Distinguishing between conformity and compliance - A multi-level approach

Abstract

People from collectivistic cultures have been shown to conform more in an Asch-studies than people from individualistic cultures. This is thought to stem from a focus on the group in collectivists, vs. a focus on the individual in individualists. Several issues are addressed in this thesis: (i) although they are useful terms, collectivism and individualism alone cannot explain what the cognitive processes are that underlie this adjustment behaviour, (ii) it is unclear what happens in an Asch-experiment: do people learn socially or do they decide to ignore their own opinion in favour of that of the group? Recent fMRI studies show that there is an observable distinction between these two processes. Based on these findings an experiment is proposed that can distinguish between conformity and compliance. Directions for future studies are discussed.