Thought Paper #3
(due 12/4/01)

As discussed in class, people often times change their behavior to conform to the norms of a group. Conformity may involve behaving in a way that is inconsistent with one's beliefs. For example, in a discussion with friends on the U.S.'s attacks on Afghanistan, you may find yourself agreeing with supporters of military action, even though you have doubts about whether it will be effective in the long run. Using what you know about the two primary mechanisms of attitude change--persuasion and cognitive consistency--give specific examples of the conditions that would need to exist for conformity to produce attitude change.