Discuss two explanations for conformity. Refer to Polly and Jed in your discussion.

Normative social influence is a form of conformity. It is when an individual conforms because they want to be liked or respected by a group even whilst knowing the difference between right and wrong. This is linked to compliance because it is the action of ‘going along with others’ and publically agreeing with their opinions although not privately; this is why the individual’s behaviour stops as soon as group pressure stops. Polly is seeking acceptance from her friends in order to not be the ‘odd one out’ and therefore goes along with what her friends wear although she may not privately agree with what they are wearing. Here, Polly is complying with her friends and is Normative socially influenced.

Asch’s research investigated whether people would conform to a majority in situations where the answer was obvious using a ‘line perception’ test. 7 confederates and 1 naïve participant were shown lines and asked to name a corresponding line from the listed answers; when the 7 confederates all gave the same answer, the naïve participant usually conformed. In fact the average conformity rate was 33% from the 12 trails Asch created. However, Asch’s control group showed that less than 1% of participants made a mistake when answering. This shows that participants conformed and gave the wrong answer in order to be liked and accepted by the confederates. This supports Normative Social Influence because the control group demonstrated that when people where not overtaken by a majority, they would answer confidently and correctly with few mistakes and they would not need to conform; the critical trails however, showed that people conformed in order to be accepted and not ‘left out’ much like Polly not wanting to be the ‘odd one out’.

McGhee and Teevan found out that students who care more