Conformity: Types and explanations

• Types of conformity

  Internalisation

  It happens when the person genuinely accepts the group's ideas. It causes permanent change in the person’s behaviours and opinions, even if they are absent from the group. 

  Identification

  We change our opinions and behaviours publicly but may disagree privately.

  Compliance

  It is going along with others but privately not changing personal opinions. It stops when the group is no longer present. 
• Explanations of conformity

  NSI

  It is changing opinions to gain social approval and to be liked by the group out of fear of being rejected by the group.

  ISI

  It is changing opinions if you are uncertain about a question which is ambiguous. You change them out of the fear of being wrong and do it to go along with the group to be correct. 
• Strength NSI evidence for research support. Asch 1951 interviewed pps and some said they conformed because they were self-conscious, as they were afraid of disapproval. But when they had to write the answers down privately the levels of conformity fell to 12.5%, due to the answers being private there was no normative group pressure. This shows that at least some of the conformity is due to the desire of not wanting to be rejected by the group for disagreeing with them.
• Strength ISI evidence research support. Lucas 2006 found that pps conformed more often to incorrect answers when they were given maths problems that are difficult. This is because when the problems were easy the pps ‘knew their own mind’, but when hard the situation became ambiguous. The pps did not want to be wrong so they relied on the answers that were given. This shows that ISI is a valid explanation for conformity as the results are what ISI would predict.
• However it is often unclear how ISI and NSI work in research studies. Asch 1955 found that conformity is reduced when there is one dissenting participant. The dissenter may reduce the power of the NSI as it provides social support, or it can reduce the power of the ISI as it provides an alternative source of social information. Both are possible. Therefore, it is hard to separate the NSI and the ISI and both processes probably operate together in real world situations.
• Limitation is that NSI does not predict conformity in every case. Some people are greatly concerned about being liked by others and these are called nAfilliators and they have a strong need for affiliation, as they want to relate to others. McGhee and Teevan 1967 found that students that are nAffiliators are more likely to conform. This shows that Nsi underlies conformity for some people more than others. There are individual differences in conformity that cannot be fully explained by one general theory or situational processes.