conformity: types = explanations Flashcards
what does internalisation result in?
both a public and private change of opinions/behaviour
is change likely to be permanent or temporary? (internalisation)
permanent
true or false?
change in behaviour for internalisation persists even in the absence of group
true
what is identification?
conforming to the group because there is something about it that we value
how do opinions change during identification?
publicly change opinions, even if we don’t privately agree with everything the group stands for
what is compliance?
going along with others in public, but privately not changing personal opinions
when does a particular behaviour/opinion stop during compliance?
when the group pressure stops
what type of process is normative social influence (NSI)?
emotional process
why do people conform, according to NSI?
people don’t like to appear foolish and prefer to gain social approval rather than be rejected
when may NSI be more pronounced?
in stressful situations where people have a greater need for social support
what type of process is informational social influence (ISI)?
cognitive process
why do individuals follow the majority, according to ISI?
they want to be right
when is ISI most likely to occur?
new situations
ambiguous situations
crisis situations (e.g. when decisions have to be made quickly)
name a strength of NSI
research support (Asch)
name a weakness of NSI
individual differences (nAffiliators)
name a strength of ISI
research support (Lucas et. al)
name a weakness of both processes
hard to distinguish between NSI + ISI
how does Asch’s research support NSI?
when he interviewed his participants, some said they conformed because they felt self-conscious giving the correct answer + were afraid of disapproval
what % did conformity fall to when Asch’s participants wrote their answers down?
12.5%
why is ‘individual differences’ a weakness for NSI?
desire to be liked (and therefore conform) differs for some people more than others
people who are less concerned with being liked are less affected by NSI
whereas other people (e.g. nAffiliators) are more likely to be influenced by NSI
what is an nAffiliator?
people who have a greater need for affiliation + relationships
what did McGhee + Teevan find out?
students in need of affiliation were more likely to conform
how does Lucas’ research support ISI?
when participants completed maths problems, they conformed more often to incorrect answers when the questions were difficult (they didn’t want to be wrong)
why did the participants rely on other people’s answers in Lucas’ study?
they didn’t want to be wrong
why isn’t it always possible to know whether NSI or ISI is at work?
often both processes are involved at the same time
how does Asch’s study prove that NSI + ISI are conflicting processes?
participants may have conformed to gain social approval + not be embarrassed (NSI) or because they thought the other participants were right (ISI)
a dissenting participant may reduce power of NSI (because they provide social support) or may reduce power of ISI (because there is an alternative source of information)
