Conformity

Question 1

What is Conformity?

Answer 1

The tendency to change our behaviour and attitude in response to the influence of others or social pressure. This pressure can be real or imagined.

Question 2

What are the three type of Conformity?

Answer 2

1) Compliance
2) Identification
3) Internalisation

Question 3

What are the two explanations of Conformity?

Answer 3

1) Informational social influence (ISI)
2) Normative social influence (NSI)

Question 4

Who outlined the three types of Conformity?

Answer 4

Kelman (1958)

Question 5

What is the explanation of conformity for Compliance?

Answer 5

Normative Social Influence

Question 6

What is the explanation of conformity for Identification?

Answer 6

Normative Social Influence

Question 7

What is the explanation of conformity for Internalisation?

Answer 7

Informational Social Influence

Question 8

What is Compliance?

Answer 8

• Agreeing with the majority in public whilst adhering to your own belief in private.
• It simply involves ‘going along with others’.
• Since the conformity is only superficial, compliance stops when there are no group pressures to conform.
• It is considered not true conformity as it is only temporary and short-term.
• A person’s public opinion may have changed but their private opinion remains the same.

Question 9

What is Identification?

Answer 9

• When we conform to the opinions/behaviours of a group as there is something about that group we value.
• We identify with that group as we wish to be a part of them.
• A person’s public opinion may have changed to become a group member but their private opinion remains the same.
• Identification occurs when we are surrounded by this group that we particularly admire.
• We change our private beliefs while in their presence but not permanently.
• Change in public and private belief but only in the presence of the group.
• A short-term change.
• Identification also occurs when someone conforms to the demands of a given role in society.

Question 10

What is Internalisation?

Answer 10

• When someone conforms because they are truly persuaded that the group is correct, so their own, private and public beliefs correspond to the group norms.
• Conformity based on internalisation continues even when there is no external pressure to conform.
• Change in private and public belief.
• A long-term change.

Question 11

Kelman argues therefore that conformity serves three purposes:

Answer 11

1) Group acceptance - compliance
2) Group membership - identification
3) Acceptance of group norms - internalisation

Question 12

Deutsch and Gerard (1955)

Answer 12

Deutsch and Gerard (1955) developed a two-process theory to explain why people conform. It is based on two human needs: the need to be right (ISI) and the need to be liked (NSI).

Question 13

What is Normative Social Influence?

Answer 13

• Normative Social Influence is when a person conforms to be accepted, or to belong to a group.
• Here a person conforms as it is socially rewarding, or to avoid social punishment.
• It is an emotional process and leads to a temporary change.
• It is likely to occur in situations where we feel concerned about rejection and with people we know as we are most concerned about the social approval of our friends.

Question 14

What is Informational Social Influence?

Answer 14

• When a person conforms to gain knowledge, or because they believe that someone else is ‘right’.
• It is a cognitive process.
• Likely to happen in situations that are new to a person (so you don’t know the right answer) or where there is some ambiguity.
• It also happens in crisis situations where decisions have to be made quickly and we assume the group is more likely to be right.
• For internalisation, this semi-permanent change in behaviour and belief is the result of a person adopting a new belief-system, because they genuinely believe that their new beliefs are ‘right’.

Question 15

Strength

Answer 15

Justify: Lucas et al (2006) asked students to give answers to maths problems that were either easy or more difficult. They found that there was greater conformity to incorrect answers when the question was difficult rather than easy. This was most true for students who rated their mathematical ability as poor.

Implication: This study shows that people will conform in situations where they feel they don’t know the answers. This is predicted by the ISI and therefore gives the explanation evidence.

Question 16

Weakness

Answer 16

Justify: People who are less concerned with being liked are less affected by NSI than those who care more about being liked. Such people are described as nAffilliators; they have a bigger need for affiliation (to be in a relationship with others). McGhee and Teevan found that students with a higher need for affiliation were more likely to conform.

Implication: This shows a desire to be liked is behind some conformity, which is predicted by NSI, but shows there are differences between people in how much NSI influences.

Question 17

Weakness

Answer 17

Justify: Asch (1955) found that students were less conformist than other participants. Perrin and Spencer conducted a study involving science students and found very little conformity.

Implication: Such individual differences are a limitation of the ISI as the explanation assumes ISI affects all people in the same way.

Question 18

Weakness

Answer 18

Justify: The idea behind the two-process is that behaviour is either due to NSI or ISI. But, more often, both processes are involved together. For example, conformity is reduced when there is one other dissenting participant (a person going against conformity) in the Asch experiment. This dissenter may reduce the power of NSI (because they give social support, eg, back up) or may reduce ISI (they are an alternative source of information).

Implication: This shows that it isn’t always possible to be sure whether NSI or ISI is at work. It casts doubt over the view of ISI and NSI as two processes working separately from each other.

Question 19

What can Conformity be further divided into?

Answer 19

1) Majority influence
2) Minority influence

Question 20

What is Majority Influence?

Answer 20

Majority influence refers to when an individual or small group change their attitudes, beliefs or actions to fit in with a larger group, eg, compliance.

Question 21

What is Minority Influence?

Answer 21

Minority influence takes place when an individual or small group influence the majority or larger group to change their attitudes, beliefs or actions, eg, internalisation. (don’t refer to it in the exam for conformity questions as conformity/compliance refers only to majority influence)