Social influence - Psychology
Types of Conformity
● Compliance:
○ Definition: Conforming publicly but not privately, typically to gain
approval or avoid disapproval.
○ Example: Laughing at a joke that others find funny, even if you
don’t.
● Identification:
○ Definition: Conforming to the expectations of a social role, or
group identity, both publicly and privately, but this conformity is
temporary.
○ Example: Adopting behaviours or beliefs of a group you admire, like
dressing in a certain way while part of a club.
● Internalisation:
○ Definition: Conforming both publicly and privately because the
beliefs and behaviours of the group align with your own values and
beliefs.
○ Example: Converting to a religion because you genuinely agree with
its teachings.
Explanations for Conformity
● Normative Social Influence (NSI):
○ Definition: Conforming to be liked or accepted by a group.
○ Key Studies: Asch’s line study where participants conformed to a
wrong answer because they wanted to fit in.
○ Application: Understanding peer pressure and behaviour in social
settings.
● Informational Social Influence (ISI):
○ Definition: Conforming because you believe others are correct or
have more information.
○ Key Studies: Sherif’s autokinetic effect study, where participants
conformed to a group norm in an ambiguous situation.
○ Application: Decision-making in uncertain situations, like following
others during an emergency.
Variables Affecting Conformity
● Asch’s Study on Conformity:
, ○ Procedure: Participants were asked to match a line to one of three
comparison lines. Confederates gave incorrect answers to see if the
participant would conform.
○ Findings: About 37% of participants conformed to the wrong
answer in the critical trials.
○ Evaluation: Consider factors like the artificiality of the task, cultural
variations, and ethical concerns.
● Variables Affecting Conformity:
○ Group Size: Conformity increases with group size but plateaus
after about 3-4 people.
○ Unanimity: Conformity decreases if there’s a dissenting ally.
○ Task Difficulty: Conformity increases when the task is more
difficult (linked to ISI).
4. Conformity to Social Roles
● Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment:
○ Aim: To investigate how people conform to social roles.
○ Procedure: Participants were assigned roles of guards or prisoners
in a simulated prison environment.
○ Findings: Guards became increasingly abusive, and prisoners
became more submissive, demonstrating the power of situational
factors in shaping behaviour.
○ Evaluation: Ethical issues, lack of realism (demand characteristics),
and the importance of situational factors over dispositional factors.
5. Obedience
● Milgram’s Study on Obedience:
○ Procedure: Participants were instructed to deliver increasingly
severe electric shocks to a learner (confederate) for wrong answers.
Types of Conformity
● Compliance:
○ Definition: Conforming publicly but not privately, typically to gain
approval or avoid disapproval.
○ Example: Laughing at a joke that others find funny, even if you
don’t.
● Identification:
○ Definition: Conforming to the expectations of a social role, or
group identity, both publicly and privately, but this conformity is
temporary.
○ Example: Adopting behaviours or beliefs of a group you admire, like
dressing in a certain way while part of a club.
● Internalisation:
○ Definition: Conforming both publicly and privately because the
beliefs and behaviours of the group align with your own values and
beliefs.
○ Example: Converting to a religion because you genuinely agree with
its teachings.
Explanations for Conformity
● Normative Social Influence (NSI):
○ Definition: Conforming to be liked or accepted by a group.
○ Key Studies: Asch’s line study where participants conformed to a
wrong answer because they wanted to fit in.
○ Application: Understanding peer pressure and behaviour in social
settings.
● Informational Social Influence (ISI):
○ Definition: Conforming because you believe others are correct or
have more information.
○ Key Studies: Sherif’s autokinetic effect study, where participants
conformed to a group norm in an ambiguous situation.
○ Application: Decision-making in uncertain situations, like following
others during an emergency.
Variables Affecting Conformity
● Asch’s Study on Conformity:
, ○ Procedure: Participants were asked to match a line to one of three
comparison lines. Confederates gave incorrect answers to see if the
participant would conform.
○ Findings: About 37% of participants conformed to the wrong
answer in the critical trials.
○ Evaluation: Consider factors like the artificiality of the task, cultural
variations, and ethical concerns.
● Variables Affecting Conformity:
○ Group Size: Conformity increases with group size but plateaus
after about 3-4 people.
○ Unanimity: Conformity decreases if there’s a dissenting ally.
○ Task Difficulty: Conformity increases when the task is more
difficult (linked to ISI).
4. Conformity to Social Roles
● Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment:
○ Aim: To investigate how people conform to social roles.
○ Procedure: Participants were assigned roles of guards or prisoners
in a simulated prison environment.
○ Findings: Guards became increasingly abusive, and prisoners
became more submissive, demonstrating the power of situational
factors in shaping behaviour.
○ Evaluation: Ethical issues, lack of realism (demand characteristics),
and the importance of situational factors over dispositional factors.
5. Obedience
● Milgram’s Study on Obedience:
○ Procedure: Participants were instructed to deliver increasingly
severe electric shocks to a learner (confederate) for wrong answers.
