Types of Conformity

This section explores the types of conformity in Psychology. Conformity refers to the act of matching one’s beliefs, attitudes, or behaviours to group norms. Psychologists have identified three main types of conformity: internalisation, identification, and compliance.

Types of Conformity

Internalisation

Definition: Internalisation occurs when individuals genuinely adopt the beliefs, behaviours, or attitudes of a group because they believe them to be correct. This form of conformity often leads to a permanent change in beliefs, even when the individual is no longer part of the group.

Example: A person might convert to a particular religion after spending time with a religious group, genuinely adopting the beliefs as their own.

Characteristics: It is the deepest level of conformity and leads to both public and private change.

Identification

Definition: Identification is a form of conformity where individuals adopt certain behaviours or attitudes because they value membership within a group. This is often temporary and may not persist once the individual leaves the group.

Example: A student may start wearing certain clothing styles to fit in with a peer group at university but may revert to their original style after graduating.

Characteristics: The change is typically only present when the individual identifies with or is physically with the group; it involves public but not always private acceptance.

Compliance

Definition: Compliance is the superficial and temporary conformity to a group's expectations or norms. The individual may outwardly go along with the group while privately disagreeing with the beliefs or behaviours.

Example: Laughing at a joke that others find funny to fit in, even if the individual doesn’t find it humorous.

Characteristics: It is the most shallow form of conformity, involving only public acceptance with no private change in belief.

Explanations for Conformity

Psychologists have proposed two primary explanations for why people conform to group norms: informational social influence and normative social influence.

Informational Social Influence (ISI)

Definition: Informational social influence occurs when individuals conform because they believe the group is better informed or has more accurate information, especially in ambiguous situations.

Mechanism: People look to others as a source of information and are motivated by a desire to be correct.

Example: During an emergency, people might look to others to decide the best course of action, assuming that the majority may know what to do.

Associated with: Internalisation, as the individual is likely to internalise the belief if they genuinely think the group is correct.

Normative Social Influence (NSI)

Definition: Normative social influence is driven by an individual’s desire to be liked, accepted, or avoid social rejection. People conform to group norms to fit in, even if they privately disagree.

Mechanism: NSI is motivated by the need for social acceptance rather than correctness.

Example: Agreeing with a group’s decision to avoid looking foolish or being excluded, despite personally disagreeing.

Associated with: Compliance, as the conformity may only be superficial.

Variables Affecting Conformity

Conformity can be influenced by several variables, as demonstrated by Solomon Asch’s research on social conformity. The three key variables affecting conformity are group size, unanimity, and task difficulty.

Asch’s Study of Conformity (1951)

Asch conducted a series of experiments in which participants were asked to match the length of lines on a card with a series of comparison lines. In each trial, confederates (actors instructed by the researcher) intentionally gave incorrect answers to see if the participant would conform to the incorrect group response.

Group Size

Findings: Conformity tends to increase with the size of the group but only up to a point.

With one confederate: Conformity was very low.

With three confederates: Conformity peaked, and adding more confederates after this did not significantly increase conformity levels.

Conclusion: There is an optimal group size for conformity; too few members lack influence, and too many do not significantly add to pressure.

Unanimity

Findings: When all confederates gave the same incorrect answer, conformity among participants was high. However, if just one confederate broke away and gave the correct answer, conformity dropped sharply.

Implication: The presence of an ally or ‘dissenter’ significantly reduces conformity, as it gives the participant social support and reduces the pressure to conform.

Conclusion: Conformity is highest when the group is unanimous, as dissent weakens the group’s influence.

Task Difficulty

Findings: When Asch made the line-judging task more difficult by making the lines more similar in length, conformity rates increased.

Explanation: In difficult or ambiguous tasks, people may rely more on the group’s answers, likely due to informational social influence as they assume the group knows better.

Conclusion: The harder the task, the more likely individuals are to conform, as uncertainty enhances reliance on others’ judgements.

Evaluation of Conformity Research

Strengths:

• Controlled Settings: Asch’s experiments were conducted in a laboratory setting, allowing for high control over variables, ensuring reliable and replicable results.
• Real-World Applications: Understanding conformity helps explain behaviour in real-life situations, such as jury deliberations or social influence in advertising.

Limitations:

• Lack of Generalisability: Asch’s participants were all American male college students, which limits the ability to generalise findings across genders, ages, or cultures.
• Ethical Concerns: Deception was used in Asch’s study, as participants were not informed about the confederates. This raises ethical concerns regarding informed consent.
• Cultural Bias: Research has shown that levels of conformity vary across cultures. Collectivist cultures, where group harmony is valued, tend to have higher rates of conformity than individualist cultures.

Summary

Types of Conformity: Internalisation (genuine acceptance), Identification (temporary acceptance), Compliance (surface acceptance).

Explanations for Conformity: Informational Social Influence (driven by a desire to be correct), Normative Social Influence (driven by a desire to be liked).

Variables Affecting Conformity: Group size, unanimity, and task difficulty, with findings supported by Asch’s 1951 study.

Understanding these aspects of social influence provides insight into how and why people conform, which has significant implications for various social contexts, from educational settings to workplace environments.