Explanations For Conformity Flashcards
What is Normative Social Influence (NSI)?
NSI refers to the expected ‘norms’ of a situation, where people conform to be liked and accepted by others in the group/society.
NSI leads to public compliance without necessarily changing private beliefs.
What is Informational Social Influence (ISI)?
ISI relates to an individual’s experience of ‘uncertainty’ in a situation, motivated by a need to be right/correct.
ISI often occurs in ambiguous situations where individuals seek information from others.
In what type of situations is ISI most commonly observed?
ISI is most common in new or ambiguous situations.
Individuals seek certainty by looking to others for guidance.
What is the primary motivation behind Normative Social Influence?
The primary motivation is to be liked and accepted by others.
This often results in public conformity without private agreement.
What is the outcome of compliance in NSI?
Compliance usually produces a very short-term change in behavior.
Individuals may publicly agree with the group but privately hold different views.
What is the outcome of internalization in ISI?
Internalization results in a lasting change in the person’s public and private behaviors/beliefs.
This occurs when individuals fully adopt the group’s behaviors/beliefs.
What individual differences affect susceptibility to NSI and ISI?
Individuals with a strong internal locus of control may resist conformity pressures due to confidence in their own viewpoints.
This behavioral response is not fully explained by NSI or ISI.
Asch-normative social influence A03
Found participants conformed to 32% of critical trials, stating an (obviously) incorrect line length
During the debrief many conformed because they did not want to feel the disapproval of the rest of the group(majority)
Therefore validates the claims of normative social influence as an explanation for conformity
Asch-informational social influence A03
Increased task difficulty by making the paragraph lines more similar to each other
Naive participants were more likely to conform to the majority(the confederates) stating the incorrect line length
So in reduced certainty situations conformity is more likely to be obtained
Individuals will look to guidance for the correct response=validation of ISI
Limitation- difficulty of separating effects of NSI and ISI
If a person conforms to a group because they think the group are right (ISI) this may be further influenced by not wanting to be rejected by the group (NSI) for saying an incorrect answer
So rather than working independently, the two processes work in a complimentary or integrated way
Limitation-individual(dispositional) differences whether people are likely to be influenced by ISI and NSI
Individuals with a strong internal locus of control may not conform even with pressures to fit in or be right
They have confidence in their own viewpoint and so will resist the pressures to conform
This type of behavioural response cannot be accounted for by these explanations
