conformity: types and explanations Flashcards
what is conformity?
Conformity is a type of social influence that can be described as changing your behaviour to go along with the group even if you do not agree with the group.
What are the two types of motivation to conform as identified by Deutsch & Gerard (1955)?
normative social influence and imformational social influence
what is compliance ?
Compliance is where you go along with the group to fit in ( mark) even if you don’t really believe their viewpoint ( mark) for example in Aschs study , many of the naive participants went along with the wrong answers so not to look stupid
how did Aschs study show compliance
in Aschs (1951) studies , participants would comply in public answer questions incorrectly. But in private, they do not agree with the incorrect answers they supplied in public
what is identification
- conform to the groups opinions due to valuing the group
- publicly change our opinions to be part of the group
- privately dont agree with everything the group stands for
(temporary short term change)
what is an example of identification
zimbardos (1971) stanford prison experiment
what is internalisation ?
Internalisation is where you accept the groups beliefs as yours ( mark) . You change both your public and private views ( mark) and it is permanent change as you continue to think this even when not in the group ( mark)
what is the strongest form of comformity ?
internalisation as the groups beliefs become part of the individuals beleif system
What is Normative social influence
Occurs when individuals go along with the majority because of a desire to be liked rather than acceptance of the majority’s point of view .
> they conform to the majority position in public but not in private
What is an example of normative social influence
In aschs (1951) line judgement task , participants complied to fit in and avoid ridicule , an instance of normative social influence
What is informational social influence
occurs when an individual accept the majority viewpoint because it is most likely to be right.
-more likely in an unambiguous situation and where others are seen as experts
What is an example of informational social influence
What to do in an emergency situation, such as if you are in a crowded area and you see smoke you look around to see what everyone else is doing
Evaluation for informational social influence
Study into ISA found more conformity to incorrect maths answers when they were difficult, as predicted by ISI. The study shows that people conform in Situations where they feel they don’t know the answer.
(lucas et al)
Evaluation for normative social influence
Individuals differences suggests that not everyone Will won’t to be liked and fit in. For example people who are less concerned with being liked are less affected by NSI than those who care about being liked Such as Naffilliators
What is the research support in the evaluation of NSI and ISI
Ash
ISI= does not affect everyone’s behaviour in the same way for example, Asch (1955)found that students were less conformist (28%) than other participants (37%)
NSI= Asch (1951) found that many of his participants went along with the wrong answer just because many other people did so when asked they said that they felt self conscious. Asch adapted the study and when participants were asked to right it on a piece of paper conformity dropped to 12.5%
