Summary of Haun’s Study

Aim:
To compare human and non-human tendencies to adjust their behaviour to that of their peers.

Method:
● 18 children, 12 chimpanzees and 12 orangutans took part.
● There was a box with 3 sections each a different colour that dispensed a reward when a
ball was dropped into them.
● In the initial phase, human and non-human participants dropped the balls into sections
until they had used the same section on 8 out of 10 consecutive tests.
● All participants then saw demonstrators drop the ball into a different section to get a
reward.
● In the testing phase, participants were given 3 balls to dispense 1 at a time and all 3
choices were rewarded.

Results and Conclusions:

● 12 children switched to the box the demonstrator used whereas only 2 chimpanzees and
2 orangutans did so.
● This allows us to conclude that children as young as 2 years old are more likely to adjust
their behaviour to that of their peers than the other 2 great ape populations.

Evaluation:
Strengths​- Reliable as 2 non-human control groups were used.
Supports previous research on conformity, such as Asch’s research
Weaknesses​-​ Lacks generalisability as only 2 year old children were used; they are not
representative of the whole populations as they are typically more impressionable.
Doesn’t explain why humans conform
Lacks ecological validity as it is an artificial task that doesn’t reflect everyday life
Summary of Moscovici’s Study
Aim:
● To investigate the influence of a minority upon a majority within a group.
● To investigate whether consistency of behaviour of a minority had an influence.

Method:
● Female participants were placed in 36 groups, each group consisting of 4 participants
and 2 confederates.
● The group took a Polack Test beforehand to eliminate anyone with visual abnormalities
● Participants were shown blue slides with different intensities.
● In the consistent group, confederates described all the 36 slides as green. In the
confederate variation, confederates sat side by side in 12 groups and in 1st and 4th
positions in the rest. In the stimulus variation, commitment was tested by 2 1-minute
pauses after 12 slides.
● In the inconsistent group, participants described 24 slides as green and 12 as blue.

Results and Conclusions:

● 32% of all participants agreed with the minority at least once.
● 8,42% of majority agreed with consistent group
● 1.25% of majority agreed with inconsistent group.
● Minorities can influence a majority but only with certain behavioural styles, e.g.
consistent behaviour

Evaluation:
Strengths​- The study is reliable as the lab setting increased controls, accuracy and replicability
The study has high internal validity as the group took a Polack test to eliminate anyone with
visual abnormalities(a confounding variable).
Weaknesses​- Low ecological validity as the task was artificial and was carried out in a lab
setting, meaning the study lacked mundane realism.
Low generalizability as only female participants were used so the results may not be
representative of male populations (conformity is said to be slightly higher in females).
Cultural bias as only American participants were used. Smith and Bond found that individualistic
cultures are generally less conformist than collectivist cultures, so minority influence might differ
in collectivist cultures as well.
Ethical issue as the participants were deceived and did not give full informed consent to take
part in the study. The insight gained from the research, however, justifies the short-term cost to
participants. As well as that, demand characteristics would likely have been displayed had
participants known the true aim of the study.