Explanations of conformity Flashcards
What are the 2 explanations for conformity?
- Informational social influence
- Normative social influence
What is informational social influence?
- When someone conforms because they want to be right, so will look at others for the right answer
- If a situation is ambiguous or we believe others are experts, then we’ll go along with them as they have superior knowledge.
- It matters who the majority are as we’re likely to be influenced if the majority are people we admire, respect, are similar to ourselves, or are experts.
- It’s driven by cognitive factors, so leads to internalisation.
What is normative social influence?
- Conforming because of a need to be accepted by others and be part of the group. If we conform, we’re rewarded with reinforcement and approval.
- It’s driven by emotional factors, so leads to compliance or sometimes identification.
If the point is:
A strength of the informational social influence explanation for why people conform is that there’s research to support the explanation.
What is the evidence, explanation and link?
Evidence- Asch found a 37% conformity rate to the wrong answer when asking 123 participants a simple visual perception task.
Explanation- When asked afterwards, some participants said that they doubted their own eyesight.
Link- This suggests that some participants conformed due to informational social influence.
If the point is:
A weakness of the explanations for conformity is that a lot of the research is artificial and therefore cannot be generalised to real life settings.
What is the evidence, explanation and link?
Evidence- For example, conforming to a number of strangers when judging lines is very different to conforming to a group in your everyday life.
Explanation- Particularly in a setting that you’re familiar with, as you’re more likely to behave in a manner you’re used to, as you’re comfortable with the setting and the group.
Link- This implies that we cannot fully generalise much of the research findings into conformity, as each situation and setting is unique.
If the point is:
A weakness of either the normative social influence or informational social influence explanation is that it fails to take into account individual differences.
What is the evidence, explanation and link?
Explanation- Some people will be less confident in their beliefs and may have more need to be liked, so it’s impossible for us to say that everyone reacts the same to social influences like conformity.
Evidence- 5% conformed every single time.
Link- This implies that an individual level factor can influence conformity more then originally thought, and Asch didn’t research the roles of individual factors.
If the point is:
A strength of the explanations of conformity is that there’s practical applications for the informational social influence explanation.
What is the evidence, explanation and link?
Explanation- Just being aware that we’re capable of conforming in this way could help companies and organisations use the explanation to alter peoples behaviour.
Example- For example, Schultz conducted a study which looked at placing messages in hotel bathrooms asking customers to think if they needed a clean towel everyday. The messages suggested that a high percentage of guests were helping to save the environment by using their towel more than once.
Link- This study shows that informational social influence was the most powerful explanation for conformity, as those messages that suggested other guests were using fewer towels were more successful.
What are the evaluation points for the explanations of conformity?
+ There is research to support the informational social influence explanation
— A lot of the research is artificial and therefore cannot be generalised to real life settings
— Both explanations fail to take into account individual differences
+ There are practical applications for the informational social influence explanation
