Types And Explanations Of Conformity Flashcards
What is conformity?
The tendency to act and think like those around us.
What are the three types of conformity?
Compliance
Identification
Internalisation
Define compliance
The shallowest level of conformity, where someone follows the majority, changing their public views, but not their private views.
Define identification
The middle level of conformity, where someone conforms to a group because they identify with their values. We change our behaviour to be accepted by the group, even if we don’t agree with everything they stand for.
Define internalisation
The deepest level of conformity, where someone publicly and privately changes their views. This is often a permanent change.
Define informational social influence
The desire to be right, causing us to conform to a group or answer that we believe is more likely to be correct. It is a cognitive process that often leads to internalisation.
Define normative social influence
The desire to be liked, which leads to conformity within a group. It is an emotional process that leads to compliance.
Outline Ash’s study
Aim was to assess the extent to which people conform to the opinion of others.
Used 123 male undergraduates.
Shown a line and asked to match it to one of three options.
Used groups of around 5, with all confederates aside from one.
Confederates would provide incorrect answers.
Outline the variations in Ash’s study
Task difficulty (made questions harder)
Group size (increased)
Unanimity (add decentor (confederate who does not conform))
What were the results of Ash’s study
75% conformed at least once
36.8% conformed every time
Conformity increased as task difficulty increased
Conformity increased with group size, until a group size of around 4 confederates.
Conformity decreased if it was not unanimous
What were the weaknesses of Ash’s study
Issues of deception
Ecological validity- participants knew they were being studied
Sample was not generalisable- all American men. Other research suggests women may be more conformist.
What were the strengths of Ash’s study
Explains reasons for conformity
Is research support for normative and informational social influence
What did Lucas et al do
Participants conformed more to incorrect answers when the maths problems were harder. This research supports Ash’s study and ISI.
