1 - Conformity: Types + Explanations

Question 1

What is conformity?

Answer 1

Change in an individual’s behaviour due to real or imagined pressure from another person/group

Question 2

What are the three types of conformity?

Answer 2

• Compliance
• Identification
• Internalisation

Question 3

What is compliance?

Answer 3

Conforming temporarily in public, despite privately not changing own contrasting opinion/behaviour

• Least severe
• Change in behaviour only in public when pressure applied

Question 4

Give an example of compliance

Answer 4

Laughing at a joke somebody says in public, but not finding it funny

Question 5

What is identification?

Answer 5

Conforming to fit the standards of a group be identify with or value, despite not privately agreeing with everything they stand for

• Medium severity
• Change in behaviour in public + sometimes in private, in order to fit group

Question 6

Give an example of identification

Answer 6

Wearing jeans you wouldn’t have chosen for yourself, but are the style worn by all of the popular group at school, who you value and want to fit in with

Question 7

What is internalisation?

Answer 7

Genuinely accepting the majority view permanently, resulting in permanent opinion/behaviour change

• Most severe
• Believe in conforming publicly + privately, even when pressure removed

Question 8

Give an example of internalisation

Answer 8

Converting religion

Question 9

What are the two explanations for conformity?

Answer 9

• Informational Social Influence (ISI)

- Normative Social Influence (NSI)

Question 10

What is Informational Social Influence (ISI)?

Answer 10

Conforming to majority view because you believe this is correct

• Cognitive process
• Associated with internalisation
• Fuelled by desire to be RIGHT

Question 11

In what situations is ISI common?

Answer 11

• Situation is ambiguous, so individual is unsure how to act
• Another person/group is viewed as expert, holding superior knowledge of the right answer/thing to do

Question 12

Give one positive evaluation point for ISI?

Answer 12

Research support

• Lucas et al (2006)
• Asked students to give answers to increasingly hard maths problems
• Conformity increased with difficulty of problem (most significantly in those who rated their confidence in maths as low)
• Supports idea that conformity increases when situations become ambiguous, due to human desire to be right

Question 13

Give one negative evaluation point for ISI?

Answer 13

Impact of individual differences not considered

• Perrin + Spencer (1980)
• Found less conformity to Asch’s procedure in engineering students, who had confidence in precision
• Suggests individual differences impact likelihood to conform, limiting validity of ISI as a blanket explanation for conformity

Question 14

What is Normative Social Influence (NSI)?

Answer 14

Conforming to majority view because you want to fit the norm

• Emotional process
• Associated with compliance + identification
• Fuelled by desire to be LIKED

Question 15

In what situations is NSI common?

Answer 15

• Don’t know social norms

- Around a valued group (e.g. friends) that you want to impress

Question 16

Give one positive evaluation point for NSI?

Answer 16

Research support

• Asch (1951)
• Found conformity dropped to 12.5% when he varied his procedure by asking ppts to write down their answers
• Supports idea that individuals conform to gain social acceptance, despite sometimes feeling confident in their own opinion

Question 17

Give one negative evaluation point for NSI?

Answer 17

Impact of individual differences not considered

• McGhee + Teevan (1967)
• Proposed idea that nAffiliators (people who have greater need for social acceptance) conform more
• Since suggested that women + those in collectivist cultures rely more on pleasing the group, so conform more
• Suggests individual differences impact likelihood to conform, limiting validity of NSI as a blanket explanation for conformity

Question 18

Who proposed the two-process theory? When?

Answer 18

Deutsch + Gerard (1955)

Question 19

What is the two-process theory?

Answer 19

Concept that people conform due to two human needs: to be right (ISI) + to be liked (NSI)

Question 20

Why has the two-process theory received some criticism?

Answer 20

Focuses on NSI + ISI being the two separate causes of conformity, but sometimes it is hard to distinguish between the two, suggesting they may not be two exclusive processes, but instead work together in combination sometimes