3. Social Influence
• “how thoughts, feelings • Conformity
and behaviour of
individuals are • Obedience
influenced by the
actual, imagined or
implied presence of
others” (Allport, 1968)
4. Conformity
• Exposure to majority • Minority influence-
position – Reject established norm
• Adopt behaviour,
attitudes and values
5. Investigating the nature of conformity
(Asch, 1955)
• AIMS
– investigate conformity behaviour when given an
unambiguous task
• METHOD
– 123 male, American undergraduates
– Series of lines
– All but 1 participant- confederate
– Critical trials
– True participant- last to answer
6. Asch, 1995 (cont.)
• RESULTS
– 37% overall conformance
– 75% conformed at least once
• Control- 1% wrong answers
• CONCLUSION
– Strong tendency to conform
– Resistance was possible
7. Evaluation of Study
• Is the study a ‘child of its time’?
• Ecological validity
– What does it actually tell us about real life?
9. In the context of crime...
• Psychological approaches
– Learning theories
• Differential association (Sutherland)
• Sociological approaches
– Functionalism
• Status frustration (Cohen)
