Types of Conformity

Types of Conformity

Compliance - Individuals may go along with the group in order to gain their approval or avoid their disapproval. When exposed to the views or actions of the majority, individuals may engage in a process of social comparison, concentrating on what others say or do so that they can adjust their own actions to fit in with them. Fitting in is seen as desirable so this is what motivates conformity. Compliance does not result in any change in the person's underlying attitude, only in the views and behaviours they express in public.

Internalisation - Individuals may go along with the group because of an acceptance of their views. When exposed to the views of other members of a group, individuals are encouraged to engage in a validation process, examining their own beliefs to see if they or the others are right. Close examination of the group's position may convince the individual that they are wrong and the group is right. This is…