Types of conformity Flashcards
Herbert Kelman in 1958 suggested what
he suggested that there are three ways in which people conform to the opinion of the majority
what is internalisation
Internalisation occurs when a person genuinely accepts the groups norms
This results in a private and public change in opinion/behaviour and is usually a permanent change
what is identification
Identification is when you conform to the opinions/behaviours of a group because there is something about the group that you value
This identification may mean that you may publicly change your opinions/behaviours to be accepted by the group even if you don’t agree with them privately
what is compliance
Compliance is a type of conformity that involves ‘going along with others’ in public, but privately not changing personal opinions and/or behaviour
who developed a two-process theory
Morton Deutsch and Harold Gerard in 1955
what does the two-process theory argue
it argues that there are two main reasons people conform. They are based on two central human needs:
The need to be right (ISI) and
The need to be liked (NSI)
What does Herbert Kelman say the three ways to conform are
-Internalisation
-Identification
-Compliance
what is informational social influence (ISI)
it’s about who has the better information. Often people have uncertainty about what beliefs or behaviours are correct. We follow the behaviour of the group (the majority) because of the need to be right
when is ISI most likely to happen
It’s most likely to happen in situations that are new to a person or when there’s some ambiguity (where it isn’t clear what’s wrong or right). Also occurs in crisis situations where decisions have to be made quickly and we assume the group is more likely to be right
what type of process is ISI
it’s a cognitive process
what is normative social influence NSI
it’s about norms e.g. what is typical behaviour for a social group. Norms regulate the behaviour of groups and individuals. People don’t like to appear foolish and prefer to gain social approval than be rejected.
what type of process is NSI
NSI is emotional rather than a cognitive process which leads to temporary change in opinions/behaviour (compliance)
when is NSI likely to occur
is likely to occur in situations with strangers where you may feel concerned about rejection. It also may occur when you are concerned about social approval and may be more pronounced in stressful situations where people have greater need for social support
research to support NSI
when Asch interviewed his participants some said they conformed because they felt self-conscious giving the correct answer and were afraid of disapproval
research to support ISI
Lucas et al found that participants conformed more often to incorrect answers they were given when the maths problems were difficult this is because when the situation became ambiguous (unclear) the participants didn’t want to be wrong so they relied on the answers they were given
