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Group Conformity Studies

Author: Zach Lamb

Source: Intro Music by Mark Hannan; Public Domain

Video Transcript
Terms to Know
Group Conformity

Changing your behaviors or beliefs so that you are more in line with the sentiments and practices of a group.

Janis' Groupthink

Irving Janis' advanced the idea that the tendency towards group conformity results in taking a narrow view of an issue, akin to "tunnel vision."

Solomon Asch Study

Study of social conformity involving visual perception from the 1950's where accomplices to the study answered incorrectly, putting pressure on the subjects to do so as well. Asch found that one-third of all subjects chose to conform by answering incorrectly.

Stanley Milgram Research

Series of research studies from the 1960's to determine how people respond to authority. The premise of the study was that subjects were told they were participating in a study of how punishment affects learning. The subjects were assigned the role of a teacher and told to administer shocks for incorrect responses. Almost two-thirds of the subjects administered shocks up to potentially deadly levels at the prompting of the researcher.

People to Know
Solomon Asch

American psychologist who studied social conformity in groups.