __________.

Accepted Answer

People conform to strangers they will never see again due to normative social influence, which highlights the power of social norms and the desire to be accepted or liked, even when there is no long-term relationship or consequence.

Question 2

The norm in your large psychology class is that students will remain quiet enough for others to hear the professor and one another during lectures and discussions. When you talk loudly to the person next to you and violate the norm, like the deviant in Stanley Schachter's "Johnny Rocco" study, you can expect that your classmates will first __________.

Accepted Answer

In Stanley Schachter's "Johnny Rocco" study, it was found that when someone violates group norms, the initial reaction of the group is often to try to bring the deviant back into line through communication, hence talking to the person in hopes of changing their behavior.

Question 3

Results from a recent fMRI study replicated Asch's line judgment study. The results of the fMRI suggest that when participants judged rotated figures and stated a correct answer when the others around them unanimously stated an incorrect answer, the area of the brain that was active was the __________.

Accepted Answer

The amygdala is associated with processing emotions, including negative emotions such as fear and anxiety, which can be triggered when an individual goes against group consensus.

Question 4

What is the moral or the take-home message of Solomon Asch's (1951, 1956, 1957) series of experiments in which participants were asked to judge the lengths of lines? People will go to great lengths __________.

Accepted Answer

Asch's experiments demonstrated the powerful influence of social conformity on individual judgments, as many participants gave obviously incorrect answers in order to conform to the majority opinion and not appear foolish. Thus, the moral or take-home message is that people will go to great lengths not to look like fools in front of others.

Question 5

Research by Baron et al. (1996) on the importance of accuracy indicates that the more important it is for people to be accurate, the __________.

Accepted Answer

The research suggests that when accuracy is highly valued, individuals are more inclined to conform to information that appears accurate (informational conformity) but are less likely to conform to social norms or pressures (normative conformity) if doing so would compromise accuracy.

Question 6

Recall that in a study by Baron et al. (1996), participants in one condition were asked to select perpetrators after a lineup in conditions of low ambiguity, so that participants in the control condition made very few mistakes. Recall also that some participants were told that the task was one that was being designed for use by the police department and were offered $20 if they were the most accurate, while others were told that it was just a laboratory task under development. This condition of the study found that __________.

Accepted Answer

The study found that in the condition where participants were offered a reward for accuracy, the more important it was to participants to be correct, the less they conformed to other group members' answers.

Question 7

Recall that Solomon Asch (1951, 1956) asked participants to estimate the lengths of lines. In response to the incorrect answers of others, some participants actually denied what their eyes saw. These studies provide evidence of __________.

Accepted Answer

These studies demonstrate normative social influence, where individuals conform to group norms to be liked or accepted, even if it means denying their own perceptions.

Question 8

Amanda is assigned to a group to take a quiz (which actually doesn't count towards the course grade). For one of the questions, she is certain the correct answer is C, but the rest of her group all says the answer is A. Based on information about the Asch line studies, how would Amanda be likely to respond?

Accepted Answer

Based on the Asch line studies, individuals are more likely to conform to the group even if they know the group is wrong. Therefore, Amanda is likely to go along with the group but still believe that answer C is correct.

Question 9

Antoinne is serving on his first jury. Before deliberations, Antoinne is sure that the defendant is guilty. However, when deliberations start, it is clear that he is the only one who thinks the defendant is guilty. Because the defendant is facing twenty years in prison, Antoinne knows he really needs to get this right. What is most likely to happen in this situation?

Accepted Answer

In situations like this, the phenomenon of group conformity often plays a significant role. When an individual finds themselves in a minority within a group, especially in high-stakes situations like jury deliberations, they are more likely to conform to the majority opinion. This is due to the desire to fit in, the assumption that the majority is more informed, or the pressure to reach a unanimous decision.

Question 10

Solomon Asch (1951, 1956) conducted a series of studies in which participants were asked to estimate the lengths of lines that clearly differed in length. Participants then heard the other group members give correct estimations for some trials, and blatantly incorrect estimations for others. When confederates in the study gave an incorrect response, how did participants respond?

Accepted Answer

Participants in Asch's studies tended to conform on at least one of the trials, even if they knew the correct answer. This suggests that the pressure to conform with the group was strong enough to override their own judgments. However, not all participants conformed on every trial, and some refused to conform at all.

Question 11

Public compliance can occur without __________.

Accepted Answer

Public compliance without private acceptance occurs when an individual conforms to others' behavior or beliefs in public, but does not actually believe or internalize those beliefs themselves. This can occur without social influence, following the crowd, or conscious defiance.

Question 12

The Asch line studies were conducted over fifty years ago, and society has changed quite a bit. A recent study involving fMRI and a mental rotation task attempted to replicate some of Asch's results. What were the results of this study?

Accepted Answer

The results of the study were very similar to those of Asch's original studies, suggesting that people still conform to social norms and pressures despite changes in society over the past fifty years.

Question 13

Imagine that you are on the Olympics Planning Committee. Nine out of ten committee members hold the same opinion. However, one member, Laura, consistently deviates from the group's opinion. How is the group most likely to act toward Laura to bring her in line with the group's opinion?

Accepted Answer

The group is most likely to first try to increase communication with Laura to understand her point of view and try to persuade her to align with the group's opinion. If this approach fails, the group may resort to ignoring or punishing Laura, although punishment should not be the first method of solving the issue.

Question 14

Sillain is participating in a fMRI study replicating Asch's study on conformity. When she performed alone at judging the figures, what area of her brain was most likely active?

Accepted Answer

When Sillain was judging the figures alone, the area of her brain that was most likely active is the area dedicated to vision. This is because the task involves visually assessing and comparing figures, which primarily engages the visual processing areas of the brain.

Question 15

What percentage of participants in Asch's study conformed by giving an incorrect response on at least one trial of the experiment?

Accepted Answer

76 percent of participants in Asch's study conformed by giving an incorrect response on at least one trial, demonstrating the power of social pressure on conformity.

Question 16

In the study by Berns and colleagues (2005), they used a mental rotation task to replicate Asch's study of conformity to results reported in error by confederates. In the Berns study, they measured brain activity as participants completed the mental rotation task while not knowing the answers provided by confederates, and again after knowing the answers provided by confederates. In this experiment, what percentage of people conformed to the confederate group's wrong answers?

Accepted Answer

In the Berns study, 41 percent of people conformed to the confederate group's wrong answers.

Question 17

In a series of studies by Solomon Asch (1951, 1956), when participants judged the lengths of lines alone rather than in a group of confederates, their judgments were accurate about 99 percent of the time. Still, when other participants made judgments in a group of people who gave the wrong answers, they reported incorrect judgments. These findings suggest that __________.

Accepted Answer

Asch's studies illustrate normative social influence, as participants conformed to the incorrect judgments of others to avoid social disapproval or punishment.

Question 18

Research by Baron et al. (1996) on the importance of accuracy indicates that the more important it is for people to be accurate, the __________.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Research by Baron et al. (1996) on...

Question 19

In a variation of his standard experiment, Solomon Asch (1957) found that when participants could write their responses on a piece of paper, conformity dropped dramatically. This finding indicates that participants exhibited __________, not __________, during the standard experiment.

Accepted Answer

The finding suggests that participants were more likely to conform when they had to express their opinions publicly (public compliance) but did not necessarily change their private beliefs to match the group (private acceptance). Writing responses privately allowed them to express their true beliefs without the pressure to conform publicly.

Question 20

Solomon Asch (1951, 1956) embarked on a series of studies in which participants were asked to estimate the lengths of lines that clearly differed in length. Asch originally undertook these experiments to __________.

Accepted Answer

DAsch's line experiments were designed to show that even in unambiguous situations, where the correct answer was clear, social pressure could lead people to conform to a group's incorrect judgment, challenging the idea that humans are always motivated to be accurate in their perceptions.

Quiz 8: Conformity and Obedience: Influencing Behavior

Studies of the importance of normative social influence are particularly noteworthy in that they show that people conform even __________.

What is the moral or the take-home message of Solomon Asch's (1951, 1956, 1957) series of experiments in which participants were asked to judge the lengths of lines? People will go to great lengths __________.

Research by Baron et al. (1996) on the importance of accuracy indicates that the more important it is for people to be accurate, the __________.

Recall that Solomon Asch (1951, 1956) asked participants to estimate the lengths of lines. In response to the incorrect answers of others, some participants actually denied what their eyes saw. These studies provide evidence of __________.

Public compliance can occur without __________.

The Asch line studies were conducted over fifty years ago, and society has changed quite a bit. A recent study involving fMRI and a mental rotation task attempted to replicate some of Asch's results. What were the results of this study?

Imagine that you are on the Olympics Planning Committee. Nine out of ten committee members hold the same opinion. However, one member, Laura, consistently deviates from the group's opinion. How is the group most likely to act toward Laura to bring her in line with the group's opinion?

Sillain is participating in a fMRI study replicating Asch's study on conformity. When she performed alone at judging the figures, what area of her brain was most likely active?

What percentage of participants in Asch's study conformed by giving an incorrect response on at least one trial of the experiment?

Research by Baron et al. (1996) on the importance of accuracy indicates that the more important it is for people to be accurate, the __________.

In a variation of his standard experiment, Solomon Asch (1957) found that when participants could write their responses on a piece of paper, conformity dropped dramatically. This finding indicates that participants exhibited , not , during the standard experiment.

Solomon Asch (1951, 1956) embarked on a series of studies in which participants were asked to estimate the lengths of lines that clearly differed in length. Asch originally undertook these experiments to __________.