conformity Flashcards
What is conformity?
Conformity is when a person changes their beliefs and behaviour to fit those of a group.
What are the types of conformity identified by Kelman (1958)?
Kelman identifies three types of conformity: Compliance, Identification, and Internalisation.
What is compliance conformity?
The weakest type of conformity, where a person publicly changes their behaviour and beliefs to fit that of a group to avoid disapproval, but privately does not accept them.
An example of compliance would be pretending to like a film you dislike so as not to stand out from a group who all really love that film.
What is identification conformity?
Identification is a stronger type of conformity than compliance, where a person both publicly and privately changes their behaviour and beliefs to fit that of a group they want to be part of, but reverts back upon leaving the group.
An example of identification would be adopting the same music and fashion tastes as your friendship group. When you move away, though, you revert back to your old clothes and music.
What is internalisation conformity?
Internalisation is the strongest type of conformity, where a person both publicly and privately changes their behaviour and beliefs to those of a group permanently, maintaining them even after leaving the group.
An example of internalisation would be a person who undergoes a genuine religious conversion. This person will still pray and believe in God even if they move away from the social group of their church.
