1. Think…
Have you ever gone along with something even if you don’t agree with it due to group pressure?
Have you ever agreed with someone’s opinion/behaviour because you value the people in that group so you want to be part of it?

2. Conformity
A change in a person’s behaviour or opinions as a result of real or imagined pressure from a person or group of people (Aronson, 2011)
Also known as majority influence
Yielding to group pressure

3. Social Influence What is it? Intro into conformity
Objectives:
To understand what conformity is
To be able to outline and evaluate types of conformity

4. Social Influence Social influence Social influence in everyday life
Conformity (majority influence): Types of conformity, including internalisation and compliance
Conformity (majority influence): explanations of why people conform; informational social influence and normative social influence
Key research – Asch
Conformity to social roles: Zimbardo’s research
Obedience to authority: Milgram’s work and explanations of why people obey
Social influence in
everyday life
Explanations of independent behaviour; locus of control, how people resist pressures to conform and resist pressures to obey authority
Minority influence
How social influence research helps us to understand social change; the role of minority influence in social change

5. Conformity THINK… What is Conformity. Are there different types
Conformity THINK… What is Conformity??? Are there different types??? Why might it happen???

6. Key definitions Conformity Compliance Internalisation Identification
Social Norms

7. Conformity THINK… What is Conformity. Are there different types
Conformity THINK… What is Conformity??? Are there different types??? Why might it happen???
On page 2 – think about when you have conformed – e.g doing something to ‘go along with others’ in public, but privately not changing your personal opinions or behaviour.

8. Compliance
This type of conformity is ‘going along with others’ in public but privately not changing personal opinions and/or behaviour.
Adjusting behaviour and opinions of a group to be accepted or avoid disapproval
Desire to fit in in public, but not in private
E.G supporting a certain football team because most people of your age do and you want to be accepted and not ridiculed by them, however in private you may support a different team.

9. Identification
Adjusting behaviour and opinions due to those of a group, because membership of that group is desirable.
We publicly change our opinions/behaviour to achieve this goal, even if we don’t privately agree with everything the group stands for.
Stronger form of conformity involving private as well as public acceptance, but usually temporary, not maintained when individuals leave the group
E.g in the army you adopt different beliefs but if you left the army, you would have new opinions and behaviours in civilian life.

10. Internalisation
Internalisation occurs when a person genuinely accepts the group norms. This results in a private as well as public change of opinion/behaviour.
This change is likely to be permanent because attitudes have been internalised i.e. become part of the way the person thinks
This change in opinion/behaviours persists even in the absence of other group members.
E.g being influenced by a group’s religious beliefs so that you truly convert to that faith, then you will continue with your new way of life without the pressure or influence of the group.

11. Social Norms
These are rules, which may be written or unwritten, guiding how people are expected to behave in certain situations – these norms create conformity even when we are alone

12. Silently and independently guess how many rainbow drops are in the jar?
Write your answer on the paper in front of you next to number 1 and fold it over so no-one else can see it.

13. Through group discussion guess how many rainbow drops are in the jar?
Write your group answer on the paper in front of you next to number 2 and fold it over so no-one else can see it.

14. Now you have another chance to silently and independently guess how many rainbow drops are in the jar?
Write your answer on the paper in front of you next to number 3 and fold it over so no-one else can see it.

15. Is your second independent estimate (number 3) different to your first estimate (number 1) based on the influence of the group discussion (number 2)?

16. This is conformity!

17. Early Research
The task you just completed mirrors a study conducted by Jenness in 1932
Almost all participants changed their individual guesses to be closer to the group estimate.

18. Sherif (1935) Early Research The Auto kinetic effect
you are a completely dark room (imagine you are alone) – in a moment I will project a pinprick of light onto the screen

19. Silently and independently estimate how much the light moves
Write your answer on a piece of paper in front of you next to number 1 and fold it over so no-one else can see it.

21. You are no longer alone and must form groups of three
You are no longer alone and must form groups of three. The pinprick of light will be projected again – discuss and decide in your 3 how much the light moves
Write your group answer on the paper in front of you next to number 2 and fold it over so no-one else can see it.

23. Report back your results
How were your individual estimates altered through the group discussion?

24. Complete the handout Fill in Sherif’s Method section
Sherif placed people in a completely dark room and then projected a small spot of light onto a screen which appeared to move. Individuals were asked to make their own judgement about how much the light moved. Three people were then put together in the room and each had to say aloud how much they thought the light moved. This was done a number of times.

25. 2 Explanations of Conformity
Informational Influence
This happens when there is no obvious right answer or we are uncertain how to behave so we look to others for information in order to be right. Informational social influence tends to lead to private agreement, i.e. internalisation.
NEXT LESSON:
Normative Influence
This is when we go along with others because we want to be accepted, liked and respected by others in the group and to avoid rejection, e.g. dressing in a way that is similar to that of your friends.

26. Compliance or internalisation? Explain why.
Pete smokes when around his peers but not at home/elsewhere.
Anna becomes vegetarian because her flat mates convince her that eating meat is immoral.
Tia goes to a rock music concert to be with a boy she likes and ends up buying rock CDs on her own.
Mike drinks alcohol every Friday with work colleges but dislikes the taste.
Phil laughs at a joke but finds it racist.
Extension: Think of an example of compliance and internalisation of your own.

27. The Bystander Experiment
In the bystander experiment, people conformed by…
This type of conformity is… because…
This was a good/bad experiment because…
1.30 mins

28. What is the difference?
Cady is new at an American high school. She doesn’t like pink but wears it each Wednesday as all of her friendship group do this.
Cady is new at an American high school.
She begins to enjoy spending time shopping, eating low-carb diets and wearing make up.
Shallow conformity (compliance)
Deeper conformity (internalisation)

29. What is the difference?
Joe doesn’t watch the x-factor.
After discussing it with his older brother and his friends he realises its boring and fake.
Joe doesn’t watch the x-factor. His older brother and his friends all think its boring and fake and he wants to be liked by them.
Deeper conformity (internalisation)
Shallow conformity (compliance)

30. Test yourself… What is meant by conformity?
What type of conformity involves public, but not private, acceptance of a group’s behaviour and attitudes?
What type of conformity involves an individual truly converting to the belief system of others?
Why does compliance occur?
Give your own example of compliance, identification and internalisation

33. A researcher studying informational social influence asked her participants to estimate
the number of peas in a jar. The participants were tested in groups of five. An
independent groups design was used.
Condition A: Each participant was told to write down his or her estimate without letting any other participant see the answer.
Condition B: Each participant was told to say his or her estimate out loud, one at a
time, and the researcher wrote the estimates down.
The researcher calculated the ranges of the estimates that the participants gave in each condition of the study. Her results showed that the estimates were more spread out in Condition A than in Condition B.
Q. Use your knowledge of informational social influence to explain the results of this study. (2 marks)
Include any of the following points: The situation is ambiguous and the answer unknown. In Condition A the participants have to rely on their own judgements to provide an answer, but in Condition B participants can use the answers they hear from others to inform their own answer, the other answers in Condition B are more likely to be accepted as ‘correct’.

34. Q. Identify the independent variable in this study. (1 mark)
Independent variable: whether the responses were written down or given out loud.
Q. Suggest one extraneous variable that could have confounded the results of this study. (1 mark)
One mark for an acceptable extraneous variable that might have affected the DV if not controlled.
Likely answers: whether the same jar of peas/number of peas was shown in both conditions. Whether the participants saw the answers of others in Condition A. Previous experience with estimating tasks.
Q. The researcher used an independent groups design. Explain one advantage of using an independent groups design in this study. (2 marks)
One mark for identification of an advantage.
One mark for application to the study.
Q. Explain one reason why this study might be said to lack ecological validity. (2 marks)
For the second mark the answer must be linked to the task described.

35. Outline the 3 types of conformity in just 3 words each…
Plenary
Outline the 3 types of conformity in just 3 words each…