Social Influence: Conformity

Question 1

What is conformity?

Answer 1

A change in a person’s behaviour or opinions as a result of real or imagined group pressure. It is a form of majority influence.

Question 2

What are the three levels of conformity?

Answer 2

Compliance, identification, and internalisation.

Question 3

What is compliance?

Answer 3

The lowest level of conformity. A person changes their public behaviour, but not their private beliefs. This is usually short-term and is often the result of normative social influence (NSI).

Question 4

What is identification?

Answer 4

The middle level of conformity. A person changes their public behaviour and their private beliefs, but only while they are in the presence of a specific group. This is usually a short-term change and is often the result of normative social influence (NSI).

Question 5

What is internalisation?

Answer 5

The highest level of conformity. A person changes their public behaviour and their private beliefs. This is usually a long-term or permanent change and is often the result of informational social influence (ISI).

Question 6

What are the explanations of conformity?

Answer 6

Normative social influence (NSI) and informational social influence (ISI). These were proposed by Deutsch and Gerard (1955).

Question 7

What is normative social influence (NSI)?

Answer 7

The person conforms because of a need to be accepted by the group. Belonging to a group could be rewarding, or not belonging could lead to punishment. Whilst publicly conforming, individuals privately disagree. Conformity as a result of NSI is often temporary.

Question 8

Name a study that supports NSI.

Answer 8

Asch (1956)
Linkenbach and Perkins (2003)

Question 9

What is informational social influence (ISI)?

Answer 9

The person conforms because of a need to be right. In some social situations, we defer to others and follow them because they might have greater insight.

Question 10

Name a study that supports ISI.

Answer 10

Jenness (1932)
Lucas et al. (2006)

Question 11

Describe the procedure and results of Jenness’ jelly bean study.

Answer 11

Participants made individual judgements about the number of beans in a jar. They were then put into groups to discuss and then made a second private estimate. The second estimate moved closer to the group estimate, suggesting there was ISI as participants were more likely to look to others due to the ambiguity of the task.

Question 12

Describe the procedure and results of Linkenbach and Perkins’ (2003) study.

Answer 12

Three groups of US teenagers were shown different anti-smoking campaigns. The first group was told that most people in their age group smoke. The second group was told that most people in their age group did not smoke. The last group was not told any comparison.
After the campaigns were shown, 41% of teenagers in the first group began smoking, while this figure was only 10% in the second group, and 17% in the last group. This is the outcome predicted by NSI as individuals changed their behaviour in order to fit with the ‘norm’, and therefore lends validity to the explanation.

Question 13

Describe the procedure and findings of Lucas et al.’s (2006) study.

Answer 13

Students were asked to give answers to both easy and difficult maths questions. There was greater conformity to incorrect answers given by confederates on difficult questions than on easy questions. This was most common in students who rated their mathematical ability as poor. This study shows that when people are faced with the perception that they may be wrong, they are more likely to look to others to reduce their uncertainty. This is the outcome predicted by ISI, and therefore validates the explanation.

Question 14

What are the limitations of Deutsch and Gerard’s two process model?

Answer 14

The model may not offer a complete explanation, it does not consider individual differences, and the explanations may not be completely separate.

Question 15

What was the aim of Asch’s line study (1956)?

Answer 15

To discover the extent to which social pressure from a majority group could affect a person to conform.

Question 16

What was Asch’s method?

Answer 16

Lab experiment.

Question 17

What was Asch’s sample?

Answer 17

123 male undergraduate students from the USA.

Question 18

What was Asch’s procedure?

Answer 18

Participants were given a false aim that they were taking part in a vision test. There was only one real participant (the naïve participant) in groups of 6-8 confederates. The group was shown two cards: one with a standard line and another with three comparison lines. Participants had to state which line was the matching one. The naïve participant always answered second to last. Of 18 trials, 12 were critical (where confederates gave incorrect answers).

Question 19

What were the findings of Asch’s line study?

Answer 19

The overall rate of conformity across all trials was 36.8%. 75% of participants conformed at least once, while 25% did not conform at all. However, in the control group, only 1% of participants conformed.

Question 20

What was the conclusion of Asch’s line study?

Answer 20

People do conform (even in unambiguous tasks) in order to fit in and not be rejected by the group.

Question 21

What were the variations of Asch’s line study?

Answer 21

Group size, unanimity, and task difficulty.

Question 22

Describe the procedure and findings of Asch’s group size variation.

Answer 22

The number of confederates ranged from 1 to 15 in a group. Participants conformed the most when there were 3 confederates, with a conformity rate of 32%. However, there was little change afterwards, and the rate of conformity dropped when there were 13-15 confederates, likely because the participants became suspicious of the experiment.