Explanations of Conformity

• Two explanations of conformity are Informative Social Influence (ISI) and Normative Social Influence (NSI)
• ISI is driven by our desire to be right. When we're unsure about something, we conform by seeking information from a group and assume that it's right. We change our beliefs and behaviours publicly and privately. This explanation of conformity leads to internalisation.
• What was the aim of Jenness's research?

  To investigate the effects of a group discussion on individuals' judgement
• What type of experiment was conducted in Jenness's research?

  Laboratory experiment
• What was the sample in Jenness' study?

  36 American students
• What was the gender distribution of the sample in Jenness's study?

  18 male and 18 female
• What was the procedure followed in Jenness's research?

  • Participants estimated the number of jelly beans in a jar individually.
  • They discussed their estimates in a group.
  • They agreed on a group estimate.
  • Participants estimated the number of jelly beans again individually.
• What were the findings of Jenness's research regarding participants' estimates?

  Participants' second estimates were significantly closer to the group's estimate than their first individual estimates.
• What conclusion can be drawn from Jenness's research?

  Research supports ISI as participants changed their beliefs after seeking information from others.
• How did participants' beliefs change according to Jenness' study's conclusion?

  Participants publicly and privately changed their beliefs to align with the group, leading to internalisation.
• NSI is driven by our desire to be liked. When we're unsure about something, we conform publicly, but not privately, changing our behaviours in the hope that others in the group will approve of and accept us. This explanation of conformity leads to compliance.
• What was the aim of Asch's study?

  To investigate the effects of a majority opinion on an individual's judgements
• What type of experiment did Asch conduct?

  Laboratory experiment
• What sample was used in Asch's study?

  123 American students
• The procedure of Asch's experiment

  • Ppts individually placed into groups containing 7-9 confederates
  • Asked to say which line (A,B,or C) was the same length as the stimulus line (X)
  • Ppts were always last or second to last to answer
  • Confederates gave identical wrong answers in 12/18 trials
  • A control group of 36 ppts were tested individually without confederates
• The findings of Asch's experiment:

  • Real ppts gave wrong answers 37% of the time
  • Post-experiment interviews found that most of the ppts conformed publicly and not privately (they thought to confederates were wrong), as they wanted to avoid ridicule
• The conclusions of Asch's experiment:

  • Research supports NSI as ppts conformed publicly and not privately, they changed their behaviour in the hope that confederates would approve, leading to compliance.