conformity types and explanations

what are the two types of conformity

1. compliance =shallow

2. internalisation= deep

features of compliance

• superficial

• temporary

• outwardly go along with majority but privately disagree

• change in behaviour or attitude only lasts as long as group is= as soon as pressure stops so does behaviour

features of internalisation

• take on majority view as we accept it as correct-genuinely take the group norm

• private as well as public change of behaviour and beliefs

• internalise the attitudes and behaviours

• far reaching, permanent change in belief and behaviours, even when group is absent

what are the two explanations of conformity

• normative social influence

• informational social influence

normative social influence

• agree with majority to gain approval to avoid rejection

• driven by need to be liked

• mostly liked to occur in stressful situations with strangers or most concerned about being approved.

informational social influence

• driven by need to be right

• agree with majority as we believe them to be correct

• cognitive process

• most likely to occur in new, ambiguous or crisis situations

EVALUATION: research support for internalisation

• investigated mask wearing

• group told other people were wearing masks

• they later were more likely to wear masks correctly

• also more likely to disapprove of people not wearing correctly

• disapproved suggest conformity involves genuine acceptance or norms (internalisation) + not just compliance within the group norms.

EVALUATION: research support for ISI

• maths study

• students less likely to conform on easy maths question

• students more likey to conform on hard maths questions

• when easy, students were confident. when hard student relied on others as they were unsure and did not want to be wrong

• ISI is a valid explanation of conformity bc results are what ISI would predict (has predictive validity)

EVALUATION: disagreement of ISI and NSI

• unclear if ISI or NSI

• when someone else says another answer (eg in Asch) conformity of group answer is reduced

• dissenter reduces power of NSI because you see that someone else disagrees as well and can still fit in that

• dissenter of ISI because you see that group answer might not be correct as someone disagrees

• therefore its hard to separate ISI and NSI so therefore might not be useful to as it is probably a mix of both

EVALUATION: individual differences in ISI

• NSI doesn’t predict conformity in every case

• ppl who really want to be liked = nAffiliator

• ppl who are naffiliatiors are more likely to conform

• NSI will occur more often in some than others

• difference in conformity can’t be explained by 1 general theory of situational pressures.