types and explantions for conformtiy Flashcards
what is internalisation
occurs when a person genuinely accepts the group norms
results in a private as well as public change of opinions and behaviour
change is usually permanent because the attitudes have been internalised
change in opinion and behaviour persists even in the absence of other group members
what is identification
sometimes we conform to the opinions and behaviours of a group because there is something about the group we value
we identify with the group so we want to be part of it
this identification may mean we publicly change our opinions and behaviour to be accepted by the group even if we don’t privately agree
what is compliance
involves going along with others in public but privately not changing personal opinions or behaviours
superficial change
behaviour and opinion stops as soon as group pressure stops
what is normative social influence
norms regulate the behaviour of the groups and individuals
people do not like to appear foolish and prefer to gain social approval rather than be regectedb
NSI is an emotional process
likely to occur in situations with strangers where you’re scared of rejection
may also occur with people you know because scared about social approval of our friends
conformity - types
Kerman suggested there were three ways in which people conform to the opinion of the majority
explanations for conformity
Deutsch and Gerald developed a two process theory arguing there are two main reasons people conform to
based on two centeral human needs - need to be right and need to be liked
informational social influence
about who has the better information
often uncertain about what behaviour or beliefs are right or wrongs
follow the behaviour of the group because we want to be right
cognitive process
leads to permanent change in opinion / behaviour
most likely to happen in situations that are new to the person
give a strength of types NSI
research support for NSI
strength - evidence supports it as an explanation for conformity
example - asch interviewed his participants some said they conformed because they felt self conscious giving the correct answer and they were afraid of disapproval
when participants wrote their answers down conformity fell to 12.5%
because giving answers privately meant there was no normative group pressure
shows that at least some conformity is due to a desire not to be rejected by the group for disagreeing with them
give one strength for ISI
research support for ISI
strength - research evidence to support ISI from the study by Lucas et al
found that participants conformed more often to incorrect answers when the problem was difficult
participants didn’t want to be wrong so they relied on the answers they were given
shows that ISI is a valid explanation of conformity because the results are what ISI would predict
give a limitation for NSI
individual difference in NSI
limitation is that NSI does not predict conformity in every case
some people are greatly concerned with been liked by others
such people are called affiliates they have a strong need for affiliation
McGhee and Teevan found that students who were affiliations were more likely to conform
shows that NSI underlies conformity for some people more than it does for others
individual differences in conformity that cannot be fully explained by one general theory of situational pressures
