Question

What factors impact conformity and explain each?

Answer 1

• In psychology, conformity is defined as the act of matching attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors to group norms.
• There are two major motivators to conformity: normative influence and informational influence.
• Normative influence occurs when an individual conforms in order to gain social acceptance and avoid social rejection. For instance, men’s and women’s views of what the ideal body image is have changed over time. Both men and women will conform to current norms in order to be accepted by society and avoid social rejection.
  
• Informational influence occurs when individuals seek out members of their own group to obtain and accept accurate information about reality. For instance, if an individual lands a really prestigious, high-paying job, she is more likely to be offered similarly high-paying jobs in the future because potential employers will be influenced by their peers’ previous decisions about her.
• The opposite effect is true as well: if the person has been unemployed for a long time, employers may assume it is because others have not wanted to hire her. They will, therefore, try harder to find flaws in her and her application.
• A number of factors are known to increase the likelihood of conformity within a group. Some of these are as follows:
• Group size—larger groups are more likely to conform to similar behaviors and thoughts than smaller ones.
• Unanimity—individuals are more likely to conform to group decisions when the rest of the group’s response is unanimous.
• Cohesion—groups that possess bonds linking them to one another and to the group as a whole tend to display more conformity than groups that do not have those bonds.
• Status—individuals are more likely to conform with high-status groups.
• Culture—cultures that are collectivist exhibit a higher degree of conformity than individualistic cultures.
• Gender—women are more likely to conform than men in situations involving surveillance, but less likely when there is no surveillance. Societal norms establish gender differences that affect the ways in which men and women conform to social influence.
• Age—younger individuals are more likely to conform than older individuals, perhaps due to lack of experience and status.
• Minority influence—minority factions within larger groups tend to have influence on overall group decisions. This influence is primarily informational and depends on consistent adherence to a position, the degree of defection from the majority, and the status and self-confidence of the minority members.