types of conformity and explanations

Question 1

define conformity

Answer 1

yielding to group pressure

Question 2

who proposed the 3 types of conformity?

Answer 2

Kelman

Question 3

what are the 3 types of conformity?

Answer 3

• internalisation
• compliance
• identification

Question 4

what is internalisation?

Answer 4

• making the beliefs, values, attitudes and behaviours of the group your own
• an individual’s change of view is permanent
• private and public acceptance of groups opinion

Question 5

what is an example of internalisation?

Answer 5

e.g. being brought up in a religious household, and becoming religious yourself

Question 6

what is compliance?

Answer 6

• going along with others ideas/views to gain approval/avoid disapproval of the group
• publicly agreeing but privately disagreeing

Question 7

what is an example of compliance?

Answer 7

e.g. when friends pressure you into drinking alcohol when you don’t truly want to, and will not drink outside of such social situations

Question 8

what is identification?

Answer 8

• adjusting behaviour and opinion to the group, because we identify with the group, and so want to be part of it
• publicly changing our behaviour, often temporary

Question 9

what is an example of identification?

Answer 9

e.g. acting more professional and less silly when you arrive at your
office to work.

Question 10

what is the strongest type of conformity?

Answer 10

internalisation

Question 11

what is the weakest type of conformity?

Answer 11

compliance

Question 12

what are the 2 explanations for conformity?

Answer 12

• normative social influence
• informational social influence

Question 13

what is normative social influence?

Answer 13

• we conform because we want to be liked or respected by the group
• based on the desire to fit in

Question 14

what is an example of normative social influence?

Answer 14

e.g. a person starting to smoke because they are surrounded by other people who smoke

Question 15

what is informational social influence?

Answer 15

• when someone conforms because they want to be right, so they look to others by copying or obeying them, to have the right answer in a situation
• based on the desire to be right

Question 16

what is an example of informational social influence?

Answer 16

e.g. a person following the direction of the crowd in an emergency, even though they don’t actually know where they are going, as they assume that everyone else is going to the right place

Question 17

what research is an example of normative social influence?

Answer 17

Perkins

Question 18

outline Perkins’ findings

Answer 18

adolescents who were told that most of their peers did not smoke, were less likely to start smoking themselves

Question 19

what research is an example of informational social influence?

Answer 19

Fein

Question 20

outline Fein’s findings

Answer 20

• asked ppt’s to vote for a US presidential candidate after they saw
  others voting for somebody else.
• most of the ppt’s changed their mind because they wanted to be ‘correct’, thus demonstrating the impact of informational social influence as a mechanism for conformity.

Question 21

evaluation: research support for informational

Answer 21

ID: there is evidence to support the role of informational social influence
Q: this comes from research by Lucas et al, who gave students easy and difficult maths questions.
EX: for example, 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
AN: 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, increasing the reliability of the explanation

Question 22

evaluation: research support for informational + ELAB

Answer 22

ID: there is evidence to support the role of normative social influence
Q: the research support comes from Asch
EX: Asch found evidence of normative social influence, as ppt’s claimed if they gave the correct answer, they risked being ridiculed by the group, as they didn’t want to be the odd one out. furthermore, Asch found that when answers were written down, conformity dropped to 12.5%
AN: this is a strength as the research shows that ppt’s were conforming with the desire to fit in with the group, increasing the reliability of the explanation
ELAB: there is further research to support normative social influence
EX: for example, Perkins found that adolescents exposed to the simple message that the majority of their age peers did not smoke were subsequently less likely to take up smoking.
AN: this shows how people shape their behaviour out of a desire to fit in with their reference group

Question 23

evaluation: two-process model may be oversimplified

Answer 23

ID: as the 2 explanations are seen to be independent, they can be criticised for being oversimplified
Q: NSI and ISI may not be completely exclusive, as suggested by Deutsch and Gerrard’s ‘Two Process Model
EX: for example, a dissenting confederate can provide social support, reducing the effect of NSI through providing the ppt with a supporting, similar view. equally,
this can also reduce the effect of ISI through the confederate providing the ppt with an alternative source of information
AN: this means that it may be more beneficial to look at NSI and ISI as complementary, as opposed to mutually exclusive mechanisms. this reduces the credibility of the explanation because we are unsure of ISI and NSI operating independently or together