types of conformity

Question 1

what is conformity?

Answer 1

a type of social influence where a person changes their behaviour as a result of group pressure

Question 2

describe compliance

Answer 2

• a change in public behaviour but not private beliefs
• short term
• due to NSI

Question 3

describe identification

Answer 3

• a change in public behaviour and private beliefs only when in the presence of the group
• short term
• due to NSI

Question 4

describe internalisation

Answer 4

• a change in public behaviour and private beliefs
• long term
• due to ISI

Question 5

what is normative social influence?

Answer 5

• a person conforms to be accepted and avoid social rejection
• leads to short term conformity

Question 6

what is informational social influence?

Answer 6

• a person conforms to gain knowledge or because they believe someone else is correct
• leads to long term conformity

Question 7

key study: jenness (1932)

Answer 7

to see if people will change their views in an ambiguous situation after group discussion

Question 8

jenness (1932) - method

Answer 8

using an ambiguous situation, 26 students individually estimated how many beans were in a glass bottle (there were 811). they were put into groups of 3 and gave a group estimate. then got the chance to give another individual estimate

Question 9

jenness (1932) - results

Answer 9

nearly all changed their original answer. on average men changed their answers by 256 beans and women by 382, and the range of the whole group decreased by 75%

Question 10

jenness (1932) - conclusion

Answer 10

individuals hanged their initial estimates due to ISI, they believed the group estimates were more likely to be correct compared to their own

Question 11

give a strength of explanations of conformity
1/2

Answer 11

asch’s research provides support for NSI. in post experiment interviews, participants said that they conformed to avoid disapproval from the rest of the group, compliance occurred. in a later variation, when participants wrote answers on paper conformity levels fell to 12.5%

Question 12

give a strength of explanations of conformity
2/2

Answer 12

real world applications of NSI belong lab. schultz et al (2008) gathered data from hotels where guests allocated to control or experimental rooms. control rooms had a door hanger telling people about the environmental benefits of reusing towels. the experimental rooms had additional info that 75% of guests reused their towels. guests given the extra info reduced their need for fresh towels by 25%, they had conformed.

Question 13

give a limitation of explanations of conformity
1/1

Answer 13

individual differences may affect conformity, so it won’t affect everyone in the same way. perrin and spencer (1980) did an asch like experiment with engineering students . they found only 1 conforming answer out of 400 trials. the students may have felt more confident in their knowledge so felt less pressure to conform.