Conformity- Types and Explanations

• Types of Conformity

  Theorist: Kelman; there are 3 ways in which people conform to the opinion of the majority.

  Internalisation- occurs when a person genuinely accepts the groups norms, resulting in a private and public change of opinions and behaviour. This change is usually permanent as the attitudes have been internalised (become part of the way we think). The change persists even in the absence of other group members.
• Types of Conformity

  Theorist: Kelman; there are 3 ways in which people conform to the opinion of the majority.

  Identification- sometimes we conform to the opinions/behaviours of a group because there is something about the group we value. We identify with the group, so want to be a part of it. This means we publicly change our behaviours and opinions to be accepted, even if we don't privately agree with everything they stand for.
• Types of Conformity

  Theorist: Kelman; there are 3 ways in which people conform to the opinion of the majority.

  Compliance- involves 'simply going along with others' in public and not changing personal opinions or behaviour. Resulting in only a superficial change, these opinions or behaviours stop as soon as group pressures stops.
• Explanations for Conformity: 2-Process Theory

  Theorists: Deutsch and Gerard

  Informational Social Influence- based on who has the better information; often we are uncertain about what behaviours or beliefs are right or wrong, so we follow the behaviour of the majority because it meets the central human need of wanting to be right. It is a cognitive process, which leads to a permanent change (internalisation). Likely to occur in ambiguous and crisis situations where we assume the group is more likely to be right.
• Explanations for Conformity: 2-Process Theory

  Theorists: Deutsch and Gerard

  Normative Social Influence- norms regulate the behaviour of social groups and individuals, so we pay attention to them. This meets the central human need of wanting to be liked; people want to gain social approval rather than rejection. NSI is an emotional process which leads to a temporary change in behaviour or opinions (compliance). Occurs in situations where you are more concerned about social approval (strangers/friends). Or in stressful situations where people have a greater need for social support.
• AO3: Research Support for ISI

  Lucas et al's study, finding that p's conformed more often to incorrect answers when the maths problem was difficult. This is because when the situation became more ambiguous, p's didn't want to appear wrong so relied on the answers others gave. Showing ISI is a valid explanation.
• AO3: Unclear distinction between ISI and NSI

  Asch found that conforming is reduced when there was a dissenting participant. They reduce the power of NSI (providing social support) and reduce the power of ISI (provide an alternate source of social information). Both interpretations are plausible. Therefore it is hard to separate NSI and ISI, it might be that both processes operate together in real-life conformity situations.
• AO3: Research Support for NSI

  For example, when Asch interviewed his p's, some said they conformed because they felt self-conscious giving the correct answer, and that they were afraid of disapproval. Though when p's wrote the answers down, conformity fell to 12.5%. Giving answers privately meant there was no normative group pressure- demonstrating that conformity is due to the desire of not being rejected by the group by disagreeing (NSI).
• AO3: Individual Differences in NSI

  One limitation is that NSI doesn't predict conformity in all cases. Some people are greatly concerned with being liked by others- they are nAffiliators, and have a strong need for relatability to others. McGhee and Teevan found that students who were nAffiliators were more likely to conform- showing that NSI underlies conformity for some more than others. So individual differences cannot be fully explained by one general theory of situational pressures.
• AO3: Is the ISI/NSI Distinction Useful?

  In Lucas et al's study, the distinction between ISI and NSI isn't useful as we cannot identify which explanation is at work. However, Asch's research clearly shows that both ISI and NSI are reasons for conformity. E.g. with group unanimity, an unanimous group is a powerful source of disapproval- the possibility of rejection is a strong reason to conform (NSI), and the idea that everyone has the same thought process to reach the answer (ISI).