explanations of conformity

• Deutsch and Gerard ( 1955 )


  . developed a 2 process theory

  - 1. Informational social influence ( ISI ) - conform because you want to be right, look to group for how to behave

  - 2. Normative social influence ( NSI ) - conform because you want to be liked, wish to be liked by the majority group
• Normative social influence

  the need to be liked/accepted by a group
• NSI

  . occurs when an individual is keen to adopt the social norms of a specific group

  . may involve an individual going against their inner beliefs, ideals or opinions in order to be accepted by the group

  . linked to compliance and identification
• Informational social influence

  when an individual is unsure/lacks knowledge of what to do or how to behave in specific situations
• ISI

  . individual looks to the group for guidance

  . occurs when there is a crisis and a decision needs to be made quickly

  . if they are 'insecure' about what is deemed right or wrong behaviour

  . linked to internalisation

  . cognitive as based on information processing
• Evaluation - strengths

  good research support for ISI

  - Jennes asked pps to estimate the amount of beans in a jar

  - pps then discussed their estimates in a group then each individual made a second independent estimate

  - findings showed second estimate moved closer to the group estimate indicating the presence of ISI
• Evaluation - limitation

  . it is rare for both NSI and ISI to be tested in real conditions

  - most research is lab based

  - lab studies lack mundane realism which reduces external validity