Conformity (Majority Influence)

Question 1

What are the 2 types of conformity?

Answer 1

• Compliance

* Internalisation

Question 2

What is the difference between compliance and internalisation?

Answer 2

Compliance is when an individual conforms to the majority behaviours and opinions PUBLICLY, but still holds their own views privately.

Internalisation is when an individual conforms to the majority behaviours and opinions completely, and these beliefs become part of their own belief system.

Question 3

What are the two explanations of why people conform?

Explain the differences, and the types of compliance they relate to.

Answer 3

• Normative Social Influence - people conform out of the desire to be liked and accepted. Linked to compliance
• Informational Social Influence - people conform out of the desire to be right, so they conform to the majority because they believe they are right. Linked to internalisation

Question 4

Describe Sherif’s research into conformity. What were his findings?

Answer 4

He used an optical illusion called the autokinetic effect. Individual participants were required to estimate how much a light moved in a pitch black room (it was stationary but they didn’t know). They were then required to estimate again, but this time in small groups.

Sherif found that individuals tended to change their original estimates once in a group to an answer that was closer to the group norm, suggesting that people look to a group for guidance when a situation is ambiguous, and so this research supports the idea of informational social influence.

Question 5

Describe Asch’s research into conformity. What were his findings?

Answer 5

Asch used 123 male US undergraduates. They were each put in a situation with 7 other people (who were all confederates) looking at a display. He showed them a series of lines and they had to decide which line, a, b or c was the same length as a given stimulus line. The answer was always obvious to make the task unambiguous. The genuine participant was always last to answer out loud.

75% of participants conformed to the group answer at least once, suggesting that there is a pressure to conform to the majority, even if it is obviously wrong.

Question 6

What are the limitations of the research carried out into conformity?

Answer 6

1. Not realistic. Asch’s research was done in a lab, so it could be argued that the participants felt special pressures. It is also an insignificant task, meaning the participants may not have taken it seriously. The amount of conformity may have differed if the task was something more serious like jury duty instead of measuring lines.
2. The participants were all American men in the 50s, meaning that results could be gender bias, culturally bias and a child of its time. Some cultures emphasise the importance of being an individual thinker, so conformity may be less common amongst people from different cultures.