Conformity Types
A01
- Conformity – change in persons behaviour or opinion due to real and imagined
pressure from a person or group of people
- Compliance – temporary type, conform publicly but private disagree
- Identification – moderate type
conform publicly and privately, identify with group as we value and want a sense
of belonging
change present when with specific identification group
- Internalisation – deepest type, leads to perm change, change in public and
private beliefs
- Deutsch & Gerard – 2 process theory, why ppl conform
ISI – need to be right , ambiguous situs, leads to perm change in beliefs,
cognitive process
NSI – need to be liked ,social approval, leads to temp change, emotional
process
- Jenness – investigated conformity in ambig situs
Students estimated number of beans in jar, had group discussion, re-estimated,
nearly all changed estimate
S – Research support for NSI
P - strength of NSI is that evidence supports it as an explanation of conformity.
E - Asch interviewed his participants, some said they conformed because they felt self-
conscious giving the correct answer and they were afraid of disapproval. When
participants wrote their answers down, rather than verbally answering conformity fell to
12.5%.
E - when social pressure was removed, participants were less likely to
conform, indicating that their previous conformity was due to the need for social
acceptance rather than an actual change in belief.
L - increases the validity of NSI as an explanation for conformity, demonstrating that
people often conform to avoid rejection rather than because they believe the majority is
correct.
C - However, Asch’s study was conducted in 1950s America, a highly conformist
society, which may limit its temporal validity and generalisability to different cultural
and historical contexts.
,L – Individual diAerences for NSI
P - NSI does not predict conformity in every case. Individual differences affect the rate
of conformity.
Some individuals are more concerned with being liked than others and have a strong
need for affiliation: they are called nAffiliators.
E – McGhee and Teevan found that students who were nAffiliators were more likely to
conform.
E - NSI affects people differently - while some may strongly conform due to fear of
rejection, others may be less influenced by group pressure if they do not seek social
approval.
L - questions the generalisability of NSI, as it suggests that conformity is not solely
driven by situational pressures but is also influenced by dispositional factors - means
NSI may not be a universal explanation for conformity, as not everyone is equally
motivated by the need to fit in.
S – Research support for ISI
P - strength of ISI is that there is evidence to support the explanation.
E - Lucas et al found that ppts conformed more often to incorrect answers they were
given when the maths problems were difficult.
E - suggests that when individuals are uncertain about an answer, they look to others
for guidance, assuming that the majority is more knowledgeable.
Supports ISI as it demonstrates that people conform in ambiguous situations due to the
desire to be correct.
L - increases the reliability of ISI - shows that conformity is not just about social
acceptance but also about cognitive reliance on perceived expertise.
C - However, the study’s focus on mathematical ability may limit its ecological validity,
as conformity in real-world scenarios may involve more complex social factors beyond
problem-solving.
C - Asch found that conformity reduced when there is one other dissenting ppts.
The dissenter may reduce the power of NSI (because they provide social support) or
they may reduce the power of ISI (because they provide an alternative source of social
information).
Therefore, it is hard to separate ISI and NSI and both processes operate together in
most real-world conformity situations.
, Conformity – Asch’s study
A01
Asch line perception test – baseline procedure
- Assess to what extent ppl will conform to opinion of others
- Procedure:
123 American men
Groups of 6-8 confederate ppts
Naïve seated last or second to last
Saw 2 large white cards - standard line, 3 comparison lines
18 trials-say out loud which is most similar, 12 trials – conf gave same incorrect
answer
Findings:
Gen ppts agreed w conf wrong answer – 36.8%
Conformed at least once – 75%
Individual di] – 25% never wrong
- Suggests ISI occurs
- Variables:
Group size: confederates varied from 1-15, curvilinear rs between group size and
conformity, C increase with GS up to certain point
Unanimity: see if presence of dissenter would a]ect naïve ppts C, gen ppts C
less, acted more independently, suggests influence of majority depends on it
being unanimous
Task diAiculty: made stimulus and comparison line similar, C increased as situ
is ambiguous when task is harder, ISI occurs
S – research support (task difficulty)
P - been supported by further studies demonstrating the impact of task difficulty on
conformity.
E - Lucas et al asked ppts to solve easy and hard maths problems while exposed to
incorrect answers from confederates.
They found that ppts conformed more often when the problems were harder.
This supports Asch’s findings that task difficulty increases conformity.
E - indicates that conformity is driven by ISI - when people lack confidence in their own
judgment, they are more likely to rely on others for guidance, assuming the majority is
correct.
L - enhances the reliability of Asch’s findings, showing that task difficulty consistently
affects conformity across different experimental designs
A01
- Conformity – change in persons behaviour or opinion due to real and imagined
pressure from a person or group of people
- Compliance – temporary type, conform publicly but private disagree
- Identification – moderate type
conform publicly and privately, identify with group as we value and want a sense
of belonging
change present when with specific identification group
- Internalisation – deepest type, leads to perm change, change in public and
private beliefs
- Deutsch & Gerard – 2 process theory, why ppl conform
ISI – need to be right , ambiguous situs, leads to perm change in beliefs,
cognitive process
NSI – need to be liked ,social approval, leads to temp change, emotional
process
- Jenness – investigated conformity in ambig situs
Students estimated number of beans in jar, had group discussion, re-estimated,
nearly all changed estimate
S – Research support for NSI
P - strength of NSI is that evidence supports it as an explanation of conformity.
E - Asch interviewed his participants, some said they conformed because they felt self-
conscious giving the correct answer and they were afraid of disapproval. When
participants wrote their answers down, rather than verbally answering conformity fell to
12.5%.
E - when social pressure was removed, participants were less likely to
conform, indicating that their previous conformity was due to the need for social
acceptance rather than an actual change in belief.
L - increases the validity of NSI as an explanation for conformity, demonstrating that
people often conform to avoid rejection rather than because they believe the majority is
correct.
C - However, Asch’s study was conducted in 1950s America, a highly conformist
society, which may limit its temporal validity and generalisability to different cultural
and historical contexts.
,L – Individual diAerences for NSI
P - NSI does not predict conformity in every case. Individual differences affect the rate
of conformity.
Some individuals are more concerned with being liked than others and have a strong
need for affiliation: they are called nAffiliators.
E – McGhee and Teevan found that students who were nAffiliators were more likely to
conform.
E - NSI affects people differently - while some may strongly conform due to fear of
rejection, others may be less influenced by group pressure if they do not seek social
approval.
L - questions the generalisability of NSI, as it suggests that conformity is not solely
driven by situational pressures but is also influenced by dispositional factors - means
NSI may not be a universal explanation for conformity, as not everyone is equally
motivated by the need to fit in.
S – Research support for ISI
P - strength of ISI is that there is evidence to support the explanation.
E - Lucas et al found that ppts conformed more often to incorrect answers they were
given when the maths problems were difficult.
E - suggests that when individuals are uncertain about an answer, they look to others
for guidance, assuming that the majority is more knowledgeable.
Supports ISI as it demonstrates that people conform in ambiguous situations due to the
desire to be correct.
L - increases the reliability of ISI - shows that conformity is not just about social
acceptance but also about cognitive reliance on perceived expertise.
C - However, the study’s focus on mathematical ability may limit its ecological validity,
as conformity in real-world scenarios may involve more complex social factors beyond
problem-solving.
C - Asch found that conformity reduced when there is one other dissenting ppts.
The dissenter may reduce the power of NSI (because they provide social support) or
they may reduce the power of ISI (because they provide an alternative source of social
information).
Therefore, it is hard to separate ISI and NSI and both processes operate together in
most real-world conformity situations.
, Conformity – Asch’s study
A01
Asch line perception test – baseline procedure
- Assess to what extent ppl will conform to opinion of others
- Procedure:
123 American men
Groups of 6-8 confederate ppts
Naïve seated last or second to last
Saw 2 large white cards - standard line, 3 comparison lines
18 trials-say out loud which is most similar, 12 trials – conf gave same incorrect
answer
Findings:
Gen ppts agreed w conf wrong answer – 36.8%
Conformed at least once – 75%
Individual di] – 25% never wrong
- Suggests ISI occurs
- Variables:
Group size: confederates varied from 1-15, curvilinear rs between group size and
conformity, C increase with GS up to certain point
Unanimity: see if presence of dissenter would a]ect naïve ppts C, gen ppts C
less, acted more independently, suggests influence of majority depends on it
being unanimous
Task diAiculty: made stimulus and comparison line similar, C increased as situ
is ambiguous when task is harder, ISI occurs
S – research support (task difficulty)
P - been supported by further studies demonstrating the impact of task difficulty on
conformity.
E - Lucas et al asked ppts to solve easy and hard maths problems while exposed to
incorrect answers from confederates.
They found that ppts conformed more often when the problems were harder.
This supports Asch’s findings that task difficulty increases conformity.
E - indicates that conformity is driven by ISI - when people lack confidence in their own
judgment, they are more likely to rely on others for guidance, assuming the majority is
correct.
L - enhances the reliability of Asch’s findings, showing that task difficulty consistently
affects conformity across different experimental designs
