Reasons why people resist pressures to conform Flashcards
What are the 4 reasons why people resist pressures to conform?
PrISM
Desire for individuation
Prior commitment
Time to think and find Social support
Desire to maintain control
Explain ‘Desire for individuation’
as a reason why people resist pressures to conform
Snyder and Fromkin (1980) told one group their most important attitudes were identical to thousands of others –> following this, in another part of the study7 they resisted conformity
Explain ‘Prior commitment’
as a reason why people resist pressures to conform
One something is said aloud, you are less likely to conform e.g. referees
> Variations of Asch’s study – participant asked first before all other accomplices gave the wrong answer – when asked ‘are you sure?’ they rarely conformed
Explain ‘Time to think and find social support’
as a reason why people resist pressures to conform
In Asch’s study when an ally was apparent conformity dropped to 8.7%
Time taken to think about decisions being made allows us to become aware of any normative social influence acting upon us
Explain ‘Desire to maintain control’
as a reason why people resist pressures to conform
Most of us hold on to the idea that we can control events in our lives. If we experienced obvious group pressures we may feel that our personal freedom and control had been threatened.
