social influence: conformity types and explanations Flashcards
what are the 3 types of conformity
compliance
identification
internalisation
define compliance
compliance is where people change their public views and beliefs to avoid disapproval of others but keep their private beliefs and views
this is also a temporary change
define identification
identification is where individuals adjust their behaviours and opinions because members of that group are seen as role models so they want to be apart of it
this is generally a temporary change
define internalisation
is a conversion of private views to match those of a group
becomes part of their own belief system
it is the most permanent form of conformity
what are the 2 explanations for conformity
normative social influence
informational social influence
what is NSI
it is the desire to be liked
associated with compliance
- following a crowd
what is ISI
the desire to be right
associated with internalisation
accepting the majorities viewpoint
evidence to support normative social influence (Asch) :)
Asch’s line experiment - was obvious answers, 37% conformed to wrong answers and 75% at least one wrong answer
however written answers, conformity dropped to 12.5%
they were then interviewed after experiment on why they conformed - felt self conscious giving the right answer and were afraid of disapproval
conclusion - they conformed to be accepted and have approval from group supporting NSI
evidence to support informational social influence (lucas et al). :)
asked students to give answers to mathematical problems that were either easy or difficult
found greater conformity to wrong answers with more difficult questions = particularly in students who said math skills were poor
supports idea people conform in situations where they feel they don’t know the answer so look to other people and assume they know better
demonstrating the desire to be right
individual differences are ignored :(
that NSI and ISI don’t effect everyone’s behaviour in the same way - fails to account individual differences
e.g in terms of ISI asch found that students were less conformist than other participants - replicated aschs study with engineering students in the uk they found less conformity due to the confidence and knowledge in line lengths
therefore less influenced
limitation because there are differences in how individuals respond to ISI and these must be taken in account to gain full picture into explanations
not always possible to distinguish between ISI and NSI
:(
their approach suggests that behaviour is either due to NSI or ISI however both processes are involved
