Conformity: types and explanations

Question 1

what are the 3 types of conformity?

Answer 1

internalisation
identification
compliance

Question 2

internalisation

Answer 2

a private as well as a public change of opinions/behaviour. This change is usually permanent because attitudes have been internalised.

Question 3

identification

Answer 3

publicly change our opinions/behaviour to be accepted by a group, even if we don’t privately agree with everything the group stands for. We identify with the group, and want to be a part of it.

Question 4

compliance

Answer 4

compliance results in a superficial change. It is simply going along with others in public, but privately not changing views or behaviour. It also means that a particular behaviour or opinion stops as soon as group pressure stops.

Question 5

what are the 2 explanations for conformity

Answer 5

There’s a two-process theory, arguing there’s two main reasons people conform. The need to be liked and the need to be right

need to be liked - NSI
need to be right - ISI

Question 6

informational social influence

Answer 6

We follow the behaviour of the group (the majority) because we want to be right. ISI is more likely to happen in situations where there is ambiguity, a crisis, or where we perceive others to be an expert. ISI leads to internalisation

Question 7

normative social influence

Answer 7

We agree with the majority because we have a desire to be liked and fit in and gain social approval. NSI may be more pronounced in stressful situations where people have a greater need for social support. NSI leads to compliance.

Question 8

Evaluation of types and explanations of conformity (brief)

Answer 8

strength - support for NSI
strength - support for ISI HOWEVER unclear
weakness - doesnt predict in every case

Question 9

strength of types and explanations of conformity

Answer 9

research support for NSI. For example, when Asch interviewed his participants, some said they conformed because they felt self-conscious giving the correct answer and were afraid of disapproval. When participants wrote their answers down, conformity fell to 12.5%. This is because there was no normative group pressure. Therefore, this shows that some conformity is due to a desire to not be rejected by a group for disagreeing with them.

research support for ISI. For example, Lucas et al found that participants conformed more often to incorrect answers when they were given more difficult math’s questions. This is because the situation became ambiguous when the questions were hard. The participants didn’t want to be wrong, so conformed to the answers given. Therefore, this shows ISI is a valid explanation for conformity. HOWEVER, it is often unclear whether it is ISI or NSI at work in research studies. For example, the dissenter in Asch’s study may reduce the power of NSI, due to them providing social support. Or the dissenter may reduce the power of ISI, due to an alternate source of social information. Therefore, it is hard to separate ISI and NSI as both processes are probable causes.

Question 10

weakness of types and explanations of conformity

Answer 10

NSI doesn’t predict conformity in every case. nAffiliators are greatly concerned with being liked by others. McGhee and Teevan found students who were nAffiliators were more likely to conform. Therefore, this shows that NSI underlies conformity for some people more than it does for others. There are individual differences in conformity that cannot be fully explained by one general theory of situational pressures.