Conformity - Prejudice Questions

Conformity & Prejudice Questions
Conformity:
1. Read the chart pg. 370 titled “Factors that affect Conformity”
Place the factors in the first column from MOST to LEAST significant (in your opinion).
Most to least significant:

Group unanimity
Ambiguous situation or difficult task
Public vs. private response
Self-esteem
Status of members or group
Group size
2. What is the “chameleon effect”? (pg. 371). Provide an example where you have witnessed this
effect.
The chameleon effect is the mimicking of another person’s body language, specifically a person
with whom we are interacting. This can include friends, families and peers. An example of the
chameleon effect includes body language. After spending time with my friends, I began to
emulate their body language and actions, and began doing peace signs a lot.
3. Read information (pg. 372) about the Bystander Effect.

a) The Bystander Effect is a concept in social psychology used to explain:
The Bystander Effect explains why the larger a group of people is, the less likely it is that
individuals will help someone who needs help.
b) What if there is only ONE person witnessing someone who needs help? (answer below
picture of Kitty).
If there is only one witness, they are more likely to help, as long as certain criteria are
met. For example, the person must notice the incident, interpret it as an emergency and
then assume responsibility for helping the person in trouble.
c) What are the four mechanisms which may lead to the Bystander Effect? (see bullets
with bolded words).Record each mechanism and explain what is happening in your own
words.
1. self-awareness: People may become self-conscious when there are others around,
and they may stop themselves from helping as they are afraid of making a
mistake or looking foolish in front of others.
2. social cues: Individuals look for social cues present in other individuals to
understand how they should act in a certain situation. If no one intervenes, it
reinforces bystander behaviour, and strengthens the idea that nobody should help.
3. blocking mechanism: When there is an emergency in a crowded area, someone
stepping in to help can actually block other individuals from helping or from
being able to help.
4. diffusion of responsibility: In a group setting, people assume that someone else
will help, so they don’t feel responsible or accountable to help the individual in
need.
Prejudice:
1. Define the terms INGROUP and OUTGROUP. For each, provide an example. (pg. 374)
Ingroup: a social group to which an individual feels that they belong; formed when its members
identify with one another
EXAMPLE: If an individual is a member of a certain club, like debate club, they are part of an
ingroup.
Outgroup: group of any individuals who don’t belong to the social group in which an individual
feels they belong; a group toward which an individual may feel opposition or disrespect
EXAMPLE: If an individual plays for a certain sports team, any individual who plays for another
sports team, specifically competing sports teams, is a member of the outgroup.
2. Read the section “Prejudice and the Brain” (pg. 375).
a) How quickly do our brains take to judge trustworthiness in the faces of those we just
met?
It only takes our brains 38 milliseconds to judge the trustworthiness in the faces of people
who we have just met.
b) List the 3 indications our brains are looking for and beside each one, record the
descriptor in the bracket.
Our brains search for signs of dominance (associated with violence), strong facial
features (associated with anger) and facial symmetry (associated with attractiveness).
c) How accurate are our unconscious biases?
Studies have shown that participants could only accurately tell whether or not someone
was lying approximately 50% of the time.
3. Read the section “Landmark Case Study, Jane Elliot: Brown Eyes/Blue Eyes” (pg. 376)
Please do all 3 questions then watch the video below.
a) What do you think of Jane Elliott’s tone toward the students?
Her tone towards the students is harsh and unforgiving. She speaks to the students in a demeaning
manner. She uses the tone to make the students feel unworthy, allowing them to better understand
the emotions of those that face racism on a regular basis. Elliott explains that she uses this tone
because the people who are racist, sexist, homophobic (etc.) are mean and nasty people.
b) How does Jane Elliott justify the treatment of the blue eyed group?
She justifies the treatment of the blue-eyed group by stating that they will then experience the
racism that people of colour must face regularly. This harsh treatment ensures that they will no
longer be ignorant about the prejudice and discrimination that people of colour must constantly
face.
c) At the 29:39 minute mark, Jane Elliott states that by now students will say “you have made your
point”. But Jane Elliott states “you have to nail it down” so the exercise continues. Do you
agree? Did it need to go on?
Elliott states that the exercise must continue since they allotted a specific amount of time for the
activity, meaning that it must continue for that amount of time. If they stopped when everyone
understood the point of the activity, it highlights the privilege that they have, to be experiencing
this discrimination in a controlled and experimental environment. However, people of colour
cannot choose when the prejudice against them stops. I agree with this because it helps people
better understand the experience of being a person of colour -- that even when you want the
activity to stop, or when you’ve had enough of the discrimination, you can’t control when it stops.
I also believe that by continuing the activity, the message and purpose of the activity became
truly embedded in the students, and became something that they would remember forever.
Video: Brown eye blue eye, Jane Elliott 51 min.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPZEJHJPwIw
This video is very hard to watch - viewer discretion.

It is not the original study with small children, rather it is done at university with students who
have signed consent forms.

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Conformity & Prejudice Questions

Most to least significant:

3. Read information (pg. 372) about the Bystander Effect.

2. Read the section “Prejudice and the Brain” (pg. 375).

c) How accurate are our unconscious biases?

a) What do you think of Jane Elliott’s tone toward the students?

Video: Brown eye blue eye, Jane Elliott 51 min.

This video is very hard to watch - viewer discretion.

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