The Forgotten Variable in Conformity Research: The Impact of Task Importance on Social Influence
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
11-1996
Keywords
Competence, Conformity (Personality), Incentives, Social Influences, Task Complexity
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https:///doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.71.5.915
Abstract
Two studies examined how incentives for accuracy (task importance) affected the social influence of inaccurate confederates in a modified Asch situation (S. E. Asch, 1951). Not unexpectedly, when task difficulty was low, incentives for accuracy reduced the social impact of (inaccurate) confederates (Study 1). However, when task difficulty was increased, the reverse was true, with individuals conforming more to an inaccurate confederate norm when incentives for accuracy were high (Studies 1 and 2). The results are discussed in terms of possible mediating mechanisms and also in terms of their historical and pragmatic implications.
Was this content written or created while at USF?
No
Citation / Publisher Attribution
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, v. 71, issue 5, p. 915-927
Scholar Commons Citation
Baron, Robert S.; Vandello, Joseph A.; and Brunsman, Bethany, "The Forgotten Variable in Conformity Research: The Impact of Task Importance on Social Influence" (1996). Psychology Faculty Publications. 2294.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/psy_facpub/2294
