explanations for conformity Flashcards
(8 cards)
normative social influence
Following the crowd, this occurs when an individual conforms because they want to be liked by other members of the group, and want to avoid being rejected. It is not likely to change private opinion, but will affect public opinion. We may do this because we want to seem attractive to others or we want to protect ourselves.
normative SI - Verkooijen et al
Verkooijen et al investigated youth subcultures and the use of drugs and alcohol. They gave a questionnaire to 6000 participants aged 16-20 in Denmark. Those who identified themselves as skater, hip-hop, techno, hippie were most likely to use drugs. Whereas those who identified themselves as nerdy, sporty, religious were less likely to do so. The more strongly they identified themselves as part of their group, the more they conformed to their group norms. This was because they wanted to be liked by the members of the group.
informational social influence
Accepting the majority’s point of view, this occurs when an individual conforms because of the perceived superior knowledge or judgement of others. This tends to lead to a change in private opinion as well as public.
information SI - Pincus
Pincus devised a study where participants had to identify which musical notes were the same, while in the room with a confederate who was a musical expert. This led to an increase in conformity, as participants believed that the confederate had superior knowledge.
AO3 - criticised for separate
The explanations for conformity are sometimes criticised for implying that the 2 types of social influence are separate and independent. However, in reality, these 2 forms of social influence often work together to affect levels of conformity. For example, if a teacher tells you something, you may change your opinion because you believe in their superior knowledge and because everyone else in the class also agrees.
AO3 - practical application
Practical application - researchers changed the behaviour of hotel guests by using printed messages encouraging them to save energy. The messages suggested that other guests were also using fewer bath towels. This led to people conforming and using fewer bath towels, so is an example of normative social influence as people were following a group in order to fit in.
AO3 - Asch
Asch’s line study supports normative social influence. 37% of people conformed to an obviously wrong answer due to the majority stating that it was correct. Many later reported that they did so in order to avoid standing out or being ridiculed.
AO3 - Pincus (lab experiment)
Pincus’ study was a lab experiment, therefore due to being conducted in an artificial setting, it has low ecological validity as it is not representative of everyday life. So the results cannot be generalised.
