Social influence

• Conformity


  Changes in a person's behaviour, beliefs, or opinions because of real or imagined group pressure
• Types of conformity (Kelman, 1958)

  • Compliance
  • Identification
  • Internalisation
• Compliance


  Most superficial, person publicly changes their beliefs and behaviours to fit in with a group but privately reverts to their original beliefs, they don't agree with the group but wants to fit in, linked to normative influence
• Identification


  Stronger type, publicly and privately changes beliefs/behaviour as they look to a group for guidance and as being a member of the group is desirable, they take on a role in a group, involves compliance by accepting beliefs/ behaviours to be accepted and internalisation by accepting attitudes/behaviours as right
• Internalisation


  Deepest and most permanent, publicly & privately changes beliefs/behaviours to go along with groups, they accept their attitudes into their own cognitions and lasts even when the majority aren't present, linked to informational social influence
• Explanations of conformity


  • Informational social influence
  • Normative social influence
• Informational social influence

  Driven by the desire to be right, when a person is unsure about how to behave then conform seeking info from a group and assume it's right, leads to internalisation