TYPES OF CONFORMITY

SPECIFICATION: Types of conformity: compliance, identification and internalisation

COMPLIANCE, IDENTIFICATION, AND INTERNALISATION

COMPLIANCE

• Definition: A superficial, temporary form of conformity. The person publicly agrees with the group to gain approval or avoid criticism but privately disagrees.

• Persistence: Ends when group pressure or surveillance stops.

• Typical influence process: Usually linked to normative social influence.

• Examples:

  1. Pretending to enjoy a film your friends love so you don’t seem difficult.

  2. Applauding a speech you disagree with because everyone else is clapping.

  3. Following a dress code at work, even though you dislike it.

IDENTIFICATION

• Definition: A moderate level of conformity where the person adopts the behaviour, beliefs, or social role of a group because they value belonging or identify with it. The change can involve both public and private acceptance, but it is temporary, lasting only as long as the person identifies with the group or role.

• Persistence: Ends when group membership or the role loses importance.

• Typical influence process: Linked to normative and informational influence; also occurs in social role conformity.

• Examples:

  1. A police officer behaving authoritatively at work but relaxed at home.

  2. A teenager dressing, speaking, and acting like their friendship group.

  3. An employee adopts corporate values and work culture but abandons them after changing jobs.

INTERNALISATION

• Definition: The deepest, most permanent form of conformity, where an individual genuinely accepts a group’s beliefs as true and integrates them into their own value system.

• Persistence: Long-lasting; continues even when the group is absent.

• Typical influence process: Linked to informational social influence and conversion, especially in minority influence.

• Examples:

  1. Adopting a scientific worldview after being persuaded by evidence.

  2. Becoming a vegetarian for ethical reasons after living with vegetarians.

  3. Maintaining feminist beliefs after learning about gender inequality, even if social support decreases.

HOW DIFFERENT INFLUENCE PROCESSES RELATE TO THE THREE TYPES

MAJORITY INFLUENCE: People usually go along with the majority to fit in or avoid standing out. This tends to produce compliance (going along publicly but not privately agreeing) or sometimes identification (copying the group because you want to belong). For example, in Asch’s study, participants gave the wrong answer because everyone else did.

MINORITY INFLUENCE: A minority can change people’s views more deeply, but this takes time and consistency. It usually leads to internalisation, where people genuinely change their thinking. For example, in Moscovici’s study, some participants came to actually see the slides as green after repeated exposure to a consistent minority.

OBEDIENCE: Obedience can produce all three types depending on the situation. People may show compliance if they follow orders just to avoid consequences, identification if they take on a role (such as a soldier following authority), or internalisation if they truly believe the authority is right