Conformity Flashcards
What is conformity?
Conformity is a type of social influence involving a change in belief or behaviour in order to fit in with a group.
What is internalisation?
Internalisation is a type of conformity in which somebody conforms both publicly and privately, and it is the deepest form of conformity.
Give one example of internalisation.
If someone was to conform to the speed limit on a road, because they don’t want to hit somebody.
What is identification?
Identification is when someone conforms both publicly and privately in order to fit in with a group, however it is often just a temporary behavioural change.
Give one example of identification.
If someone was to stand to another country’s national anthem in a crowd in order to not look disrespectful, if they are not originally from that country.
What is compliance?
Compliance is when one conforms publicly, however privately they still disagree, and it is the shallowest form of conformity.
Give one example of compliance.
If someone was to cross the road with the rest of a crowd when the signal to cross isn’t on, when they feel uncomfortable about it.
Which two psychologists suggested the Two Process Theory?
Deutsch and Gerard.
What are the two main desires that make humans conform?
The desire to be liked and the desire to be right.
What is NSI and what does it stand for?
NSI is Normative Social Influence. It is the desire to be liked, and it often leads to compliance in unambiguous situations.
What is ISI and what does it stand for?
ISI is Informational Social Influence. It is the desire to be right, and it often leads to internalisation in ambiguous situations.
What does ambiguous mean?
Open to more than one interpretation.
What does unambiguous mean?
Not open to more than one interpretation.
Briefly explain Asch’s Line Judgement Experiment.
Real, naïve participants were placed alongside 7 confederates, who had agreed their answer in advance. The naïve participant sat second to last, and the 7 confederates deliberately gave incorrect answers before them.
Was Asch’s experiment ambiguous or unambiguous?
Unambiguous, because it was only really open to one interpretation.
What % of Asch’s questions were answered incorrectly?
74%
What % of Asch’s participants gave at least one incorrect answer?
74%
What % of Asch’s participants gave correct answer every time?
26%
What % of Asch’s participants gave an incorrect answer every time?
5%
Why did Asch’s participants conform?
Because they wanted to fit in with the group, because they were afraid of being ridiculed by the other participants for disagreeing.
What were the 3 main variables in Asch’s experiment?
Group size, group unanimity, and task difficulty.
Why was group size an important variable in Asch’s experiment?
As the majority group size increased, the rate of conformity also increased, but only up to a certain point (3 more people).
Why was group unanimity an important variable in Asch’s experiment?
The presence of one confederate before the naïve participant decreased conformity by up to 80%.
Why was task difficulty an important variable in Asch’s experiment?
As the task difficulty increased, so did the rate of conformity.
