Conformity: Types and Explanations Flashcards
Conformity: Types of Conformity
Internalisation
- Internalisation occurs when a person genuinely accepts the group norms.
- This results in private as well as public change of opinions and behaviour.
- This change is usually permanent as the attitudes have been internalised and it persists even in the absense of group members.
Conformity: Types of Conformity
Identification
- Sometimes we conform to the opinions and behaviour of others in a group because there is something about that group that we value.
- We identify with the group and want to be a part of it.
- This identification may mean we publically change our opinion to be accepted by the group but we don’t privately agree with everything they stand for.
Conformity: Types of Conformity
Compliance
- This type of conformity involves just ‘going along with others’ in public, but privately not changing personal opinions or behaviour.
- Compliance results in superficial change and means that a particular group behaviour stop as soon as the group pressure stops.
Conformity: Explanations for Conformity
Informational Social Influence (ISI)
- Explanation for conformity based on who is more knowledgable about a topic - it centres around us agreeing with the opinion of other and wanting to be correct.
- If we believe other people’s responses are correct and we are incorrect, then we will accept their response because we want to be right as well.
- It is most likely to happen in situations that are unfamiliar to a person or where there is ambiguity, or in crisis situations where decisions have to be made quickly and we assume the majority is right.
Conformity: Explanations for Conformity
Normative Social Influence (NSI)
- NSI is about what is ‘normal’ or typical behaviour for a social group.
- Norms regulate the behaviour of groups and individuals so it is not surprising we pay attention to them.
- People prefer to gain social approval over appearing foolish or ‘abnormal’ - meaning NSI is an emotional rather than cognitive process that leads to a temporary change in opinions or behaviour (compliance).
- NSI is likely to occur in situations with strangers where you feel concerned about rejection.
- It may be more pronounced in stressful situations where people have a greater need social support.
Explanations for Conformity: Evaluation
Research Support for NSI
Strength
- Evidence supports NSI as an explanation for conformity.
- Asch interviewed his participants and some said they conformed because they were self-conscious and concerned about disapproval.
- Conformity fell it 12.5% when participants wrote their answers down.
- This was because giving answers privately means there’s no normative group pressure.
This shows that at least some conformity is due to the desire not to be rejected by the group for disagreeing.
Explanations for Conformity: Evaluation
Research Support for ISI
Strength
- There is research support from Lucas (2006) for ISI.
- Lucas found participants conformed more often to incorrect answers when given math problems that were more difficult.
- This is because when problems increase in difficulty the answers become more ambiguous and participants don’t want to be wrong, so they relied on answers they were given.
- This shows ISI is a valid explanation of conformity because Lucas’s results are what the theory would predict.
- However, Asch found conformity is reduced when a dissenter is present meaning they may reduce the impact of NSI for reduce ISI because it offers an alternative source of information.
This means it is hard to separate NSI and ISI and both processes likely operate together in real-world conformity.
Explanations for Conformity: Evaluation
Individual Differences in NSI
Limitation
- NSI does not always predict conformity.
- People who are greatly concerned with being liked by others are called nAffliators.
- Due to their strong need for affliation they are more likely to conform.
This shows NSI has a greater impact on some people than it does for others, meaning conformity cannot be explained by one general theory of social pressures.
