Conformity

• What are the 3 types of conformity?

  • Compliance
  • Identification
  • Internalisation
• What is compliance?

  Short-term change in public behaviour due to direct individual/group pressure -> private beliefs don't change
• What is identification?

  Adopting behaviour + opinions of group for sense of belonging/identity -> short-term change in private beliefs
• What is internalisation?

  Accepting beliefs/values of group as own identity/beliefs -> semi-permanent + can change in later life
• What are the two explanations for conformity?

  • Normative social influence (NSI)
  • Informational social influence (ISI)
• What is NSI?

  Conforming to fit in to a group despite privately disagreeing

  • Rewarding
  • Avoids punishment
  • e.g. compliance, identification
• What is ISI?

  Conforming with the purpose of being correct + gaining knowledge

  • To act appropriately
  • Avoids standing out
  • e.g. internalisation
• What are the 3 factors affecting conformity?

  • Group size
  • Unanimity
  • Task difficulty
• How does group size affect conformity?

  Asch 1956

  • Little conformity when majority = 1-2 confederates
  • 30% conformity when majority = 3+ confederates
  • Campbell + Fairey: group size = different effect depending on type of judgement + ppts' motivation
  • No correct answer = larger majority needed (more people = more conformity)
  • 1 correct answer -> 1-2 majority needed
• How does unanimity affect conformity?

  Asch 1956

  • Complete agreement from group about an answer/viewpoint = conformity increased
  • Asch: dissenter giving correct (or incorrect) answer = unanimity broken + social support for ppt -> 5.5% drop in conformity
• How does task difficulty affect conformity?

  Difficult task = confidence drops

  • Asch: difficult task = increased conformity
  • Rosander: trivia questions' difficulty increasing = increased conformity
  • Allan et al.: task difficulty interacts with judgement of peers -> e.g. peers wearing glasses seem more knowledgeable = conformity to their answers is more likely