effects of priming on conformity

effects of priming on conformity

Background
The article reviewed was the report conceived for the study of priming on conformity (Louise Pendry and Rachael Carrick, 2001).   The study performed was done so in accordance with the Asch experiment where conformity was measured with group behaviour.   In the Asch study, subjects conformed to the confederate, who was obviously in the wrong, 37% of the time.   The resulting question was why did this result formulate?   The study performed by Pendry and Carrick was an attempt to further the understanding of why people tend to conform more when faced with a group of peers.
Purpose
There were basically two reasons that were assumed to be responsible for group conformity.   The first is that one seeks to be rewarded or in contrast to not be punished by the group and the second is that we depend on the judgment of others in experiences in which we have no prior knowledge.   The present study was aiming further the knowledge presented by so many conformity studies performed in the 20th century, that social influences and in particular a group situation, alter the choices made by individuals.   The study looked at a quote from a famous Charles Dickens character by the name of Mr. Pickwick.   The character foretold that one should support the largest and most engaging group when faced with a dilemma in which two groups are supporting different views.   The study looked to prove whether this statement had any truth to it and if so how much of an influence it plays on the decisions of individuals in a group.   The new variable of multiple groups would help to show whether some groups were more able to make a person conform in comparison to others.

Hypothesis
The prediction set forth was that the “punk” primed subjects would not conform as much as those that were primed with the “accountant” category when asked to state the amount of beeps heard emitted from a machine.   Those that looked at a picture of a white-collared accountant would feel somewhat more...