Conformity: types and explanations
1. One type of conformity is internalisation. Explain what psychologists mean
by the term internalisation in this context (2 marks)
A deep type of conformity where we take on the majority view because we accept it as
correct. It leads to a permanent change, even when the group is absent
2. Explain the different types of conformity (6 marks)
Types of conformity:
Internalisation occurs when a person genuinely accepts the group norms. This results in a
private as well as public change of opinions/behaviour. This change is likely to be
permanent because attitudes have been internalised. This change in opinions/behaviour
persists even in the absence of other group members.
Identification is the type of conformity which suggests a person is influenced because they
want to be associated with the group’s attitudes and behaviours. This may mean we
publicly change our opinions/behaviour to achieve this goal, even if we don’t privately
agree with everything the group stands for.
Compliance is the type of conformity which involves simply “going along with others” in
public to gain approval and avoid disapproval, but privately not changing personal
opinions/behaviour. Compliance results in only a superficial change, so behaviour stoops
when group pressure stops.
3. Explain what is meant by the term informational social influence in relation to
conformity (2 marks)
An explanation of conformity that says we agree with the opinion of the majority because
we believe it is correct. We accept it because we want to be correct as well. This may lead
to internalisation
4. Outline normative social influence as an explanation for conformity (4 marks)
Normative social influence is about norms and what is typical behaviour for a social group.
People do not like to appear foolish and prefer to gain social approval rather than be
rejected. So NSI is an emotional process. NSI is most likely to occur in situations with
strangers where you may feel concerned about rejection. It may also occur with people you
know because we are most concerned about the social approval of our friends. It may be
more pronounced in stressful situations where people have a greater need for social
support.
5. Describe and evaluate Informational Social Influence and Normative Social
Influence as an explanation for conformity (16 marks)
Deutsch and Gerrard (1955) developed a dual-process theory arguing that there are two
main reasons people conform. They are based on two central human needs. Informational
social influence is about who has the correct information. Often we are uncertain about
what behaviours or beliefs are right or wrong, so individuals follow the behaviour of the
group because they want to be right. ISI is a cognitive process and is most likely to happen
in ambiguous situations or crisis situations, or someone in the group is an expert.
,Normative social influence is about norms and desire to be liked. Humans are a social
species and have a fundamental need for social companionship and have a fear of
rejection. So we conform with the expectations of another, to avoid sanctions from another
or to achieve a specific goal - to be liked. NSI is most likely to result in compliance -
conform to the majority in public but it doesn’t endure over time.
An experiment conducted by Lucas et al. (2006) supports Informational Social Influence. In
the experiment Lucas asked students to give answers to mathematical problems that were
easy or more difficult. There was greater conformity to incorrect answers when they were
difficult rather than when they were easier ones. This was most true for students who rated
their mathematical ability as poor. In the more ambiguous situations, the students were
more likely to conform as predicted by the informational social influence theory. The poor
ability students conformed as they had the desire to be right however lacked the knowledge
therefore relied on others, thinking they were more knowledgeable. This experiment has
high external validity as it has a real-world application and is relatable to most students.
Alternatively people may conform due to normative social influence which is conforming
with the expectations of another to avoid sanctions or to achieve a specific goal, to be liked.
Humans are a social species and have a fundamental need for social companionship and a
fear of rejection. This is most likely to result in compliance and so conform to the majority in
public but it doesn’t endure overtime. Normative Social Influence is an emotional process
as it can only occur when you believe you are under surveillance.
Supporting research includes that of Shultz et al.(2008), who found that hotel guests
exposed to the message that “75% of guests choose to reuse their towels each day”
reduced their own towel use by 25% in comparison to a control group who just received
information about the environmental benefits of reusing towels. This experiment supports
normative social influence because these customers have the desire to fit in with the
majority (decided to reuse their towels in comparison to the control group). This experiment
has high mundane realism as it has a real-world application and tested out this theory
using real-life customers who were unaware that they were involved in this experiment.
In addition, Asch (1955) found in his original experiment that conformity rose to 36.8% on
critical trials and 75% of participants conformed at least once. This high rate of conformity
is due to people fearing disapproval and wanting to avoid rejection. When Asch repeated
this experiment but participants wrote down their answers, conformity fell to 12.5%. The
unambiguity of the situation shows it is the desire to be liked and not right as participants
were deliberately giving the wrong answers to avoid rejection in the group even though the
right answer was clear. Although this successfully demonstrates that people can be
influenced by others in order to be liked, it has limitations. This includes the fact that it lacks
mundane realism and lacks consequences which could impact the result of the experiment.
For example, when in a Jury, the Jurors know they have the responsibility to decide
whether the verdict is guilty or not guilty, and the consequence of this is that they will be
responsible for what happens to that person. Therefore, the jurors, knowing they are
responsible for the future of someone, may be less influenced by others as the situation is
serious, unlike the experiment conducted by Asch.
, When Asch introduced a dissenting partner, conformity reduced from 36.8% to 5.5% and
when the dissenter disagreed with the majority, conformity decreased to 9%. They reduce
Normative Social influence because the dissenters break up the unanimity of the group and
this is important as it shows agreement.
Conformity: asch's research
1. One variable that affects conformity is unanimity. Explain what is meant by
unanimity in relation to conformity (2 marks)
Unanimity is the extent to which all members of a group agree. In Asch’s studies, the
majority was unanimous when all confederates selected the same comparison line. This
produced the greatest degree of conformity in the naive participants.
1. Apart from unanimity, identify two variables that have been shown to affect
conformity. Briefly outline how each of these variables affects conformity. Refer to
evidence in your answer (6 marks)
Apart from unanimity, task difficulty and group size affect conformity.
Group size: Asch found that with 3 confederates, conformity to the wrong answer rose to
31.8%. But the addition of further confederates made little difference. This suggests that a
small majority is not sufficient for influence to be exerted but there is no need for a majority
of more than 3.
Task difficulty: Asch made the line-judging task more difficult by making the stimulus line
and the comparison lines more similar in length, he found that conformity increased under
these conditions. This suggests that informational social influence plays a greater role
when the task becomes harder. This is because the situation is more ambiguous, so we
are more likely to look to other people for guidance and to assume that they are right and
we are wrong.
2. Describe Asch’s study of conformity. Include details of what he did and what
he found (6 marks)
Asch tested conformity by showing participants two large white cards at a time. On one
card was a “standard line” and on the other card there were 3 “comparison lines”. One of
the 3 lines was the same length as the standard and the other two were substantially
different. The participant was asked which of the three lines matched the standard. The
participants in this study were 123 American male students, each naive participant was
tested individually with a group of between 6 and 8 confederates. The naive participant was
not aware that the others were confederates. On the first few trials all the confederates
gave the right answers but then they started making errors. All the confederates were
instructed to give the same wrong answer. Altogether, each participant took part in 18 trials
and on 12 “critical trials” the confederates gave the wrong answer.
They found that the naive participant gave a wrong answer 36.8% of the time. Overall 25%
of the participants did not confirm on any trials, which means that 75% conformed at least
once. The term Asch effect has been used to describe this result - the extent to which
participants conform even when the situation is unambiguous. When participants were
