conformity: types and explanations Flashcards
what is conformity?
a change in a persons behaviour following real or imagined pressure from others
who suggested the 3 forms of conformity?
Herbert Kelman (1958)
what are the 3 types of conformity?
internalisation
identification
compliance
what is the strongest form of conformity and which is the weakest?
strongest- internalisation
weakest- compliance
what is internalisation?
a deep type of conformity where we take in the majority view because we accept it as correct, it leads to far reaching and permanent changes in behaviour, even when the group is absent. changes are reflected privately and publicly.
what is identification?
a moderate type of conformity where we act in the same was as the group because we value it and want to be a part of the group, however we don’t necessarily believe everything the majority believes. we publicly change our behaviour even if we privately disagree with it
what is compliance?
a superficial and temporary type of conformity where we ‘go along with others’ and the majority view. the change in behaviour only lasts as long as the group are monitoring us and it stops when the group pressure stops.
what does the two process theory outline?
says that conformity is based on two central human needs:
•the need to be right
•the need to be liked
this is shown through
informational social influence and
normative social influence
what is informational social influence?
we want to be seen as right so we go along with the decision of the group if we are uncertain whether we are correct or not. this is a cognitive process.
what is normative social influence?
flowing what is normal or typical behaviour of the group. we do not want to feel like an outsider so we agree with the majority to be accepted, gain social approval and be liked. this is an emotional response.
what are the evaluation points for the ISI and NSI?
•Research support for ISI
•Individual differences in NSI
•ISI and NSI work together
strength: research support for ISI
Lucas found that there was more conformity when students were asked more difficult maths questions than easier ones, similar results are shown in Asch’s study (task difficulty)
these show that people conform in situations where they feel they don’t know the answer, which is exactly the outcome predicted by the ISI explanation. we look to other people and assume they know better than us and must be right.
limitation: individual differences in NSI
research shows that NSI does not affect everyone’s behaviour in the same way. people who are less bothered about being liked are less affected by NSI than those who care. these people who need social validation are known as nAffiliators, for example McGhee and Teevan found that students high in need of affiliation were more likely to conform. this shows that the desire to be liked underlies conformity for some people more than others, therefore there are individual differences in the way people respond.
limitation: ISI and NSI work together
the idea of Deutsch and Gerrad’s ‘two-process’ approach is that behaviour is either due to NSI or ISI, however often both processes are involved. conformity is reduced when there is a dissenting participant in Asch’s experiment. This dissenter may reduce the power of NSI or may reduce the power of ISI
this shows that it isn’t always posible to be sure whether NSI or ISI is at work. this is the case in lab studies, but even truer in real-life conformity situations outside the lab. this casts serious doubts over whether the view of ISI and NSI as two processes operating independently in conforming behaviour.
