Conformity

• What is conformity?

  A type of social influence
• What are the three main types of conformity?

  Compliance, identification, and internalisation
• What is compliance in terms of conformity?

  Changing public behavior without changing private beliefs
• What typically causes compliance?

  Normative social influence (NSI)
• Give an example of compliance.

  Claiming to like dub-step music
• What is identification in terms of conformity?

  Changing behavior and beliefs in group presence
• What typically causes identification?

  Normative social influence (NSI)
• Provide an example of identification.

  Becoming a vegetarian due to flat mates
• What is internalisation in terms of conformity?

  Changing both public behavior and private beliefs
• What typically causes internalisation?

  Informational social influence (ISI)
• Give an example of internalisation.

  Converting to Buddhism after group influence
• What are the differences between compliance, identification, and internalisation?

  • Compliance: Public behavior change, private beliefs unchanged, short-term.
  • Identification: Public behavior and private beliefs change in group presence, short-term.
  • Internalisation: Public behavior and private beliefs change, long-term.
• What is normative social influence (NSI)?

  Conforming to be accepted by a group
• What is informational social influence (ISI)?

  Conforming to gain knowledge or believe others are right
• How is NSI related to compliance and identification?

  It leads to short-term conformity changes
• How is ISI related to internalisation?

  It leads to long-term belief changes
• What did Asch's study (1951) demonstrate about NSI?

  Participants conformed to avoid disapproval
• What was the result of Asch's later variation (1955)?

  Conformity rates fell to 12.5%
• What did Jenness's study (1932) investigate?

  Changes in opinion in ambiguous situations
• What conclusion can be drawn from Jenness's study?

  Individuals changed estimates due to ISI
• What was the aim of Asch's study (1951)?

  To examine social pressure on conformity
• What was the method used in Asch's study?

  Line judgement task with confederates
• What was the sample size in Asch's study?

  123 male undergraduate students
• What were the critical trials in Asch's study?

  Trials where confederates gave wrong answers
• What was the main finding of Asch's study?

  Participants conformed to the majority view
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of the studies on conformity?

  Strengths:

  • Provide empirical support for NSI and ISI
  • Demonstrate real-world applications of conformity

  
  

  Weaknesses:

  • May not account for individual differences
  • Conducted in artificial settings, limiting ecological validity
• What was the sample size of Asch's study?

  123 male undergraduate students
• What did participants believe they were taking part in during Asch's experiment?

  A vision test
• How many confederates were present in the room with the real participant?

  Six to eight confederates
• What task did Asch use in his experiment?

  Line judgement task
• What was the nature of the answers given by the confederates?

  They agreed on their answers in advance
• What was the correct answer in Asch's line judgement task?

  The correct answer was always obvious
• How many trials did each participant complete?

  18 trials
• What percentage of critical trials did participants conform to the incorrect answers?

  32% of the critical trials
• What percentage of participants never conformed?

  26% of the participants
• What did Asch find in the control group without confederates?

  Less than 1% gave an incorrect answer
• Why did participants conform according to Asch's interviews?

  To fit in or avoid ridicule
• What are the reasons for conformity identified in Asch's study?

  • Normative social influence
  • Desire to fit in publicly
  • Avoidance of ridicule
• What is a limitation of Asch's sample?

  It was biased towards male students
• What does low population validity mean in the context of Asch's study?

  Results cannot be generalized to other populations