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P1: social influence
conformity
what is conformity?
-a change in a persons behaviour resulting from a real or imagined
pressure from a person/group of people= also known as majority
influence
how many types of conformity are there?
-3
what is internalisation?
-we take on the majority view because we genuinely accept it as
correct resulting in private and public change of behaviour
-long term
explain a strength of internalisation
- research to support = Jenness investigated how group discussion
influenced accuracy of judgement by giving the participants the task of
estimating how many jelly beans there are in the jar. they first made
private estimate before discussing with the group. results: the estimates
moved closer to those of the groups after discussion. internalisation has
occurred which increases the validity of this explanation
what is identification?
-we conform because we value something about a group or because
membership is desirable/beneficial changing public and private
behaviour
-conformity may stop when a person leaves the group
-short term
what is compliance?
-we go along with the public view but privately disagree. behaviour only
changes in public
P1: social influence 1
, -short term
explain one strength of compliance
- research to support= Asch line study. in the debrief many participants
said they gave a wrong answer because they didnt want to look stupid.
they also conformed because they thought their own perception was
wrong. we see ISI and NSI as many of them didnt want to come across
as foolish and they wanted to be right.
explain one limitation of all three types of conformity
- demand characteristics= Asch research. some people stated they
conformed because didnt want to spoil the experiment for the
experimenter. participants figured out the aim so this compromises the
internal validity.
explain how ISI can be used to explain why people conform
-ISI- informational social influence
-based on the desire to be right and we look to the group majority for
answers as you think they are likely to be right
-occurs when a situation is ambiguous or when there is an emergency
explain how NSI can be used to explain why people conform
-NSI- normative social influence
-social groups have various beliefs of what is acceptable. these norms
regulate behaviour of the group
-we conform because we dont want to look wrong and we want social
approval
explain one strength of NSI
- research to support NSI
-Asch line study- most participants said they conformed to the rest of
the group because they didnt want to look stupid
explain one strength of ISI
- research to support ISI
P1: social influence 2
, -Jenness investigated how group discussion affects accuracy of
judgement by asking participants to estimate the number of jelly beans
in the jar.
-participants had the desire to be right which is why they changed their
answers after discussion
-practical implications- improving teaching by letting people give
answers in private to avoid embarrassment
explain one limitation of both explanations for conformity
-both ISI and NSI are too simple
-Asch found that when only one other person was saying an answer,
conformity decreased as there was less pressure
-important to consider other factors such as lack of unanimity and size
of group which affect conformity
-furthermore people are less likely to be affected by NSI if they care
less about being liked. NSI doesnt affect all people in the same way
what is the aim of Asch (1951) baseline study?
-aim= to investigate to what extent people will conform to the opinion of
others even in a situation where the answer is certain
what is the method of Asch baseline study?
50 male students
1-15 confederates
1 participant was put in room with 7 confederates and the real
participant was always sat and asked 2nd to last
participants had to identify lines of the same length along with 6-8
confederates
what were the findings of Asch baseline study?
-37% of people agreed with confederates
-25% never conformed
-75% conformed at least once
P1: social influence 3
P1: social influence
conformity
what is conformity?
-a change in a persons behaviour resulting from a real or imagined
pressure from a person/group of people= also known as majority
influence
how many types of conformity are there?
-3
what is internalisation?
-we take on the majority view because we genuinely accept it as
correct resulting in private and public change of behaviour
-long term
explain a strength of internalisation
- research to support = Jenness investigated how group discussion
influenced accuracy of judgement by giving the participants the task of
estimating how many jelly beans there are in the jar. they first made
private estimate before discussing with the group. results: the estimates
moved closer to those of the groups after discussion. internalisation has
occurred which increases the validity of this explanation
what is identification?
-we conform because we value something about a group or because
membership is desirable/beneficial changing public and private
behaviour
-conformity may stop when a person leaves the group
-short term
what is compliance?
-we go along with the public view but privately disagree. behaviour only
changes in public
P1: social influence 1
, -short term
explain one strength of compliance
- research to support= Asch line study. in the debrief many participants
said they gave a wrong answer because they didnt want to look stupid.
they also conformed because they thought their own perception was
wrong. we see ISI and NSI as many of them didnt want to come across
as foolish and they wanted to be right.
explain one limitation of all three types of conformity
- demand characteristics= Asch research. some people stated they
conformed because didnt want to spoil the experiment for the
experimenter. participants figured out the aim so this compromises the
internal validity.
explain how ISI can be used to explain why people conform
-ISI- informational social influence
-based on the desire to be right and we look to the group majority for
answers as you think they are likely to be right
-occurs when a situation is ambiguous or when there is an emergency
explain how NSI can be used to explain why people conform
-NSI- normative social influence
-social groups have various beliefs of what is acceptable. these norms
regulate behaviour of the group
-we conform because we dont want to look wrong and we want social
approval
explain one strength of NSI
- research to support NSI
-Asch line study- most participants said they conformed to the rest of
the group because they didnt want to look stupid
explain one strength of ISI
- research to support ISI
P1: social influence 2
, -Jenness investigated how group discussion affects accuracy of
judgement by asking participants to estimate the number of jelly beans
in the jar.
-participants had the desire to be right which is why they changed their
answers after discussion
-practical implications- improving teaching by letting people give
answers in private to avoid embarrassment
explain one limitation of both explanations for conformity
-both ISI and NSI are too simple
-Asch found that when only one other person was saying an answer,
conformity decreased as there was less pressure
-important to consider other factors such as lack of unanimity and size
of group which affect conformity
-furthermore people are less likely to be affected by NSI if they care
less about being liked. NSI doesnt affect all people in the same way
what is the aim of Asch (1951) baseline study?
-aim= to investigate to what extent people will conform to the opinion of
others even in a situation where the answer is certain
what is the method of Asch baseline study?
50 male students
1-15 confederates
1 participant was put in room with 7 confederates and the real
participant was always sat and asked 2nd to last
participants had to identify lines of the same length along with 6-8
confederates
what were the findings of Asch baseline study?
-37% of people agreed with confederates
-25% never conformed
-75% conformed at least once
P1: social influence 3
