Using Core Criteria to Guide Judgements about the Quality of Students’ Work
Sample Essay
Essay Title:To what extent are individuals influenced by the majority and how can this be explained?
A key term when discussing the influence of the majority on individuals is conformity. To what extent is our behaviour shaped by what others do? Our everyday experience provides examples of how majorities within groups influence minorities to conform to their norms which raises the question of whether we are really independently thinking individuals.
Conformity refers to the changes in behaviour that arise from real or imagined group pressure. The pressure to conform may arise from an actual social interaction or situation or from the norms that an individual perceives a certain desirable group to possess. These norms can be real or imagined. An individual will conform in order to align themselves with the thinking of a particular group. Social norms, for example, represent the common behavioural code that dictates the behaviour of people within the society in which they live. Solomon Asche (1951) was the first social psychologist to demonstrate conformity experimentally. His study involved 9 participants, one of whom was real, the rest being confederates of the experimenter, who were asked to make judgements in situations where the correct answer was ambiguous. The eight confederates would give obviously wrong answers, and the effect that this had on the responses of the genuine participants provided evidence for the influence of the judgement of others. 76% made at least one error, compared with 99% accuracy in pre-tests with no confederates.
After the experiment, the real participants typically argued that they only complied because of normative influence, suggesting that their change in outward behaviour was not
accompanied by a change in their beliefs. In other words, they still believed that the others were wrong but did not want to differentiate themselves within the group. In this way, Asche demonstrated that the normative influence is enough to make people give answers or adopt views that they know to be wrong.
To eliminate the possibility that the participants were informationally influenced and actually believed that the majority were correct but were too embarrassed to say so in post-experiment interviews, Asche changed the experiment so that other group members were unable to see the answers of the participants and judge them, eliminating the normative effect. Still the error rate was about 1/3 of the previous experiment. This suggests that the participants were influenced by both normative and informational influence since the error was not the same and did not drop to zero. So simply being in the presence of others affects individual behaviour.
Even when eradicating conformity (Deutsche and Gerard, 1955) there is still clear evidence of some conformity. One explanation for this can be that the participants are being converted, and really believe that the others are right. This may require a varying degree of change in the beliefs of the individual. The extent to which individuals are willing to change or adjust their beliefs in order to conform depends on the perceived benefits of alignment with the group. Benefits may range from acceptance in the case of commonly held social norms to perceived prestige in the case of powerful or fashionable sub-groups.
Apart from the internal motivations of an individual to conform there are various external factors that influence the act of conformity itself. One of these is group size. Asche
showed that conformity increases as the size of the group increases. The point is effectively illustrated when one considers the power that social norms exert on the individual. Social norms are among the most widely held beliefs and the success of an individual within a particular society depends on conformity to these norms whether they believe in them or not.
Another factor is social support. Asche showed that when one has an ally who fails to conform, the conformity of an individual may also decrease. Asche showed that conformity did not decrease due to the perceived value of the information but rather the reduced normative pressure on the individual. However, in non-experimental social situations the perceived wisdom and power of the ally must also be considered important by the individual if they are to risk the isolation that may result from non-conformity.
Aside from the size of the group and support within the group in the shape of an ally, conformity is also influenced by the information that the individual is being encouraged to conform with. By assuming the beliefs of a particular group an individual may gain security in the assumed belief that the beliefs of many are more likely to be correct than the beliefs of a few. Willingness to disagree with group beliefs depends on confidence in our own beliefs and in the perceived reliability of the group. Therefore, individuals who believe themselves to be better informed and more confident in their beliefs are less likely to conform.
Of course conformity also depends on the individual’s desire to encourage the conformity of others, consciously or unconsciously in a variety of ways. Members of the group will observe each other’s behaviour and make judgements as to whether it is acceptable or not. If not then it is likely to have been perceived as being out of alignment with the commonly held beliefs or behavioural norms of that particular group. By observing the behaviours of other individuals of that group we are also able to assess our own level of conformity. Conformity within groups is regulated by the group itself. Positively regarded behaviour is rewarded by acceptance and the resultant sense of belonging while negatively regarded behaviour is punished by isolation. In this way the group regulates itself and maintains its own norms.
Conformity is an important and powerful force that shapes all our daily lives. The organisation of society into groups of various descriptions presents individuals with a bewildering array of behavioural norms. Research by Asche and others has demonstrated that the influence of the majority within each of these groups through various means has a powerful effect on individual conformity. Thus, due to our desire and need for belonging and acceptance, the majority will influence the thoughts and behaviour of the individual.
References
Gleitman, H., Fridlund, A.J.F. & Reisberg, D. (1999). Psychology (5th Ed). New York and London: W.W. Norton.
Baron, R.A. & Byrne, D. (2002). Social Psychology (10th Ed). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Hewstone, M. Strobe, W. & Stepenson, G.M. (2001). Introduction to Social Psychology (2nd Ed). Oxford: Blackwell.
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Assessment Plus: Using assessment criteria to support student learning
HEFCE funded consortium project
Using Core Criteria to Guide Judgements about the Quality of Students’ Work
1
Assessment Plus: Using assessment criteria to support student learning
HEFCE funded consortium project