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Sherif (1935) Autokinetic Effect Experiment

Sherif (1935) tried to show that people conform to group norms when they're performing an ambiguous task.

Method

Method

  • Laboratory experiment.
  • Sherif used the autokinetic effect. This is where a dot of light is projected onto a screen in a dark room. The light appears to move even though it's not moving. The dot appearing to move is a visual illusion.
  • Participants were led to believe that someone was moving the light. They were asked to guess how far the light moved.
  • They were tested in three phases.
    • Phase 1 - Participants made guesses individually.
    • Phase 2 - Participants made guesses in groups of three.
    • Phase 3 - Participants made guesses individually.
Results

Results

  • In phase 1, individual guesses varied a lot (by 20cm - 80cm).
  • In phase 2, participant's guesses tended to converge to a common estimate.
  • In phase 3, individuals made guesses closer to the common group estimates than their initial estimates.
Conclusion

Conclusion

  • The experiment showed that people look to others for guidance when they face ambiguous situations (like the autokinetic effect).
  • When people don't have all the information they need, they look to others for information. This is called informational conformity.
  • Participants' estimates converged and a group norm formed because participants were influenced by other participants' estimates. They were influenced by informational social influence.
Analysis

Analysis

  • Variables were strictly controlled in the laboratory. This means:
    • A third variable shouldn't have influenced results and we should be able to establish cause and effect.
    • The method was replicable as participant variables could be controlled and kept constant.
Experimental issues

Experimental issues

  • Deception - participants believed the stationary light was moving.
  • Narrow sample - only males participated. This reduces the generalisability of the results.
  • Artificial situation - participants made estimates about the movement of a stationary light. This is not a natural situation, so the experiment has low ecological validity (it cannot be generalised well to real-life situations).
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