PSY 380

Tuesday March 06, 2000

Today's Topics

Conformity: Going along with the crowd

Obedience: Doing what you're told

Announcements

Coffee Talk today; grab a cup

Paper 1 handed back next week

Exam 2 one week from today (3/14); covers Ch. 5-8, Snyder, Santos from CP

Conformity: "Going Along With the Crowd"

Why do we conform?

Three processes

Sherif (1936): Autokinetic Effect

Results & Implications

Asch (1956): Asch's Lines

Results & Implications

When doing this task alone, error rate = less than 1%

When doing this task in group:

Factors influencing conformity

Schacter (1951) "Johnny Rocco"

Three confeds in the group

Results

The Power of Groups

coercive power

reward power

legitimate power

expert power

referent power

Obedience: "Doing What You're Told"

Milgram (1963): Obedience to Authority

Factors that Influence Obedience