Types of Conformity

• Compliance


  [ Compliance is the most superficial form of conformity. It occurs when an individual publicly agrees with the group’s behaviour or opinion—even though they privately disagree. This change is motivated by a desire for approval or to avoid rejection, and it typically ceases when the individual is no longer in the group. ] E.g. Imagine a student who joins their friends for lunch and orders a vegetarian meal, despite preferring meat. however, when eating alone or with family, they revert to their personal preference for meat.

  
• Identification


  [ Identification involves conforming to the norms, values, or behaviours of a group because the individual admires or values that group and wishes to belong to it. The change is often temporary and is largely evident in public behaviour; private attitudes may not completely align with the group’s standards. ] E.g. A teenager might start wearing the same style of clothing and using similar slang as a popular peer group at school. Although they adopt these external markers to feel part of the group, their personal opinions or tastes might not fully mirror those of their peers.
• Internalisation 


  [ Internalisation is the deepest level of conformity. In this case, the individual not only changes their public behaviour but also genuinely adopts the group’s beliefs and values at a private level. This change is enduring and persists even in the absence of group pressure. ] E.g. Consider a person who joins a religious community. They come to fully accept and embrace the community’s beliefs and practices—not merely because of a desire to fit in, but because these values have become a part of their own belief system.
• Rank the types of conformity by superficiality (going from most superficial, to least)

  1. Identification
  2. Compliance
  3. Internalisation

  Number 2 is the type of conformity which is the most superficial.

  Number 1 is the type of conformity which falls in the middle of this grouping.

  Number 3 is the type of conformity which is the least superficial/deepest layer of conformity.
• Apply the correct labels

  Hint: 1st Column - Is it High, moderate or low?

  2nd and 3rd - Yes/No?

  label here:

  A) High

  B) Moderate

  C) Low

  D) Yes

  E) Yes

  F) Yes

  G) No

  H) Yes