Lesson 2 - Explanations for Conformity Flashcards

1
Q

Who developed a theory to explain why people conform ?

A

Deutsch and Gerrard (1955)

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2
Q

What are the two reason people conform ?

A

NSI and ISI

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3
Q

What is normative social influence ?

A

When people have a need to be accepted and liked or don’t want to be rejected or ridiculed. Normally leads to compliance

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4
Q

What is information social influence ?

A

When people have a need to be correct. This normally leads to internalisation

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5
Q

What are the strengths of ISI ?

A

There is research support. Lucas et al (2006) asked students to answer maths problems that were easy and hard. He found that conformity occurred more when the problems were difficult especially between the students who felt their mathematical skills were poor.

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6
Q

What are the strengths of NSI ?

A

There is research support. Asch (1951) found that many of his participants clearly went along with the wrong answer because others did. These participants feared rejection. Asch did the experiment with the length of lines.

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7
Q

What are the weaknesses of ISI ?

A

There are individual differences in ISI. Some research has shown that not everyone shows ISI and it depends on the person. For example Asch (1955) found that students were not as conformist (28%) as other type of participants (37%).
Many of the studies that support ISI are carried out in labs and do not reflect real life situations (eg. Asch). This means that the studies lack ecological validity.

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8
Q

What are the weaknesses of NSI ?

A

There are individual differences in NSI. Some research has shown not every individual has shown NSI. For example, some people who are not concerned about being liked might not show NSI. These people are describes as nAffiliators.
NSI also lacks ecological validity as the studies supporting NSI were mostly carried out in a lab which doesn’t reflect real life situations.

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