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Psychology
Grade 9-12
Conformity & Obedience Studies Cheat Sheet
A printable reference covering Asch conformity, Milgram obedience, Zimbardo roles, normative influence, informational influence, and ethical safeguards for grades 9-12.
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This cheat sheet covers major psychology studies on conformity and obedience, including Asch, Milgram, and Zimbardo. Students need these studies to understand how social pressure can shape choices, judgments, and behavior. The topic also helps explain why people may follow a group or an authority figure even when they feel unsure or uncomfortable. It is especially useful for comparing research methods, findings, and ethics.
Key Facts
- Conformity means changing behavior, beliefs, or answers to match a group, often because of normative social influence or informational social influence.
- Normative social influence follows the principle: desire for acceptance plus fear of rejection leads to public conformity.
- Informational social influence follows the principle: uncertainty plus belief that others know more leads to private acceptance.
- In Asch's line study, about 75% of participants conformed at least once when confederates gave obviously wrong answers.
- In Milgram's obedience study, 65% of participants continued to the highest shock level of 450 volts when instructed by an authority figure.
- Obedience increases when the authority figure appears legitimate, is physically close, and accepts responsibility for the action.
- Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment suggested that assigned social roles and situational power can strongly influence behavior, but the study is criticized for ethics and demand characteristics.
- Ethical research requires informed consent, protection from harm, the right to withdraw, confidentiality, and debriefing after deception.
Vocabulary
- Conformity
- Conformity is changing behavior, attitudes, or answers to match the real or imagined pressure of a group.
- Obedience
- Obedience is following a direct command from an authority figure.
- Normative Social Influence
- Normative social influence occurs when a person conforms to be liked, accepted, or not rejected by a group.
- Informational Social Influence
- Informational social influence occurs when a person conforms because they believe others have accurate information.
- Confederate
- A confederate is a person in a study who appears to be a participant but is actually working with the researcher.
- Debriefing
- Debriefing is the process of explaining the true purpose, methods, and possible effects of a study after participation.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Confusing conformity with obedience is wrong because conformity involves group pressure, while obedience involves a direct order from an authority figure.
- Saying Asch proved people always conform is wrong because many participants resisted group pressure, and conformity depended on factors such as group size and unanimity.
- Ignoring ethics in Milgram's study is wrong because the research raised serious concerns about stress, deception, and participants' belief that they had harmed someone.
- Treating Zimbardo's prison study as simple proof that roles control all behavior is wrong because the study had methodological problems, possible researcher influence, and limited generalizability.
- Assuming social influence is always negative is wrong because conformity and obedience can also support safety, cooperation, learning, and social order.
Practice Questions
- 1 In a class of 32 students, 24 students raise their hands after hearing most classmates support an answer. What percentage of the class conformed?
- 2 In a Milgram-style summary, 26 out of 40 participants obeyed to the maximum level. What percentage obeyed?
- 3 A student changes an answer on a worksheet because five friends chose a different answer, even though the student still thinks the original answer is correct. Is this more likely normative or informational social influence? Explain.
- 4 Why might an ordinary person obey an authority figure even when the action conflicts with their personal values?