Conformity is the act of following the norms, behaviors, and attitudes of a particular group. It is a common phenomenon that can be seen in various aspects of life, from fashion and popular culture to political and social movements. One example of conformity is the phenomenon known as Crutchfield conformity, which refers to the tendency of individuals to conform to the judgments of a group, even when those judgments are clearly wrong.
The concept of Crutchfield conformity was first introduced by psychologist John Crutchfield in the 1950s. He conducted a series of experiments in which he asked participants to estimate the length of lines on a page and then compare their estimates to those of a group of other people. He found that, even when the group's estimates were clearly wrong, the participants would often conform to the group's judgments rather than trust their own perceptions.
There are several reasons why people might engage in Crutchfield conformity. One reason is the desire to fit in and be accepted by the group. When individuals feel like they are part of a group, they may be more likely to conform to its norms and behaviors in order to feel included and accepted. Another reason is the fear of social disapproval or rejection. If an individual believes that their nonconformity will lead to negative consequences, they may be more likely to go along with the group in order to avoid those consequences.
Crutchfield conformity can have both positive and negative impacts on individuals and society as a whole. On the positive side, conformity can lead to a sense of belonging and social cohesion within a group. It can also promote efficiency and cooperation, as group members are more likely to work together if they are following the same rules and expectations. However, conformity can also have negative effects, such as stifling creativity and individuality, and leading to groupthink and a lack of diversity in thought and action.
One way to reduce the negative impacts of conformity is to encourage independent thinking and encourage individuals to question the norms and beliefs of the group. This can be done through education, critical thinking exercises, and fostering a culture of open-mindedness and intellectual curiosity. By encouraging individuals to think for themselves and challenge the status quo, we can help to promote a more diverse and dynamic society.
Major studies of conformity
The Asch 1951 experiment involved subjects performing a perception task, saying which of a selection of lines matched a control line in length. A brief review of the literature in social psychology and consumer behavior studies an group influence is presented in the following sections. According to Jenness in a situation where the answer was unknown they listened to their peers and would in his view conform. In addition, Crutchfield was also correlated personality variables with conformity. These results, therefore, cannot be interpreted as an artifact of response set. There were many reasons why participants obeyed, such as the fact that the experiment was in a professional setting Yale University.
These researchers concluded that, in an Asch type task, participants with more confidence in their abilities remained more independent than low-self-efficacy participants. The face-to-face groups consisted of three persons, two of whom were confederates of the experimenter. Analysis was conducted by brands on the rows. As we shall see, the same principles can apply in both contexts, but manifest themselves quite differently. However, increasing the size of the majority group beyond that did not affect the conformity levels; concluding that the size of the group is important but to a certain point. From simple essay plans, through to full dissertations, you can guarantee we have a service perfectly matched to your needs.
All participants were at least acquaintances of one another. The third factor is known as supplication in which an individual make others believe that he is pitiful, helpless and needy. . It was more ethical because participants were not put in such an embarrassing situation although they were deceived as to the purpose of the study. Further, they pointed out, it was common to find the two types of influence together. Spanning many disciplines, the journal provides the latest research, not only for researchers and theoreticians, but also for child psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, psychiatric social workers, specialists in early childhood education, educational psychologists, special education teachers, and other researchers.
The Effects of Gender and Product Stereotyping on Conformity Judgements: an Experiment
As the flagship journal of the Society for Research in Child Development, Child Development has published articles, essays, reviews, and tutorials on various topics in the field of child development since 1930. His research was criticised by Sherif 1935 because the experiment was not taken out in ecologically valid circumstances. The low-ball tactics is based on the principle that one will agree to accept higher increase once he committed to an action. Obedience is a trait that allows human beings to obey laws, belief in God, and follow social norms. The results showed that the minority children who had observed different stimuli tended to conform to the majority.
Crutchfield, R. S. (1955). Conformity and Character. American Psychologist, 10, 191
Although, there have been a few studies of generalization of conformity, little is known of the generality of conformity, and investigations have not been conducted on the generality of conformity across situations outside the laboratory. Reference group influence and group conformity are thus interrelated concepts. People often change their attitudes to match others for so many reasons; one reason for this conformity is the concern about what other people may think and by the influence that society has on individuals. First, individuals usually conform to the group norm. These were included in order to help camouflage the experiment and avoid arousal of suspicion due to unanimous decisions by the confederates on the critical products.
We owe a special debt to Paul Sniderman for his many penetrating suggestions concerning both the intellectual content and editorial style of the manuscript. A strength was that the study seemed to be mostly as ethical as possible, besides the deception since it was necessary to the experiment. The independent person was found to show more intellectual effectiveness, ego strength, leadership ability, and maturity of social relations, together with a conspicuous absence of inferiority feelings, rigid and excessive self-control, and authoritarian attitudes. Our core businesses produce scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly journals, reference works, books, database services, and advertising; professional books, subscription products, certification and training services and online applications; and education content and services including integrated online teaching and learning resources for undergraduate and graduate students and lifelong learners. Shibutani 1955 found a wide array of uses of the reference group concept that showed apparent inconsistencies in definitions. The works of Deutsch and Gerard, and Festinger have given rise to arguments concerning the validity of solely measuring normative influence toward conformity.
Conformity of Children in an Ambiguous Perceptual Situation on JSTOR
He used the autokinetic effect — this is where a small spot of light projected onto a screen in a dark room will appear to move, even though it is still i. The problem lies in determining whether or not there are different types of definitions concerning influences toward conformity. Cocanongher and Bruce 1971 found that reference groups influence does not have to be on a personal basis. After the experiment ended, participants were asked on why they conformed to the incorrect majority during the trials. Conformity is peer pressure, the individual was not asked to do, he just do it to go along with everyone else because the individual wants to be accepted.
However the low levels of conformity found in Perrin and Spencers study may have occurred because they used engineering students who had been given training in the importance of accurate measurement and therefore had more confidence in their own opinions. The subjects were considered to be influenced by pressures to conform if the proportion of conforming responses were significantly greater than one-third. For example, Kelly 1968 is credited with establishing the distinction between comparative and normative reference groups. He found that the subjects in his experiments e. Furthermore, in the national study, this result is achieved despite the bias in the Conformity index in the opposite direction, i. It is similar to compliance as there does not have to be a change in private opinion.
