Social Influence

Social Influence: Conformity Types and Explanations

Conformity: A change in a person’s behaviour or opinion as a result of pressure from a person or group.

Kelman (1958) suggested that there are three ways in which people conform to the opinion of the majority: Internalisation, Identification and Compliance.

Internalisation: A permanent change in a person’s behaviour because they accept the majority view to be correct. The change in behaviour/opinion persists, even in the absence of the group/pressure.

Identification: When a person acts in the same way as a person/group because they value it and want to be part of it. However, the person doesn’t necessarily agree with everything the majority believes.

Compliance: When a person outwardly goes along with the majority view, but privately disagrees with it. The change in behaviour only last as long as the group is monitoring the person.

Morton Deutsch and Harold Gerard (1955) developed a two-process theory, arguing that there are two main reasons people conform. They are based on two central human needs, the need to be right (ISI) and the need to be liked (NSI).

Informational Social Influence (ISI)

This explanation claims that 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 which may then lead to internalisation. Often people are uncertain of what behaviours or beliefs of theirs are right or wrong, which is why people depend on others to corroborate their answer. For example, if the majority of your class was saying the same answer, you are likely to conform and agree with their answer because you believe they are likely to be right. ISI is most likely to happen in a situation that is new to a person, so you aren’t aware of what is right or wrong, in typical crisis situations when decisions have to be made quickly, and in situations where a person is regarded as an expert.

Normative Social Influence (NSI)

This explanation claims that we agree with the opinion of the majority because we want to be accepted, gain social approval and be liked which may then lead to compliance. People do not like to appear foolish and prefer to gain social approval rather than be rejected, which is why NSI is an emotional rather than a cognitive 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.

Conformity: Conformity Types and Explanations Evaluation

Lucas et al (2006) 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. This…