1. Conformity and Obedience
Bell Ringer
Agenda
What is an attributing behavior?
Do actions align with attitudes? Why or not?
Conformity and Obedience
Asch and Conformity Video and Discussion
Milgram and Violating Social Norms (article)
Situations? What would violate social norms? Project overview

2. Conformity and Obedience
Social Psychology
Conformity and Obedience

3. Conformity and Obedience
Adjusting one’s behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard
Behavior is contagious, modeled by one followed by another. We follow behavior of others to conform. Humans want to fit in.
Obedience
Other behaviors may be an expression of compliance (obedience) toward authority.

4. One is made to feel incompetent or insecure.
The group has at least three people.
The group is unanimous.
One admires the group’s status and attractiveness.
One has no prior commitment to a response.
The group observes one’s behavior.
One’s culture strongly encourages respect for a social standard.

5. Group Pressure and Conformity
Asch Experiment:
Watch the video and see how people conform.
Asch Video
Would you have spoken up?

6. Obedience
Stanley Milgram designed a study that investigates the effects of authority on obedience.
A third of the individuals in Milgram’s study resisted social coercion.
Stanley Milgram
( )

7. Milgram’s Study Both Photos: © 1965 By Stanley Miligram, from the
film Obedience, dist. by Penn State, Media Sales

8. Milgram’s Study: Results

9. Lessons learned from Conformity and Obedience
In both Asch's and Milgram's studies, participants were pressured to choose between following their standards and being responsive to others.
In Milgram’s study, participants were torn between hearing the victims pleas and the experimenter’s orders.

10. Watch and Discuss
Milgram Video

11. Closure: What are five qualities that most clearly define who you are?
What are the three skills you truly excel at?
One of the best ways to avoid group pressure is having a strong self- concept