types and explanations for conformity

Question 1

what did helbert kelman (1958) suggest were the three ways in which people conform to the opinion of a majority?

Answer 1

1. internalisation
2. identification
3. compliance

Question 2

what is internalisation?

Answer 2

• when a person genuinely accepts the group norms
• results in a private and public change of opinions / behaviour
• change is usually permanent as attitudes have been internalised ie. become part of the way the person thinks
• change in opinions / behaviour persists even in the absence of other group members

Question 3

what is identification?

Answer 3

• conforming to the opinions / behaviour of a group because there is something about that group we value
  > we identify with the group, so we want to be part of it
• publicly and privately change opinions / behaviour to be accepted by group
• change of belief or behaviour is temporary
• eg. being silly and then acting serious in an office

Question 4

what is compliance?

Answer 4

• going along with the group to fit in
• conforms publicly but privately disagrees
• behaviour or opinion stops as soon as group pressure stops

Question 5

who developed the two-process theory and what is it?

Answer 5

• deutsch and gerard (1955)
• there are two main reasons people conform: need to be right (ISI) and need to be liked (NSI)

Question 6

what is informational social influence (ISI)?

Answer 6

• basic human need to feel confident that their opinions, beliefs and perceptions are correct
• leads to public and private conformity (internalisation) because once we’re convinced that someone else’s behaviour or opinion is correct, we conform privately in our attitudes then also conform in our public attitudes and behaviour
• this is because when we are unsure and not confident in our opinions we may seek other people’s opinions or observe their behaviours
• most likely to occur when the situation is ambiguous and the right action is unclear. also where we believe others to be experts who know more than us in that situation

Question 7

what is normative social influence (NSI)?

Answer 7

• because as a social species, humans have a fundamental need for social companionship and fear of rejection
• we evaluate our behaviours and opinions against others
• leads to compliance (public but not private conformity)
• to gain approval and acceptance by others we may conform to the behaviour of these groups or say that we agree with their viewpoint
• to avoid rejection or disapproval by others we may conform because we do not wish to go against the group’s behaviour or opinions
• they must believe that they are under surveillance by the group ie. that their behaviour and opinions are being judge by the people around them

Question 8

evaluation: research support for NSI

Answer 8

• when asch (1951) asked his participants, some said they conformed because they felt self-conscious giving the correct answer and they were afraid of disapproval. when participants wrote their answers down, conformity fell to 12.5%
• priebe and spink (2014) asked 65 pps to hold a plank for as long as possible. when half were told that 80% like them could hold for 20% longer, their second attempt was far longer
• schultz et al. (2008) found that hotel guests who were told ‘75% of guests choose to reuse their towels each day’ had a 25% reduced towel need, suggesting that people shape their behaviour out of a desire to fit in with their reference group

Question 9

evaluation: research support for ISI

Answer 9

• lucas et al. (2006) found that pps conformed more often to incorrect answers when they were given difficult maths problems. pps did not want to be wrong so relied on the answers they were given
• jenness (1932) asked pps to estimate the number of jellybeans in a jar. pps made their own private estimates and then discussed with group. individual’s second private estimate shifted to agree with group estimate

Question 10

evaluation: unclear if NSI or ISI is at work in research studies (or in real life)

Answer 10

• asch (1955) found that conformity is reduced when there is one other dissenting pp
• dissenter could reduce power is NSI because their provide social support. or could reduce power of ISI because they provide an alternative source of social ifnormation
• hard to separate NSI and ISI and both processes probably operate together in most real-world conformity situations

Question 11

evaluation: individual differences, NSI does not predict conformity in every case

Answer 11

• nAffiliators are people who are greatly concerned with being liked by others
• mcghee and teevan (1967) found that nAffiliators were more likely to conform
• NSI underlies conformity for some people more than it does for others
• these individual differences in conformity cannot be fully explained by one general theory of situational pressures

Question 12

evaluation: NSI/ISI distinction is not useful

Answer 12

• asch’s research demonstrates that both NSI and ISI are reasons for conformity
• eg. in terms of group unanimity, a unanimous group is a powerful source of disapproval (NSI), but also conveys the impression that everyone else knows and you don’t (ISI)
• using two explanations together is a useful way of explaining why people conform