PAPER 1 - Social Influence - Types and explanations of conformity Flashcards
What is internalisation?
When a person genuinely accepts group norms and thinks they’re right.
It results in a private as well as public change of opinions/behaviour.
The change is usually permanent and persists in the absence of group members because attitudes have become part of how the person thinks (internalised)
What is identification?
When we identify with a group that we value, we want to become part of it.
So we publicly change our opinions/behaviours, even if we don’t privately agree with everything the group stands for.
What is compliance?
Involves ‘going along with others’ in public temporarily, but privately not changing opinions/behaviour.
This results in only a superficial change and the opinion/behaviour stops as soon as group pressure ceases.
What is informational social influence (ISI) as an explanation for conformity?
ISI is about a desire to be right…often we are uncertain about what behaviour or belief are right or wrong. You may not know the answer to a question in class, but if most of your class gives an answer, you go along with them because you feel they are probably right.
ISI is a cognitive process - people generally want to be right.
ISI leads to internalisation.
What situations does ISI occur in?
ISI occurs in situations that are new or where there is some ambiguity, so it isn’t clear what is right.
It may happen when decisions have to be made quickly when we assume the group is likely to be right.
What is normative social influence (NSI) as an explanation for conformity?
NSI is about norms and a desire to behave like others and not look foolish. Norms regulate the behaviour of groups and individuals.
NSI is an emotional rather than cognitive process - people prefer social approval rather than rejection. NSI leads to compliance.
What situations does NSI occur in?
NSI occurs in unfamiliar situations and with people you know where you don’t know the norms and look to others about how to behave.
It also occurs with strangers if you don’t want to be rejected or with people we know because we are concerned with their approval.
It may be pronounced in more stressful situations where people have a need for social support.
Evaluate how NSI is strong because of its research support.
Asch 1951 found that many participants conformed rather than give the correct answer because they were afraid of disapproval.
When participants wrote down answers (no normative pressure), conformity fell to 12.5%.
This shows that at least some conformity is due to a desire not to be rejected by the group disagreeing with them.
Evaluate how ISI is strong because of its research support.
Lucas et al. 2006 found participants conformed more to incorrect answers when maths problems were difficult (with easy problems, participants ‘knew their own minds’).
For hard problems the situation was ambiguous (unclear) so they relied on the answers they were given.
This supports ISI because the results are what ISI would predict.
COUNTERPOINT…it is unclear if NSI or ISI operate in studies and real life. A dissenter may reduce the power of NSI (social support) or reduce the power of ISI (alternative source).
Therefore, ISI and NSI are hard to separate and operate together in most real-world situations.
Evaluate how NSI is limited due to individual differences.
Some people are concerned about being like by others e.g. nAffiliators who have a strong need for affiliation (need to relate to other people).
McGhee and Teevan 1967 found that students who were nAffiliators were more likely to conform.
This shows NSI underlies conformity for some people more than for others - an individual difference not explained by a theory of situational pressures.
Evaluate the usefulness of the NSI/ISI distinction.
Lucas et al.’s study shows that NSI/ISI distinction may not be useful as it is impossible to work out which is operating.
However, Asch’s research supports both NSI and ISI.
Therefore, overall both concepts are useful because they can be identified and used to explain the reasons for conformity in studies and real-world situations.
