Social influence: Conformity Flashcards
(31 cards)
define conformity
a change in a person behaviour or opinion as a result of real/imagined pressure from a person/group
what are the 3 types of conformity according to Kelman?
compliance, identification and internalization
describe compliance
lowest level of conformity, involves ‘going along with others’ in public but not changing beliefs or behaviour in private. results in superficial, short-term change
describe identification
middle level of conformity. A person values something about a group and identifies with it. they change public behaviour and opinions, but only while in presence of group they are identifying with
describe internalisation
deepest level of conformity. involves a person genuinely accepting the groups norms. Changes belief and behavior both publicly and privately. attitudes internalised so the change may be permanent, even on absence of group members
who developed the two process theory?
Deutsch and Gerard
what is the two process theory?
argues the two main reasons people conform: informational social influence (ISI), normative social influence (NSI)
describe ISI
the need to be right, about who has the better information, often uncertain about what behaviours or beliefs are right or wrong, so we look at others for guidance.
what kind of process is ISI?
cognitive process
when is ISI likely to happen?
situations that are new, ambiguous situations, crisis situations and situations where one group/person is seen as more expert
describe NSI
what is ‘normal’ or typical behaviour for a social group. Follow group norms to avoid appearing foolish. prefer to gain social approval, rather than be rejected
what kind of process is NSI?
emotional process
when is NSI likely to occur?
situations where you may feel concerned about rejection. May also occur with people we know due to social approval and stressful situations
give an example of research support for ISI
Lucas et al, asked students to answer maths problems that were easy or more difficult. they were given 3 previous p’s answers to look at (all with same wrong answer)- greater conformity with difficult questions. this was tru for most students who rated their mathematical ability as poor
what individual differences impact NSI
people who are less concerned with being liked are less affected by NSI. those with care about being liked have greater need for affiliation- naffiliators.
who found that individuals with greater need for affiliation were more likely to conform?
McGhee and Teevan
why is conformity reduced when there is a dissenting confederate?
may reduce power of NSI as the dissenter provides social support. May reduce power of ISI as there is alternative source of info
how does Deutsch and Gerrards two process model work together?
both processes are usually involved(ISI and NSI) because you may want to be right so you fit in and are liked
but the two process model may ______ conformity
oversimplify
when Asch repeated his study and asked participants to write down their answer instead of saying them out loud what did the conformity rates fall to?
they fell from 36.8% to 12.5%
describe Asch’s sampling of his research into conformity?
- 123 male American
- undergraduates
- each naive participant was tested individually with a group of 6-8 confederates
describe Asch’s procedure into his research of conformity
- 1 standard line, 3 comparison lines. one of the 3 lines was the same as the standard line
- participants were asked to say which of the three matched the standard
- confederates gave correct answers for the first few trials but then began to give the same wrong answers
- naive participant always sat next to last
describe the finding into Asch’s research on conformity
- on first few trial participants gave correct answer
- once confederates started to give wrong answer, on average genuine participants agreed on incorrect answers 36.8% of the time
____ of Asch study did not conform but _____ conformed at least once
25% of Asch study did not conform but 75% conformed at least once
