Psychology A2 - concept two - social

Question 1

three types of conformity

Answer 1

-Kelman (1958)
1. internalisation
2. compliance
3. identification

Question 2

1. internalisation

Answer 2

-genuinely agree with view of group, publicly change view and behave like the rest of the group
-group’s opinion becomes part of how we think (internalise it)
-deep, permanent type of conformity
-continue to conform with group even when other members aren’t present
-most likely to occur due to ISI – think group’s view is right
-example, becoming vegan because everyone in your group is vegan

Question 3

1. internalisation – Asch’s research

Answer 3

-no evidence of internalisation, group wasn’t together long
-was no meaningful opinions or values for the pps to internalise

Question 4

2. compliance

Answer 4

-‘go along’ with group but in private we don’t change our opinion/behaviour
-shallow, temporary type of conformity, agreement with group ends when they aren’t present anymore
-compliance most likely to occur due to NSI – want group to accept us
-example, agreeing with friends choice of movies, but don’t like the movie

Question 5

2. compliance – Asch’s research

Answer 5

-pps were complying with the rest of the group
-knew the answers the others gave was wrong, chose to ‘go along’ with the group
-publicly agreed, privately disagreed

Question 6

3. identification

Answer 6

-combines internalisation and compliance
-conform because we identify with members of the group
-stronger than compliance because we privately and publicly change some of our views
-weaken than internalisation as we conform only as long as we are part of the group
-example, changing jobs and conforming to a new set of rules

Question 7

3. identification – Asch’s research

Answer 7

-possible that some pps identified with the other people in the group (believed they were in the same boat)
-unlikely because there was nothing particularly attractive or admirable about the group

Question 8

evaluation: practical applications (+)

Answer 8

-can apply knowledge of conformity types to workplace
-some conformity is necessary for society and workplaces to function
-some conformity is destructive, can lead to wrong decisions being made
-example, compliance means everyone at work agrees with one another for the sake of a ‘quiet life’
-on other hand, group can identify with others so strongly that outside voices are silenced
-wrong decisions can be made as group doesn’t consider alternative course of action
-understanding different types, can target destructive conformity to improve decision-making

Question 9

evaluation: research support (+)

Answer 9

-research found evidence for all three types of conformity
-Asch’s pps gave answers they knew were wrong to avoid disappointment
-Orlando (1973), demonstrated identification, investigated how conformity can influence people to behave in extreme ways
-pps in other research have conformed with answers of people they believed had more expertise, shows internalisation (Sherif, 1935)
-supporting studies show that Kelman was right to suggests there is more than one type of conformity

Question 10

evaluation: oversimplification (-)

Answer 10

-our understanding of how conformity operates in real world can be inaccurate
-research doesn’t resemble real-world situations
-Asch’s research = very artificial, group of pps weren’t a ‘real’ group
-identification combines features of compliance and internalisation, so it is hard to separate identification from others
-conformity = oversimplified in research, may be more complex in real world