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<strong>Obedience</strong>, <strong>Conformity</strong>, <strong>and</strong> <strong>Social</strong> <strong>Roles</strong>:<br />

<strong>Active</strong> <strong>Learn<strong>in</strong>g</strong> <strong>in</strong> a Large Introductory Psychology Class<br />

April L. Bleske-Rechek<br />

University of Texas at Aust<strong>in</strong><br />

Sixty-five undergraduates participated <strong>in</strong> a small-group activity designed<br />

to help them apply the f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gs from classic studies of conformity,<br />

obedience, <strong>and</strong> social roles. Students designed <strong>and</strong><br />

demonstrated a study to illustrate the <strong>in</strong>fluence of obedience, conformity,<br />

or social roles <strong>in</strong> a real-life context. Each group generated<br />

3 variables <strong>and</strong> described how each variable might moderate the<br />

power of social <strong>in</strong>fluence <strong>in</strong> their situation. Evaluation <strong>in</strong>dicated<br />

that most students found the activity enjoyable <strong>and</strong> helpful for underst<strong>and</strong><strong>in</strong>g<br />

the role of social <strong>in</strong>fluence <strong>in</strong> their daily lives. Students<br />

preferred the activity to a lecture <strong>and</strong> recommended us<strong>in</strong>g the activity<br />

aga<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> future <strong>in</strong>troductory psychology classes.<br />

As with most survey courses, <strong>in</strong>troductory psychology<br />

presents an extensive amount of new material to students.<br />

<strong>Social</strong> psychology may span the length of two textbook chapters<br />

(e.g., Gray, 1991; Westen, 1999). Unfortunately, social<br />

psychology is often taught at the end of the semester (e.g.,<br />

Gray, 1991; Kalat, 1996; Myers, 1996; Westen, 1999), which<br />

is a time when student <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>and</strong> volition is relatively low<br />

(Schallert, Reed, Turner, & McCann, 1997). To <strong>in</strong>crease<br />

student <strong>in</strong>terest, I designed an activity that allows students to<br />

apply basic knowledge of three fundamental social psychological<br />

concepts: obedience, conformity, <strong>and</strong> social roles.<br />

It is common for <strong>in</strong>troductory psychology <strong>in</strong>structors to<br />

devote a day of lecture or film clips to the topic of social <strong>in</strong>fluence.<br />

Instructors may offer brief descriptions of Milgram’s<br />

(1963, 1974), Asch’s (1956), <strong>and</strong> Zimbardo’s (1973; Haney,<br />

Banks, & Zimbardo, 1973) classic experiments or show narrated<br />

video clips (e.g., Psychology Classics; Brothen &<br />

Spald<strong>in</strong>g, 1992). Some <strong>in</strong>structors may ask students to engage<br />

<strong>in</strong> small skits or simulations (Wann, 1993). Role-play<strong>in</strong>g<br />

is popular <strong>and</strong> can <strong>in</strong>crease student underst<strong>and</strong><strong>in</strong>g of social<br />

<strong>in</strong>fluence as well as other concepts such as neural <strong>in</strong>formation<br />

transmission <strong>and</strong> patient–therapist relationships (Balch,<br />

1983; Hamilton & Knox, 1985; Wann, 1993). Such active<br />

engagement <strong>in</strong> course content is l<strong>in</strong>ked to successful learn<strong>in</strong>g<br />

<strong>and</strong> retention (McKeachie, 1994).<br />

The basic concepts of obedience, conformity, <strong>and</strong> social<br />

rolesarenotdifficultforstudentstomaster.Itislikelymoredifficult,<br />

however, for students to generate <strong>and</strong> critically analyze<br />

novel examples of social <strong>in</strong>fluence <strong>in</strong> their daily lives. I designed<br />

an activity to augment traditional role-play activities.<br />

The activity requires that students take a basic knowledge of<br />

social <strong>in</strong>fluence <strong>and</strong> subsequently use it to design their own<br />

unique demonstration of social <strong>in</strong>fluence. Students acquire<br />

the knowledge necessary to underst<strong>and</strong> the requirements of<br />

the activity <strong>and</strong> then design their own demonstration <strong>and</strong><br />

present it to the rest of the class, <strong>in</strong> just 75 m<strong>in</strong> of class time.<br />

Participants<br />

Method<br />

Sixty-five <strong>in</strong>troductory psychology students at the University<br />

of Texas at Aust<strong>in</strong> participated. Most were first- <strong>and</strong><br />

second-year students. Seventy-five percent were White, 10%<br />

Asian, 13% Hispanic, <strong>and</strong> 2% were of other ethnicity.<br />

Procedure<br />

I began class by show<strong>in</strong>g a 5-m<strong>in</strong> video clip that <strong>in</strong>cluded<br />

simulations of Milgram’s (1963, 1974) obedience studies,<br />

Asch’s (1956) conformity studies, <strong>and</strong> Zimbardo’s (1973;<br />

Haney et al., 1973) prison study (Psychology Classics, Brothen<br />

& Spald<strong>in</strong>g, 1992). I then divided the class <strong>in</strong>to thirds, assign<strong>in</strong>g<br />

each third to one topic: obedience, conformity, or social<br />

roles. I displayed a transparency that listed the three to<br />

four pages <strong>in</strong> the textbook that covered each topic, <strong>and</strong> I gave<br />

students 8 m<strong>in</strong> to read the textbook section match<strong>in</strong>g their<br />

topic. Then, I distributed a h<strong>and</strong>out with the follow<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>structions:<br />

In today’s world, we cannot replicate some of these classic<br />

experiments. But, let’s just say we could <strong>and</strong> that we<br />

want to see if the effects replicate <strong>in</strong> a different context<br />

(e.g., <strong>in</strong>stead of a teacher–learner situation <strong>in</strong><br />

Milgram’s study, let’s say we want to study obedience<br />

us<strong>in</strong>g a different situation).<br />

1. In your group, decide on a real-life situation <strong>in</strong> which you<br />

th<strong>in</strong>k your concept—obedience, conformity, or social<br />

roles—may have a huge <strong>in</strong>fluence on people’s behavior.<br />

Some examples are drunk driv<strong>in</strong>g, crim<strong>in</strong>al behavior,<br />

cheat<strong>in</strong>g on exams, haz<strong>in</strong>g, gang behavior, work<strong>in</strong>g at a<br />

company like Dell, participat<strong>in</strong>g on athletic teams (men<br />

vs. women, capta<strong>in</strong>s vs. members), etc.<br />

2. Design a study to test whether your concept (conformity,<br />

obedience, or social roles) has an <strong>in</strong>fluence on<br />

people’s behavior. WORK TOGETHER. Make your<br />

study as simple as possible.<br />

260 Teach<strong>in</strong>g of Psychology


3. Act out your study for the class. For example, if you plan<br />

to do someth<strong>in</strong>g like Zimbardo’s prison study, you might<br />

want to hold up a piece of paper that says “Day 1” <strong>and</strong><br />

then act out what happened on Day 1; then hold up another<br />

piece of paper for “Day 2” <strong>and</strong> act out big events<br />

that you th<strong>in</strong>k may have occurred on Day 2, etc.<br />

4. Then, on the board, list for the class at least three variables<br />

that will <strong>in</strong>fluence how important your concept is<br />

(e.g., Under what conditions are people more likely to<br />

fall <strong>in</strong>to a social role? Under what conditions are people<br />

less likely to obey an authority figure?). Do not write<br />

much on the board—keep it brief <strong>and</strong> to the po<strong>in</strong>t. If<br />

you can br<strong>in</strong>g these variables <strong>in</strong>to your act, great, but it<br />

is not necessary.<br />

5. Remember your task: Make sure the other students <strong>in</strong><br />

the class know what they need to know about your<br />

topic.<br />

Go! You have 25 m<strong>in</strong>.<br />

Students could divide their third of the class <strong>in</strong> whatever<br />

fashion they chose. Students were familiar with work<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong><br />

small groups <strong>in</strong> the class, <strong>and</strong> most students worked <strong>in</strong> a traditional<br />

group size of 4 or 5 people. One student, however, led a<br />

group of 11 people <strong>in</strong> a very successful demonstration of employee<br />

obedience.<br />

Group Work<br />

Although my students were accustomed to complet<strong>in</strong>g<br />

brief activities <strong>and</strong> generally seemed to enjoy them, they<br />

showed an impressive amount of <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong> this activity. For<br />

the 25 m<strong>in</strong> dur<strong>in</strong>g which students worked, I made a conscious<br />

effort not to peek over shoulders <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>stead offered advice<br />

only if a group requested my assistance. When 25 m<strong>in</strong> had<br />

elapsed, various groups volunteered to present. Skits were<br />

very brief, averag<strong>in</strong>g 2 to 3 m<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> length. Due to time constra<strong>in</strong>ts,<br />

6 of 10 groups demonstrated their study. Although<br />

the rema<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g 4 groups did not present at all, students turned<br />

their materials <strong>in</strong> to me at the end of class <strong>and</strong> received credit<br />

for participat<strong>in</strong>g. Two examples of group skits may illustrate<br />

students’ creativity <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>sight <strong>in</strong> complet<strong>in</strong>g the activity.<br />

Skit 1<br />

Students <strong>in</strong> one group performed a demonstration of social<br />

roles. While one student held up signs display<strong>in</strong>g to the audience<br />

the day of each event, the other two students acted as<br />

employees <strong>in</strong> an office build<strong>in</strong>g. On Day 1, the two employees,<br />

Mark <strong>and</strong> John, chatted about their weekends as they<br />

worked side by side. On Day 2, John was promoted to position<br />

of vice president of the company. On Day 3, John asked<br />

Mark to br<strong>in</strong>g him a cup of coffee, <strong>and</strong> Mark did so begrudg<strong>in</strong>gly.<br />

Mark began to tell John about an experience he had<br />

had the night before, but John <strong>in</strong>terrupted him with a request<br />

for the morn<strong>in</strong>g paper. The skit skipped to Day 5, when Mark<br />

brought John his coffee <strong>and</strong> paper without compla<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g—it<br />

was a rout<strong>in</strong>e now. On Day 8, Mark h<strong>and</strong>ed John his morn<strong>in</strong>g<br />

coffee, <strong>and</strong> John h<strong>and</strong>ed Mark some of his clothes to be taken<br />

to the dry cleaner. On Day 10, John requested that Mark call<br />

him Mr. Stone <strong>in</strong>stead of John. Mark cr<strong>in</strong>ged but complied.<br />

The skit ended with Mark say<strong>in</strong>g, “Do you need me to work<br />

overtime this weekend, Mr. Stone?”<br />

The students discussed three variables that may have altered<br />

the effect of social roles: (a) age, such that if Mark had<br />

been older than John he may have been more resistant to his<br />

newroleasJohn’shelper;(b)personality,suchthatifMarkhad<br />

been more assertive <strong>and</strong> confident he would have been more<br />

resistant to his new role; <strong>and</strong> (c) sex, such that if both employees<br />

had been women, the transformation from employee to<br />

employer may not have been so rapid because the women may<br />

have been concerned about destroy<strong>in</strong>g their friendship.<br />

Skit 2<br />

Students <strong>in</strong> one of the conformity groups played the roles<br />

of witnesses to a mugg<strong>in</strong>g. In Part 1 of the skit, several men<br />

<strong>and</strong> women were casually observ<strong>in</strong>g as a woman was mugged.<br />

In the mugg<strong>in</strong>g, a man ran <strong>in</strong>to the woman <strong>and</strong> they tussled<br />

briefly over her purse. The mugger grabbed the purse as he<br />

pushed the woman to the floor, <strong>and</strong> then ran off. In Part 2 of<br />

the skit, the witnesses to the mugg<strong>in</strong>g were be<strong>in</strong>g questioned,<br />

as a group, by a police officer who had arrived at the scene.<br />

The police officer asked the witnesses what happened, <strong>and</strong><br />

one male witness described the mugg<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> detail, but left out<br />

the part about the purse be<strong>in</strong>g stolen. One of the women<br />

spoke up <strong>and</strong> said, “Yeah, <strong>and</strong> he took her purse!” The witnesses<br />

debated for a short time—no one else saw the mugger<br />

take a purse. The woman defended her story for a little while<br />

<strong>and</strong> then folded, unsure of her own recollection of the event.<br />

The students who designed the skit discussed three variables<br />

that may have impacted conformity: (a) <strong>in</strong>dividual versus<br />

group question<strong>in</strong>g, such that the woman would have been<br />

less likely to conform had she been questioned <strong>in</strong>dividually;<br />

(b) presence or absence of a partner, such that the woman<br />

would have been less likely to conform if just one other person<br />

had supported her story; <strong>and</strong> (c) relatedness to victim,<br />

such that if the woman had been related to the victim she<br />

may have been less likely to doubt what she saw.<br />

After each skit was over, I led the class <strong>in</strong> a brief discussion.<br />

For example, after Skit 2, I asked whether the woman’s<br />

behavior illustrated normative or <strong>in</strong>formational conformity.<br />

Then I asked students to describe how they would test the<br />

present<strong>in</strong>g group’s predictions. Thus, through these group<br />

demonstrations, students applied their knowledge of all topics,<br />

not just their own.<br />

Evaluation <strong>and</strong> Discussion<br />

Students evaluated the activity dur<strong>in</strong>g the f<strong>in</strong>al 5 m<strong>in</strong> of<br />

class. The results appear <strong>in</strong> Table 1.<br />

On a scale rang<strong>in</strong>g from 1 (strongly disagree)to4(neutral)to<br />

7(strongly agree), 78% agreed or strongly agreed that the activity<br />

was useful <strong>in</strong> accomplish<strong>in</strong>g its objectives. Eighty percent<br />

disagreedorstronglydisagreedwiththestatement,“Theactivity<br />

was a waste of time.” Sixty percent disagreed or strongly disagreed<br />

with the statement, “I would have preferred to have a<br />

Vol. 28, No. 4, 2001 261


Table 1. Student Evaluations of the <strong>Social</strong> Influence Class Activity<br />

Statement M SD Mode<br />

1. The group activity helped me to better underst<strong>and</strong> obedience <strong>and</strong> variables that <strong>in</strong>fluence obedience. 5.65 1.37 6.00<br />

2. The group activity helped me to better underst<strong>and</strong> conformity <strong>and</strong> variables that <strong>in</strong>fluence conformity. 5.82 1.33 6.00<br />

3. The group activity helped me to better underst<strong>and</strong> social roles <strong>and</strong> variables that <strong>in</strong>fluence social roles. 5.48 1.31 6.00<br />

4. The activity <strong>in</strong>creased my awareness of how obedience may occur <strong>in</strong> my daily life. 5.65 1.35 6.00<br />

5. The activity <strong>in</strong>creased my awareness of how conformity may occur <strong>in</strong> my daily life. 5.79 1.40 6.00<br />

6. The activity <strong>in</strong>creased my awareness of how the <strong>in</strong>fluence of social roles may occur <strong>in</strong> my daily life. 5.51 1.38 6.00<br />

7. Overall, the activity was useful <strong>in</strong> accomplish<strong>in</strong>g its objectives. 5.94 1.52 7.00<br />

8. The activity was a waste of time. 2.14 1.87 1.00<br />

9. The activity would have been better conducted as a written assignment. 2.71 2.02 1.00<br />

10. Present<strong>in</strong>g the <strong>in</strong>formation orally <strong>in</strong> front of the class was a good idea. 5.25 1.66 7.00<br />

11. The activity was enjoyable. 5.63 1.66 7.00<br />

12. The activity was challeng<strong>in</strong>g. 4.83 1.71 5.00<br />

13. I would have preferred to receive a lecture on the <strong>in</strong>formation. 2.91 2.15 1.00<br />

14. I would recommend us<strong>in</strong>g the activity aga<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> other <strong>in</strong>troductory psychology classes. 5.85 1.70 7.00<br />

Note. Rat<strong>in</strong>gs were based on a scale rang<strong>in</strong>g from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (neutral) to 7 (strongly agree).<br />

lecture on the <strong>in</strong>formation.” F<strong>in</strong>ally, 74% agreed or strongly<br />

agreed that they would recommend us<strong>in</strong>g the activity aga<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong><br />

other <strong>in</strong>troductory psychology classes. These self-report data,<br />

however, do not directly assess student learn<strong>in</strong>g. Future studies<br />

of this technique could <strong>in</strong>clude two groups, one that completes<br />

this activity <strong>and</strong> another that receives a lecture, <strong>and</strong><br />

then assess group differences <strong>in</strong> exam performance.<br />

The evaluations are encourag<strong>in</strong>g, for at least two reasons.<br />

First, 65 students completed the activity <strong>in</strong> one class session.<br />

Although 65 is not as large as some classes, small-group work<br />

<strong>and</strong> class presentations are often difficult to accomplish with<br />

more than 30 or 35 students. Second, students at large universities<br />

such as the University of Texas are accustomed to<br />

classes <strong>in</strong> which active learn<strong>in</strong>g is not a primary component<br />

of their education. Students often expect to be passive recipients<br />

of new <strong>in</strong>formation <strong>and</strong> are generally not required to apply<br />

the <strong>in</strong>formation they receive until they have an exam <strong>in</strong><br />

h<strong>and</strong>. I f<strong>in</strong>d it encourag<strong>in</strong>g that, <strong>in</strong> addition to complet<strong>in</strong>g the<br />

activity <strong>in</strong> a mature <strong>and</strong> creative manner, the majority of the<br />

students enjoyed the activity. The success I had with this activity<br />

illustrates that active learn<strong>in</strong>g strategies—specifically,<br />

small-group activities—can be effective even at large <strong>in</strong>stitutions<br />

<strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong> relatively large classes. In larger classes <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong><br />

50-m<strong>in</strong> sections, <strong>in</strong>structors might ask students to read the<br />

material before com<strong>in</strong>g to class. Instructors might also choose<br />

at r<strong>and</strong>om two or three groups to present, thereby sav<strong>in</strong>g time<br />

<strong>and</strong> possibly <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g students’ perceived accountability for<br />

learn<strong>in</strong>g the material.<br />

Instructors can implement this technique with other topics<br />

such as stages of cognitive development, classical condition<strong>in</strong>g,<br />

<strong>and</strong> positive <strong>and</strong> negative re<strong>in</strong>forcement—topics<br />

that can be relatively difficult for students to master. If the<br />

activity is brief <strong>and</strong> structured <strong>and</strong> students perceive it as<br />

necessary for thorough comprehension of the material, then<br />

students can be active participants <strong>in</strong> their education <strong>and</strong><br />

thus be more effective learners, even <strong>in</strong> large classrooms.<br />

References<br />

Asch, S. E. (1956). Studies of <strong>in</strong>dependence <strong>and</strong> conformity: A m<strong>in</strong>ority<br />

of one aga<strong>in</strong>st a unanimous majority. Psychological Monographs:<br />

General <strong>and</strong> Applied, 70, 1–69.<br />

Balch, W. R. (1983). The use of role-play<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> a classroom demonstration<br />

of client-centered therapy. Teach<strong>in</strong>g of Psychology, 10,<br />

173–174.<br />

Brothen, T. (Consult<strong>in</strong>g Ed.), & Spald<strong>in</strong>g, B. A. (Director). (1992).<br />

Psychology classics [Film]. (Available from McGraw-Hill, New<br />

York)<br />

Gray, P. (1991). Psychology. New York: Worth.<br />

Hamilton, S. B., & Knox, T. A. (1985). The colossal neuron:<br />

Act<strong>in</strong>g out physiological psychology. Teach<strong>in</strong>g of Psychology, 12,<br />

153–156.<br />

Haney, C., Banks, C., & Zimbardo, P. (1973). Interpersonal dynamics<br />

<strong>in</strong> a simulated prison. International Journal of Crim<strong>in</strong>ology & Penology,<br />

1, 69–97.<br />

Kalat, J. W. (1996). Introduction to psychology (4th ed.). Pacific<br />

Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.<br />

McKeachie, W. J. (1994). Teach<strong>in</strong>g tips (9th ed.). Lex<strong>in</strong>gton, MA:<br />

Heath.<br />

Milgram, S. (1963). Behavioral study of obedience. Journal of Abnormal<br />

<strong>and</strong> <strong>Social</strong> Psychology, 67, 371–378.<br />

Milgram, S. (1974). <strong>Obedience</strong> to authority: An experimental review.<br />

New York: Harper & Row.<br />

Myers, D. G. (1996). Explor<strong>in</strong>g psychology (3rd ed.). New York:<br />

Worth.<br />

Schallert, D. L., Reed, J. H., Turner, J. E., & McCann, E. J. (1997,<br />

April). Engagement <strong>in</strong> long-term academic tasks: The fluctuat<strong>in</strong>g,<br />

complementary role of <strong>in</strong>volvement <strong>and</strong> volition. Paper presented at<br />

the meet<strong>in</strong>g of the American Educational Research Association,<br />

Chicago.<br />

Wann, D. L. (1993). Perform<strong>in</strong>g experiments <strong>in</strong> undergraduate social<br />

psychology classes. Teach<strong>in</strong>g of Psychology, 20, 235–236.<br />

Westen, D. (1999). Psychology: M<strong>in</strong>d, bra<strong>in</strong>, <strong>and</strong> culture (2nd ed.).<br />

New York: Wiley.<br />

Zimbardo, P. G. (1973). On the ethics of <strong>in</strong>tervention <strong>in</strong> human psychological<br />

research: With special reference to the Stanford prison<br />

experiment. Cognition, 2, 243–256.<br />

Notes<br />

1. I thank Traci Giuliano, JoyLynn Reed, <strong>and</strong> Wendy Domjan<br />

for their helpful suggestions on an earlier version of this article.<br />

2. Send correspondence to April L. Bleske-Rechek, V<strong>and</strong>erbilt<br />

University, Department of Psychology <strong>and</strong> Human Development,<br />

Box 512 Peabody Station, Nashville, TN 37203; e-mail:<br />

april.bleske@v<strong>and</strong>erbilt.edu.<br />

262 Teach<strong>in</strong>g of Psychology


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