Types/Explanations of Conformity

Question 1

Outline Compliance (3)

Answer 1

• most superficial and least permanent type of conformity
• individuals publicly change behaviours and beliefs to fit in with group but in private revert back when group pressure stops
• linked to Normative Social Influence

Question 2

Outline Identification (3)

Answer 2

• stronger type of conformity, involves private and public acceptance
• individuals look to a group for guidance and adjust behaviour and beliefs because membership of group is desirable and they take on role with group
• when group no longer valuable, behaviour may revert back

Question 3

Outline Internalisation (3)

Answer 3

• deepest and most permanent type of conformity
• individuals publicly and privately change behaviours and beliefs because we accept their attitedes into our own cognitions
• behaviour lasts when group so longer present, linked to Informational social Influence

Question 4

Outline Informational Social Influence (3)

Answer 4

• driven by desire to be right
• when individual unsure about how to behave, they seek information from group and assume it is right - this is cognitive process
• leads to internalisation = publicly and privately change views to be in line with group

Question 5

Outline Normative Social Influence (3)

Answer 5

• driven by the desire to be liked
• individuals will go along with groups behaviour, to avoid ridicule, gain acceptance and fit in - this is an emotional process
• liked to compliance - individuals publicly change views but in private revert back to original views

Question 6

Discuss Normative Social Influence as an explanation of Conformity (2 x AO3)

Answer 6

1. Research to support NSI as an explanation of conformity was conducted, by Asch, participants were
   asked to state which line a, b, or c was closest in length to stimulus line ‘X’. Confederates answered first and gave an incorrect answer. Asch found that participants conformed and said the same wrong answer as the confederates 37% of the time. Therefore supporting NSI as an explanation of conformity
   experiment BECAUSE the task was unambiguous and the participants later stated they knew the answer but conformed in order to avoid ridicule from the group, which is what NSI suggests.
2. However, the research to support NSI as an explanation for conformity, conducted by Asch is gender
   bias, as only males were tested. Therefore, it is difficult to generalise the findings to females as it is suggested that females might be more conformist because they are more concerned about social relationships and are more concerned with being liked by their peers than males. Therefore, this shows that NSI underlies conformity for females more than it does for males. This weakens the external validity of research into NSI as an explanation as to why people conform.

Question 7

Discuss Informational Social Influence as an explanation for conformity (2 x AO3)

Answer 7

1. Research to support iSl as an explanation of conformity was conducted by Jenness participants were
   asked to individually estimate the number of jelly beans in a jar, then decide on a group estimate and finally, have a last private, individual guess. Jenness found that participants second private estimate was significantly closer to the groups estimate than their own original estimate. Therefore supporting ISI as an explanation of conformity BECAUSE the task was ambiguous and as the participants were unsure of the answer, they sought information from the group and changed their estimate publicly and privately to be right
2. However, the research to support ISI as an explanation for conformity, by Jenness, lacks ecological validity. This is because the study took place in an artificial environment of a lab. Therefore, it is difficult to generalise the findings to real life examples of ISI as in real life, people may be less likely to conform to a group as there may be consequences for their actions, unlike in an artificial lab setting. Thus, further reducing the external validity of the research in to ISI and questioning ISI as an explanation of conformity.