Social influence

• Conformity


  The act of adjusting one's thoughts, feelings, or behaviors in ways that are in agreement with those of a particular individual or group
• Types of conformity


  • Internalisation
  • Identification
  • Compliance
• Internalisation


  Genuine acceptance of the group's norms
• Identification


  Individuals conform to the expectations of a group they value or want to be part of
• Compliance


  A superficial and temporary form of conformity
• Explanations for conformity


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


  Individuals look to the group for guidance on how to behave when faced with uncertainty
• Normative social influence


  The desire to be accepted and liked by the group, leading individuals to conform to its norms even if they do not personally agree
• Variables affecting conformity


  • Group size
  • Unanimity
  • Task difficulty
• Group size


  • Larger groups often lead to increased pressure to conform
• Unanimity


  • The presence of a unanimous majority can significantly influence conformity levels, as it creates a stronger sense of group consensus
• Task difficulty


  • More challenging tasks often result in higher levels of conformity as individuals seek guidance from the group
• Asch's experiments famously demonstrated the power of conformity in group settings
• Asch's experiments


  1. Participants were shown a line and asked to match it with one of three comparison lines

  2. Unbeknownst to the participants, the majority of the group intentionally gave incorrect answers

  3. Many participants conformed to the group's incorrect responses despite knowing the right answer
• Conformity can have a powerful impact on individual behavior, shaping group dynamics and social interactions