AS PSYCH - SOCIAL PSYCH TOPIC P1

What were the three types of conformity according to Kelman (1959)

• Alternation

• Internalisation

• Compliance

• Conversion

• Identification

What is meant by compliance?

• Deepest level of conformity where there is a full and permanent change both publically and privately. Beliefs are adopted to a larger level - also known as conversion.

• Publically and privately changing to fit in, but is only temporary. It means to follow other people's views to gain social approval

• Most superficial level of conformity. An individual conforms publically but privately disagrees with the beliefs of others. The change of view is temporary.

Normative Social Influence is ..

• Conformity based on the desire to do the right thing. If a person is uncertain or unsure in a situation, they would look to others for information/an answer. This usully leads to internalisation

• Conformity based on the desure to be liked and accepted by others. It often occurs when a person wants to avoid being embarassed or to belong with a group.

The explanations of conformity were identified through the Dual Process Dependency Model (by Deusth and Gerard, 1955). This model was critcised for ..

• Not sufficiently acknowledging the importance of a sense of belonging to a group. Studies have demonstrated how conformity to group norms persist even without a group present.

• Overemphasising the role of individual personality traits in conformity. Critics argue that situational factors and the social context play a more significant role in determining conformity than individual personality characteristics.

• It involves clear distinction between normative and informational social influence, providing a framework for understanding why people conform in different situations

In Asch's (1951) line study, how many critical trials were there out of 18 involving the confederates to give out incorrect answers?

• 11

• 12

• 13

• 14

Asch found that overall 37% followed the majority and gave the wrong answer as well as 1 out of 20 participants conformed to every critical task - What did Asch conclude?

• • People are generally independent and resist conforming to the group.

• • Individuals prefer to give the correct answer despite group pressure.

• People will conform to the majority within a group in order to not stand out

What were the 3 variables that Asch identified in influencing conformity?

• Location

• Group Size

• Uniform

• Unanimity

• Task Difficulty

In Asch's Group Size variations, which number of confederates led to the highest rates in conformity and is considered the "optimal group size"

• 1

• 3

• 6

• 15

Latane and Wolf (1981) suggested that adding more members to a majority can increase conformity but in (a)   amounts -- Each added voice adds a smaller increase in conformity

Who explains that group size has different affects when using different tasks for types of conformity? [ task involves personal preference = more conformity, task has a correct answer = less conformity ]

• Campbell and Fairey (1989)

• Kelman (1959)

• Steng (1976)

• Rosander (2012)