Groupthink and Conformity

Groupthink and Conformity

Wallach, Kogan & Bem (1962)

Asch (1951)

Groupthink• Groupthink refers to a group decision making

process where group members convince each other how right they are

– Often insulated and out of touch with dissenting opinions

– Often wrong

• Wallach, Kogan & Bem (1962) studied risky shifts and conservative shifts in groupthink decisions

Group-Induced Polarization: 12 Choice Dilemmas (Wallach, Kogan, & Bem, 1962)

Mr. E. is president of a metals corporation in the U.S. The corporation is quite prosperous and Mr. E. has considered the possibility of expansion by building an additional plant in a new location. His choice is between building another plant in the U.S., where there would be a moderate return on the initial investment, or building a plant in a foreign country, where lower labor costs and easy access to raw materials would mean a much higher return on the initial investment. However, there is a history of political instability and revolution in the foreign country under consideration. In fact, the leader of a small minority party is committed to nationalizing, that is, taking over all foreign investments.

Group-Induced Polarization (Wallach, Kogan, & Bem, 1962)

Imagine that you are advising Mr. E. Listed below are several probabilities of continued political stability in the foreign country under consideration. Please check the lowest probability that you could consider acceptable in order for Mr. E.’s corporation to build in that country.

___ The chances are 1 in 10 that the foreign country will remain politically stable.

___ The chances are 3 in 10 that the foreign country will remain politically stable.

___ The chances are 5 in 10 that the foreign country will remain politically stable.

___ The chances are 7in 10 that the foreign country will remain politically stable.

___ The chances are 9 in 10 that the foreign country will remain politically stable.

___ Place a check mark here if you think Mr. E.’s corporation should not build a plant in the foreign country, no matter what the probabilities.

Group-Induced Polarization (Wallach, Kogan, & Bem, 1962)

• Ss decided alone first, then in groups

Results: On 10 of the 12 choice dilemmas, the group was more risky than individuals. On 2 dilemmas, groups were less risky.

Possible Explanations of Group-Induced Shifts in Decisions

• Riskier people are more persuasive.

• Under most circumstances, cultural values favor risk taking.

• Persuasive argumentation.

Pressure Toward Unanimity: Self-Censorship

Group Think(Janis, 1971; 1982)

• Groups can adopt policies with disastrous consequences because of the dynamics of group decision making.

Examples• 1950 invasion of North Korea (Truman)• 1961 invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs (Kennedy)• 1964-65 escalation of the Vietnam War (Kennedy,

Johnson)• 2003 invasion of Iraq (Bush)

Conformity

• Conformity is the tendency to adjust thoughts, feelings, or behavior to those of a group.

• How is conformity similar/different from compliance?

• How might conformity relate to other social psychology concepts (Bandura, Tajfel)

• How might conformity relate to cultural norms? To Hofstede?

Effect of Ambiguity on Social Influence(Latané & Darley, 1968)

Asch (1951)

• Aim?– To investigate whether people will be influenced

by a group to give an answer they know is incorrect

• Procedure?– 7 Confederates gave the wrong answer on 12 of

18 trials– Real answer was obvious– Mild deception

Conformity – The Asch Paradigm

A B C

• Findings? (75%? 25%? 1/3? 98%?)– Overall, all subjects together ended up conforming

on 1/3 of target trials.

• Conclusions?– They knowingly gave incorrect answers– They may have doubted their own eyes

• Criticisms?– Sample of male college students– Low ecological validity– Possible time validity

Asch (1951) Debriefing

– All subjects (Ss) reported doubt about their answers

– Ss who conformed said they knew they were wrong, explained that they were either:• doing what the researcher wanted

–Demand characteristics• going along with the group

–Conformity

4 factors in Conformity

1. Group Size (Asch 1955)

• 1 confederate, 3% of Ss conformed;

• 2 confederates, 14% of Ss conformed;

• 4 confederates, 32% of Ss conformed

• With 7 or more, conformity began to decline slightly

Conformity With Incorrect Majority(Asch (1951)

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

1 2 3 4 16

Size of Unanimous Majority

Con

form

ity

4 factors in Conformity

2. Unanimity (Asch 1956)

• If 1 confederate gives a different incorrect answer, Ss still less likely to conform to majority view

• If 1 confederate answers correctly, 5% of Ss conform to the majority

Percent Conformity With Majority(Allen & Levine, 1971)

4 factors in Conformity

3. Confidence (Perrin and Spencer, 1980)

• Study replicated with science/math students as Ss; had only 1 conformity out of 396 trials (external validity of Asch)

• Conclusion: higher confidence equals less likely to conform

4. Self-esteem (Stang (1973)

• Higher self-esteem equals less pressure to conform

Effect of Commitment to Own Opinion: Asch Paradigm (Deutsch & Gerard, 1955)

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

Public Written Magic Pad None

Type of Commitment

Co

nfo

rmit

y