Types of comformity

Question 1

what is conformity a type of ?

Answer 1

social influence

Question 2

define comformity ?

Answer 2

a change in a person’s behaviour or opinion as a result of a real or imagined pressure from a person or group of people’,

Question 3

name the three types of comformity ?

Answer 3

internalisation , identification and compliance

Question 4

explain internalisation (definition , duration and strength ).State which type of social influence it occur from

Answer 4

Making the beliefs, values, attitude and behaviour of the group your own(the strongest type of conformity, and often occurs as a result of informational social
influence). An individual’s change of view is permanent

Question 5

explain identification (definition , duration and strength ).

Answer 5

Temporary/short term change of behaviour and beliefs only in the presence of a group (middle level)

Question 6

explain compliance definition , duration and strength ).State which type of social influence it occur from

Answer 6

follow other people’s ideas/to go along with the group to gain
their approval or avoid disapproval. You publically agree but privately disagree (lowest/
weakest level of conformity) An individual’s change of view is temporary and is likely to occur
as a result of normative social influence

Question 7

explain normative social influence?

Answer 7

when someone conforms because they want to be liked and be part of a group; when a person’s need to be accepted or have approval from a group
drives compliance. It often occurs when a person wants to avoid the embarrassing situation
of disagreeing with the majority.

Question 8

explain informational social influence

Answer 8

when someone conforms because they want to be liked and be part of a group; when a person’s need to be accepted or have approval from a group
drives compliance. It often occurs when a person wants to avoid the embarrassing situation
of disagreeing with the majority.

Question 9

give evidence for informational social influence ?

Answer 9

Fein et al. asked participants to vote for a US presidential candidate after they saw
others voting for somebody else. Most of the participants changed their mind because they wanted to be ‘correct’, thus demonstrating the impact of informational social influence as a mechanism for conformity.
Lucas et al found that conformity to an obviously incorrect maths answer was greater when the question was more difficult and the participant rated their own maths ability unfavourably. This
shows that individuals are more likely to turn to others when they lack the information to make their own informed decisions i.e. in an ambiguous situation.

Question 10

explain the link between NSI and bullying

Answer 10

Garandeau and Cillissen found that a boy can be manipulated by a bully into victimising another child because the bully provides a common goal for the boy’s group of friends, the goal is to victimise the other child, so the boy would most likely also victimise the child to avoid
disapproval from his friends.