Types and Explanations of Conformity

This set of vocabulary flashcards covers the definitions, types, explanations, and key research studies related to conformity as presented in the lecture notes.

Conformity

A form of social influence that results from exposure to the majority position and leads to the tendency for people to adopt the behaviour, attitudes and values of other members of a reference group.

Compliance

A superficial form of conformity where an individual outwardly agrees with a group to gain approval or avoid disapproval, but privately maintains their own beliefs.

Internalisation

A deep form of conformity where an individual genuinely adopts the group's beliefs and behaviours because they are consistent with their own value system, resulting in a change in both public and private attitudes.

Kelman (1958)

The researcher who proposed the two distinct types of conformity: compliance and internalisation.

Social comparison

A process involved in compliance where individuals concentrate on what others say or do so they can adjust their own actions to fit in.

Validation process

A process involved in internalisation where individuals examine their own beliefs and the group’s position to determine which is correct.

Normative social influence

A form of influence based on the fundamental human need for social companionship and fear of rejection, where an individual conforms to gain approval or avoid censure.

Informational social influence

A form of influence resulting from the desire to be right, occurring when an individual accepts information from others as evidence about reality, especially in ambiguous situations.

Linkenbach and Perkins (2003)

Researchers who found that adolescents exposed to the message that the majority of their peers did not smoke were less likely to take up smoking themselves.

Schultz et al (2008)

A study where hotel guests informed that $75\%$ of guests reused towels reduced their towel use by $25\%$, demonstrating the power of normative influence.

Sherman et al. (2016)

Researchers who studied the 'power of the like' on a simulated Instagram site, finding that peer endorsement via 'likes' influenced behavior through reward processing in the brain.

Nolan et al. (2008)

Researchers who found that people under-detected the impact of normative influence, believing their neighbors' behavior had the least impact on their energy conservation when it actually had the strongest.

Self-efficacy

Confidence in one's own abilities; Lucas et al. (2006) found that individuals high in this trait were less likely to conform even when a task was difficult.

Nail (1986)

Stated that when under normative influence, people tend to conform in public but do not necessarily internalise the view because it does not endure over time or carry into private settings.