Conformity Flashcards
What are the 3 types of conformity?
Internalisation,
Identification,
Compliance.
Who came up with the 3 types of conformity?
Kelman (1958)
What does conformity mean?
A change in a person’s behaviour or opinion as a result of real or imagined pressure from a person or group of people.
What is internalisation?
Occurs when an individual genuinely accepts the group norms.
This results in a public and private change to opinion/behaviour.
Change is likely to be permanent.
Change persists even in absence of other group members.
What is identification?
We conform as there is something about the group that we value.
We identify with the group so want to be a part of it.
Publicly change our views/behaviour to reach this goal but not privately.
What is compliance?
‘Going along with others’ in public but not privately changing opinion/behaviour.
Superficial change.
Means that particular behaviour or opinion stops as soon as group pressure stops.
What are the 2 reasons why someone conforms according to Deutsch and Gerard (1955)?
Informational social influence and normative social influence.
What is informational social influence?
ISI states that we conform because of the need to be right.
We conform because we think that the other person/group of people is likely to be right.
ISI is a cognitive process.
Most likely to happen in situations where there is ambiguity, situations that are new to a person so it isn’t clear what is right, in crisis situations where a decision has to be made quickly and when we perceive someone else as being an expert.
When is conformity due to ISI likely to occur?
Most likely to happen in situations where there is ambiguity,
situations that are new to a person so it isn’t clear what is right,
in crisis situations where a decision has to be made quickly,
when we perceive someone else as being an expert.
What is normative social influence?
About norms - regulate behaviour for a social group. We conform because of the need to be right.
Conform as we don’t want to appear as foolish and want to gain social approval.
Don’t want to be rejected.
When is conformity due to NSI likely to occur?
Occur in situations with strangers where we concern being rejected.
Occur with people we know as we want to be achieve social approval from friends.
Occur in stressful situations where we need social support.
