conformity Flashcards
definition of conformity
type of social influence
occurs when someone changes their behaviour or beliefs due to real life or imagined pressure from others
what are the names of the 3 types of conformity
compliance
identification
internalisation
compliance
shallowest level of conformity
person changes their public behaviour, the way they act but NOT their private beliefs
short term change
only lasts as long as the group pressure is present
often result of NSI (normative social influence)
identification
middle level of conformity
person changes their public behaviours and their private beliefs
because group members are seen as role models
short term change
not maintained after individuals leave group
result of normative social influence
internalisation
deepest level of conformity
person changes their public behaviour and their private beliefs to match those of the group
long term change
what are the two explanations of conformity
NSI-normative social influence
ISI-informational social influence
NSI
when person conforms to be accepted and feel they belong to the group
person conforms because it is socially rewarding, or to avoid social rejection
usually associated with compliance and identification
ISI
person conforms to gain knowledge or because they believe someone else is right
usually associated with internalisation, where person changes their public and private beliefs
semi-permanent change in behaviour and belief is the result of person adopting a new belief system, generally believe that their own beliefs are right or that the majority are experts
strength-research support for ISI
lucas et al asked students to give answers to mathematical problems that were easy or more difficult
there was greater conformity to incorrect answers when they were difficult rather than easier
strength-research support for NSI
asch study into conformity provides research support for normative social influence
he found that many of the participants went along with obviously wrong answers of the other group members
when asked Asch in post experimental interviews why they did this, participants said they changed their answer to avoid disapproval from the rest of the group
weakness-individual differences
some research shows that NSI does not affect everyone’s behaviour in the same way
strength-real world applications
demonstrate that normative social influence also occurs beyond the artificial lab setting
