← PSY 1: Introduction to Psychology

Unit 20: Social Influence, Conformity, and Obedience

How much of what looks like your own free choice is actually a response to the people standing around you.

4 topics · 14 questions

Each topic is a path, not a menu: work down it in order and every question builds on the one above. Click any of them to watch the answer draw itself.

Conformity and Asch's Line Experiment

  1. How it worksHow did Asch's line experiment show that people will override the clear evidence of their own eyes to match a unanimous group?
  2. Worked exampleFind why conformity in Asch's experiment dropped sharply once just one other person in the group broke ranks and gave the correct answer.
  3. Common mistakeWhy isn't conforming to an obviously wrong group answer the same as truly believing that answer?
Your turn1 of 2
In Asch's line experiment, conformity to an obviously wrong group answer ran at about 37 percent when the group was unanimous, but dropped to about 9 percent once just one other person broke ranks and gave the correct answer. Find how many percentage points conformity dropped.

Obedience to Authority: Milgram's Experiment

  1. How it worksHow did Milgram's experiment gradually escalate a small, easy to justify step into a much larger one, trapping participants in a slow slide?
  2. Worked exampleFind why obedience in Milgram's original setup dropped from 65 percent to about 20 percent once the authority figure left the room and gave orders by phone.
  3. Common mistakeWhy isn't the high obedience rate in Milgram's study proof that most people are simply cruel?
  4. Common mistakeWhy isn't refusing to administer the shocks the response most people predicted for themselves before ever taking part in the study?
  5. Going furtherWhat happens to obedience rates when the authority figure loses visible status, like giving orders in street clothes instead of a lab coat?
Your turn1 of 2
In Milgram's original setup, obedience, continuing to the highest shock level, ran at about 66 percent when the experimenter gave orders in person, but dropped to about 21 percent once the experimenter left the room and gave orders by phone instead. Find how many percentage points obedience dropped.

Compliance and the Foot-in-the-Door Technique

  1. How it worksHow does the foot-in-the-door technique use an initial small commitment to shift a person's self-image toward being someone who says yes?
  2. Going furtherWhat happens to compliance rates when the size of the first small request is scaled up closer to the size of the final ask?
  3. Common mistakeWhy isn't compliance with a large request simply about the size of the request itself, ignoring what came before it?
Your turn1 of 2
A canvasser first asks a homeowner to sign a small, easy petition, and days later that same homeowner agrees to display a large, inconvenient sign in their yard for the same cause, something they likely would have refused if asked cold. A student assumes the small first request should have no real effect on the much bigger second request. How does the foot-in-the-door technique use an initial small commitment to shift someone's self-image?

Groupthink

  1. How it worksHow does the pressure to preserve group harmony suppress dissenting opinions and critical evaluation of a group's decision?
  2. Common mistakeWhy isn't groupthink the same thing as a group simply being made up of unintelligent people?
  3. Ties togetherHow does groupthink connect to conformity, since both trade the comfort of agreement for the accuracy of an independent judgment?
Your turn1 of 2
A team of experienced, intelligent advisors unanimously agrees on a plan that later turns out to be a serious disaster, and afterward several members privately admit they had doubts they never voiced during the meeting. A student wonders how a group of smart people could collectively reach such a bad decision. How does the pressure to preserve group harmony suppress dissenting opinions and critical evaluation like this?