Deck 6: Conformity

Question 1

A year after his original study, Sherif's participants were retested alone and gave answers that supported the original group's norm. This suggests that the process involved was really

A) reactance.
B) compliance.
C) obedience.
D) acceptance.

Answer 1

acceptance.

Question 2

Studies involving __________________ most clearly demonstrate social influence taking the form of acceptance.

A) judgments of the length of lines
B) judgments of the autokinetic phenomenon
C) shocking innocent victims
D) None of these choices demonstrate acceptance

Answer 2

judgments of the autokinetic phenomenon

Question 3

Tisha started going to church only because her boyfriend wanted to go. She continues to go now, even though she broke up with him, because she really gets a lot out of the service. What principle does Tisha's experience illustrate?

A) the false consensus effect
B) the foot-in-the-door principle
C) acceptance can increase cohesion
D) acceptance sometimes follows compliance

Answer 3

acceptance sometimes follows compliance

Question 4

Compliance is

A) reactance.
B) a change in behaviour to go against a request.
C) conformity.
D) conformity that involves publicly acting in accord with social pressure while privately disagreeing.

Question 5

Kenny is scolded by his mother and told to stand in the corner quietly for three minutes. While standing in the corner he mutters, "I may be standing, but inwardly I'm sitting." Kenny has been _____________, but displays no sign of ____________.

A) compliant; conformity
B) obedient; conformity
C) obedient; acceptance
D) compliant; obedience

Question 6

Acceptance is

A) conformity that involves both acting and believing in accord with social pressure.
B) acting in accord with a direct order.
C) conformity that involves publicly acting in accord with social pressure while privately disagreeing.
D) social sensitivity.

Question 7

Conformity is

A) not real.
B) a change in behaviour or belief as a result of real or imagined group pressure.
C) an individual construct.
D) a behaviour involving arrogance.

Question 8

At one time, aircraft had constant rather than blinking lights on the wingtips. When pilots in formation tried to follow the constant lights of the aircraft in front of them, they veered off course. This is perhaps best explained by

A) illusory correlation.
B) normative influence.
C) psychological reactance.
D) the autokinetic effect.

Question 9

Interpreting events differently after hearing from others and appreciating a tasty food that other love are examples of

A) conformity.
B) obedience.
C) norm formation.
D) procrastination.

Question 10

Soldiers or employees following questionable orders is an example of

A) conformity.
B) obedience.
C) persuasion.
D) norm formation.

Question 11

In Japan, going along with others is a sign of

A) maturity.
B) mindlessness.
C) incompetence.
D) irresponsibility.

Question 12

Jennifer thinks it's stupid to dress up to go to church, given that she never dresses up any other time. Yet she dresses up anyway in order to fit in. Her behaviour reflects the process of

A) compliance.
B) acceptance.
C) reactance.
D) informational social influence.

Question 13

The autokinetic phenomenon refers to

A) a false group consensus.
B) an illusion of perceived movement.
C) a form of self-efficacy.
D) an influential bias in social judgment.

Question 14

As a freshman, Tim became a vegetarian in order to fit in with his new friends. Now, as a senior, Tim would never consider eating meat again. What process does Tim's experience illustrate?

A) compliance
B) acceptance
C) reactance
D) social facilitation

Question 15

Sincere inward conformity is to ____________ as insincere outward conformity is to ____________.

A) acceptance; reactance
B) reactance; submission
C) obedience; compliance
D) acceptance; compliance

Question 16

Sirima is usually skeptical about the Internet messages she receives, but one day she receives five copies of an email petition from five different friends. She decides to add her name to the petition and passes it on to ten more friends. This scenario can be described as an example of

A) compliance.
B) collusion.
C) acceptance.
D) affective tolerance.

Question 17

In his classic study of __________, Sherif had participants in groups call out estimates of the distance a small point of light appeared to move in a dark room.

A) obedience
B) group cohesiveness
C) norm formation
D) psychological reactance

Question 18

Doing as others do and fads such as tattoos are examples of

A) conformity.
B) obedience.
C) norm formation.
D) procrastination.

Question 19

You have just gone to a concert and you thought the artist was okay, but not great. At the end, people in the audience begin standing up and clapping for an encore. You would just like to go home, but as more and more people stand up, you do as well. Social psychologists refer to scenario as an example of

A) conformity
B) cooperation
C) obedience
D) submission

Question 20

Anna doesn't like to go to Paul's house but does so anyway because her mother wants her to. After a while Anna begins to enjoy going to see Paul. This is an example of

A) how acceptance can lead to compliance.
B) how compliance can lead to acceptance.
C) the boomerang effect.
D) how psychological reactance can lead to acceptance.

Question 21

Peter feels like he has been in a bit of a "funk" and somewhat depressed. He decides to go camping with a bunch of his friends who are usually the "happy go lucky" type. By the end of the weekend, his mood is much improved and he feels better. This example represents the phenomenon of

A) mass suggestibility.
B) the chameleon effect.
C) mood linkage.
D) psychological obedience.

Question 22

When participants in Milgram's experiments wanted to quit, they were given

A) shocks to keep them going.
B) money as an incentive to keep going.
C) up to four verbal prods to keep them going.
D) a reward for being one of the few to disobey.

Question 23

In spring of 1954, U.S. residents were alarmed by widespread reports of damage by a mysterious windshield-pitting agent. The true cause of public concern was most likely

A) fallout from recent Pacific testing of the H-bomb.
B) mass suggestibility.
C) psychological reactance.
D) the autokinetic phenomenon.

Question 24

When one person coughs, laughs, or yawns, others are often soon doing the same. This is an example of

A) people's emotionality.
B) the fact that coughing, laughing, and yawning are physically contagious.
C) people's suggestibility.
D) the Honey Phenomenon.

Question 25

Sociologist David Phillips and colleagues report that _____________ increase after well-publicized and celebrity suicides.

A) suicides
B) private airplane crashes
C) fatal auto accidents
D) all of these choices

Question 26

Chartrand and Bargh (1999) found that participants in an experiment who were asked to work alongside another person who occasionally rubbed her face were unwittingly more likely to rub their face. They called this

A) the chameleon effect.
B) mood linkage.
C) compliance.
D) automatic processing.

Question 27

In a variation on the Asch experiments, you announce your answer to a question but you do so before anyone else in the group has a chance to respond. All the subsequent responses disagree with yours. Now you have a chance to reconsider and possibly change your answer. According to research, you will probably

A) question the procedure and ask to be last in line next time.
B) modify your response so that it comes closer to everyone else's but is still different.
C) tell yourself privately that you were right the first time but publicly change your response.
D) stick to your original answer.

Question 28

The increase in suicides following well-publicized and celebrity suicides has been described as ______________ by sociologist David Phillips.

A) mass suggestibility
B) the Werther effect
C) the chameleon effect
D) mood linkage

Question 29

A social psychological experiment in which the participants were present only because they were earning extra credit and completely uninterested in the experimental situation might be lacking in

A) experimental realism.
B) internal validity.
C) exaggerated realism.
D) reactivity.

Question 30

Jacobs and Campbell (1961) used the Sherif paradigm to study the transmission of norms. They found that inflated estimates lasted for

A) three generations.
B) five generations.
C) ten generations.
D) more than ten generations.

Question 31

A confederate is someone who

A) runs an experiment.
B) is a participant in the study.
C) is an accomplice of the researcher.
D) is an authority figure.

Question 32

Sherif is to the study of ______________ as Asch is to the study of ______________.

A) conformity; compliance
B) compliance; conformity
C) norm formation; obedience
D) norm formation; conformity

Question 33

The experimenter in Milgram's study used all but which of the following verbal prods to encourage participants to continue?

A) "It is absolutely essential that you continue."
B) "You will be penalized if you refuse to go on."
C) "You have no other choice, you must go on."
D) "The experiment requires that you continue."

Question 34

What is "mood linkage"?

A) A form of social contagion
B) Another name for the Honey Phenomenon
C) A source of people's emotionality
D) a source of people's hopefulness

Question 35

Comedy show laugh tracks capitalize on

A) people's hopefulness.
B) the physical contagiousness of laughing.
C) the Honey Phenomenon.
D) people's suggestibility.

Question 36

Asch's conformity studies found that _________________ of participants conformed at least once, and _______ of responses were conforming overall.

A) one quarter; 15%
B) one half; 63%
C) three quarters; 37%
D) all; 43%

Question 37

Chartrand and Bargh (1999) define the "chameleon effect" as

A) a case where the participant imitates the behaviour of the confederate.
B) a case where the participant is irritated by the confederate.
C) a case where the participant disengages from any contact with the confederate.
D) None of the above

Question 38

The Sherif and Asch results are all startling because none of the studies employed any

A) judgments about ambiguous stimuli.
B) groups larger than four persons.
C) experimental realism.
D) open, obvious pressure to conform.

Question 39

Charlotte and Craig are both participating in a psychology experiment and are sitting in a small room filling out some personality questionnaires. Little does she know, but Craig is a confederate of the experimenter and is displaying behaviours that are similar to her own (e.g., he shakes his leg too, he bites his lip, etc). Craig accidentally drops his pencil case and spills pens all over the floor. According to principles of the chameleon effect, Charlotte would most likely

A) drop her own pencil case so that Craig doesn't feel so bad.
B) laugh at Craig and smile at him but continue completing her questionnaires.
C) get out of her seat and help Craig pick up the dropped pens.
D) ignore Craig and continue completing her questionnaires.

Question 40

Asch's conformity experiments were high in

A) mundane realism.
B) experimental realism.
C) acceptance.
D) stimulus ambiguity.

Question 41

Which of the following was found to be a factor that influenced obedience in Milgram's research?

A) The victim's emotional distance
B) The closeness of the authority
C) The presence of other defiant teachers
D) All of these choices

Question 42

In response to the ethical controversy surrounding his experiments, Milgram wrote that stress and risk to self-esteem are higher for ___________ than for participants in his experiments.

A) participants in Zimbardo's prison experiment
B) students taking course examinations
C) parents raising children
D) None of these choices

Question 43

Strangers will be more likely to answer your personal questions if you type them up on your university's letterhead stationery than if you simply ask them verbally. This illustrates that people are more obedient when

A) there is no group influence.
B) they get a typed request.
C) they perceive that there is institutional authority behind a request.
D) all of these choices.

Question 44

Milgram's variation in which two "fellow participants" (actually confederates) defied the experimenter's commands demonstrates that

A) conformity can be constructive.
B) obedience to a legitimate authority is absolute.
C) peers have little influence over an individual's likelihood of obeying a legitimate authority.
D) obedience can be liberating.

Question 45

When Milgram conducted his first series of experiments with a sample of 20- to 50-year-old men, he found that over 60 percent of them

A) refused to deliver shocks beyond 150 volts.
B) refused to deliver shocks past the 300-volt level.
C) went all the way to 450 volts.
D) asked to be released from the experiment by 135 volts.

Question 46

In a follow-up series of experiments after his initial study, Milgram made the learner's protests more compelling by having him complain of a heart condition, then scream and plead for release, and finally refuse to answer. With this added condition,

A) a majority of participants still fully obeyed the experimenter's demands.
B) teachers were more reluctant to deliver initial shocks.
C) learners became more real and personal to the teacher.
D) fewer participants went to 450 volts.

Question 47

In one variation on his original experiment, Milgram arranged for a confederate "clerk" (posing as a fellow participant) to assume command in the experimenter's absence. As a result of this manipulation,

A) most teachers agreed to comply with the orders of their fellow group member.
B) the teachers competed with him and with each other for the role of leader.
C) participants became more positive about their roles in this cohesive group, and some even became enthusiastic.
D) 80 percent of the teachers refused to comply fully.

Question 48

When Milgram asked psychiatrists, university students, and middle-class adults to predict the results of his experiment, the respondents said that they thought ________ would _______.

A) they themselves; never begin to administer shock
B) they themselves; disobey by about 135 volts
C) other people; disobey by about 255 volts
D) other people; would go all the way to 450 volts

Question 49

Shannon is walking down the street with a friend one day when a stranger up ahead suddenly shouts "Get back! Get off the street! There's a sniper!" Shannon and her friend are most likely to obey if

A) the stranger looks very frightened.
B) the stranger is a police officer.
C) they have low psychological resistance.
D) the friend is over the age of 30 years.

Question 50

In Milgram's studies, obedience was highest when

A) teachers were required to put the learner's hand onto a shock plate.
B) the learner was in the same room as the teacher.
C) the learner did not complain of a heart condition.
D) the learner was remote and silent.

Question 51

In the learner's schedule of protests in Milgram's "heart disturbance" studies, at what voltage level does the learner first mention that his heart is bothering him?

A) 150 volts
B) 195 volts
C) 255 volts
D) 315 volts

Question 52

In Milgram's research, when the experimenter gave the commands by telephone instead of in person, full obedience

A) dropped to zero.
B) dropped to 21 percent.
C) dropped to 50 percent.
D) increased to 73 percent.

Question 53

Research suggests that when people are given a _________, they are more likely to comply with a request from a stranger.

A) light touch on the arm
B) handwritten rather than a typed letter
C) letter rather than a telephone call
D) sense of anonymity

Question 54

When the participants in Milgram's studies were surveyed afterward about their participation in the obedience experiment, most said

A) they did not regret having participated.
B) they deeply regretted having participated.
C) they were glad to have helped but felt the study should never be repeated.
D) they experienced guilt over their actions as participants.

Question 55

Pretend that you are a participant in Milgram's study, and you are asked how likely you are to obey the experimenter's commands. You think you would not administer much shock, but there is over a 60% chance that you would

A) go all the way to 450 volts, when the learner is no longer responding.
B) administer up to 300 volts, when the learner screams his refusals to answer.
C) administer up to 270 volts, when the learner starts to scream in agony.
D) administer up to 120 volts, when the learner first shouts the shocks are painful.

Question 56

Vince is a soldier in the military and has been stationed in Afghanistan. He has been ordered to kill any rebel insurgents who engage in anti-government violence. According to the principles of obedience that Milgram found, Vince will have more difficulty obeying orders when

A) everyone else in his troop is carrying out the orders given to them.
B) the victims are right in front of Vince versus 500 metres away.
C) Vince's commanding officer is beside him in the field.
D) his commanding officer is the top-ranked officer in Vince's division.

Question 57

It is easiest to debase someone who is

A) a close, convenient target.
B) in range of physical contact.
C) personalized.
D) distant and anonymous.

Question 58

When Milgram varied his experiment so that teachers had to physically force the learner's hand onto a shock plate in order to administer punishment, compliance to the experimenter's orders

A) dropped to almost zero.
B) dropped to 10 percent.
C) dropped to 30 percent.
D) actually increased to almost 80 percent.

Question 59

Obedience to a legitimate authority is highest when

A) the authority speaks loudly.
B) the authority is physically close.
C) the self-esteem of the target is low.
D) the authority gives the order by telephone.

Question 60

From the results of Milgram's studies that manipulated the distance between teacher and learner, one could conclude that

A) it would be more disturbing to ignore many people starving in a foreign land than a single neighbour who needs food.
B) it would be more disturbing to kill another with one's bare hands than with a gun.
C) ironically it may be more difficult to dehumanize a stranger than a close friend.
D) group cohesiveness breeds aggression.

Question 61

The fact that ordinary group members of groups such as fraternities/sororities will heed commands to brutally haze initiates indicates that

A) under the sway of evil forces, even nice people are sometimes corrupted.
B) ordinary people are may be corrupted.
C) human nature is evil.
D) leaders always make ordinary people go astray. or divert them from the right way of living.

Question 62

According to conformity research, a group's social power is deflated when it loses its

A) agenda.
B) anonymity.
C) unanimity.
D) heterogeneity.

Question 63

Greece's military junta selected candidates based on their respect for and submission to authority, and used a _________________ process to train these candidates to torture others.

A) door-in-the face
B) blame-the-victim
C) autokinetic
D) chameleon effect

Question 64

________________ comes in small increments; it involves an unintended drift toward self-harm.

A) Conformity
B) Procrastination
C) The fundamental attribution error
D) Corruption

Question 65

The text suggests that in our everyday lives, the experience of ____________ illustrates an unintended drift toward self-harm, similar to the same incremental action experienced by Milgram's participants and the German civil servants who worked for the Nazis.

A) mistrust
B) procrastination
C) overeating
D) social rejection

Question 66

Which of the following is not one of the factors that have been found to significantly influence one's conformity to the group?

A) Requiring the individual's response to be made in public
B) Increasing the size of the group from 6 to 10 members
C) Increasing the status of the group
D) Having the group's agreement be unanimous rather than reflect some disagreement

Question 67

Research on group size and conformity has generally shown that

A) as group size increases, conformity decreases.
B) as group size increases, conformity increases.
C) group size influences conformity in teenagers but not in adults.
D) the conformity of females is more significantly influenced by group size than is the conformity of males.

Question 68

Studies on group size and conformity have indicated that increasing the number of people beyond five yields

A) enhanced conformity.
B) deindividuation.
C) diminishing returns.
D) decreased conformity.

Question 69

The fact that the voltage in Milgram's research increased in 15-volt increments allowed obedient participants to

A) take out their increasing aggression on the learner.
B) reduce their dissonance somewhat as the experiment progressed.
C) deliver whatever severity of shock they felt was appropriate.
D) None of these choices

Question 70

Based on Wilder's research, someone who wants to be student president should recruit vocal support from

A) one large group of unanimous supporters.
B) two or three smaller groups of unanimous supporters.
C) someone who seems to be poor.
D) no-one; she should ask her supporters to keep quiet.

Question 71

Both Asch's conformity studies and Milgram's obedience studies illustrate

A) the power of the situation.
B) the fact that we are cognitive misers.
C) the prevalence of conforming personalities in American culture.
D) all of these choices.

Question 72

Bierbrauer's (1979) experiment showed that people are startled by experiments like Milgram's because

A) they continue to believe that only good people do good things and that only evil people do evil things.
B) the fundamental attribution error does not hold.
C) they think the consensus was too low.
D) conformity prevails.

Question 73

The fact that ordinary soldiers will follow orders to shoot defenceless civilians indicates that

A) human nature is evil.
B) under the sway of evil forces, even nice people are sometimes corrupted.
C) ordinary soldiers are cruel.
D) leaders always make ordinary people go astray. or divert them from the right way of living.

Question 74

In a study by Swim and Hyers, students predicted how they would respond to sexist comments made by another participant during a discussion task. While ____ predicted that they would ignore the rude behaviours, _____ did not say anything about the sexist comments when actually in a discussion.

A) 25%; 5%
B) 15%; 23%
C) 10%; 74%
D) 5%; 56%

Question 75

Examples such as the abuses that occurred at the Abu Ghraib prison and in Somalia by U.S. and Canadian soldiers (respectively) demonstrate that

A) all soldiers have the capacity to engage in evil behaviour.
B) evil situations can produce evil behaviour.
C) the moral code of the military is corrupt.
D) obedience to authority never a good thing.

Question 76

During the Holocaust, the first acts of compliance or resistance bred attitudes that influenced behaviour, which ______________ attitudes.

A) strengthened
B) weakened
C) did not affect
D) changed

Question 77

While studies on obedience have demonstrated that some humans have the capacity for evil, they also have shown that resisting obedience and conformity can result in ______________, as shown by the French villagers who sheltered Jews during the Holocaust.

A) acts of heroism
B) further evil
C) moral corruption
D) oppositional acceptance

Question 78

According to Milgram, the most fundamental lesson to be learned from his study of obedience is that

A) people are naturally inclined to be hostile and aggressive.
B) the desire to be right is one of the strongest human motives.
C) even ordinary people, who are not particularly hostile, can become agents of destruction.
D) people value their freedom and uniqueness and react negatively when it is taken from them.

Question 79

One of the main reasons why the studies conducted by Asch and Milgram were so controversial was that

A) they taught us an academic lesson about ethics.
B) they clearly demonstrated social psychological principles.
C) they demonstrated that all people are inherently evil.
D) they demonstrated how compliance can take precedence over moral sense.

Question 80

Charlie wants to play a trick on his best friend, Bill. He wants to get Bill to agree that a green jacket is actually blue. Conformity research suggests that he will most likely succeed if

A) one other friend agrees to go along with Charlie's trick.
B) four other friends agree to go along, but a fifth friend calls the jacket green.
C) five friends agree to go along with Charlie's trick.
D) none of these choices-no one would call green blue.