Social: Key concept 2

Question 1

Compliance

Answer 1

The individual temporarily goes along with the group but goes along with it anyway, usually because they do not want to be rejected.

Question 2

Identification

Answer 2

The individual temporarily goes along with the norms and roles of the group because they see membership as part of their identity.

Question 3

Internalisation

Answer 3

The individual goes along with the group opinion because they genuinely believe it is correct, so private views are changed.

Question 4

Practical applications evaluation

Answer 4

Strength is that we can apply knowledge of conformity types to the workplace. For example, compliance means everyone in a workplace agrees with each other for the sake of a ‘quiet life’. On the other hand, a group can identify with each other so strongly that outside voices are silenced. In both cases, wrong decisions can be made because the group does not consider alternative courses of action. Therefore, by understanding the different types, we can target destructive conformity to improve decision-making in the workplace.

Question 5

Research support evaluation

Answer 5

Strength is that research has found evidence for all three types of conformity. For example, many of Asch’s participants gave answers they knew were wrong to avoid disapproval. Participants in other research have conformed with the answers of people they believed had more expertise than they did, showing internalisation. These supporting studies show that Kelman was right to suggest there is more than one type of conformity.

Question 6

Oversimplification evaluation

Answer 6

Weakness is that our understanding of how conformity operates in the real world may be inaccurate. For example, the task in Asch’s research was extremely artificial, and the grroup of participants was not a ‘real’ group in any meaningful sense. Also, identification combines features of compliance and internalisation, so it is sometimes hard to separate identification from the others in real world situations. Therefore, conformity is oversimplified in research and may be more complex in the real world because the different types overlap.