Social influence - Conformity - Explanations for conformity (2)

What two different motivations can conformity be explained as stemming from ?

• Normative social influence (NSI): the need to be liked / accepted by the group (the fear of rejection)

• Informative social influence (ISI): the need to know what to do (fear of social disapproval/ humiliation)

When does NSI occur and when is it more likely ?

• When an individual is keen to adopt the social norms of a specific group , e.g.:

• - Going church every week because that is what the group do

-Someone is more likely to be affected by NSI if they feel that their behaviour and attitudes do not align with those of the group , e.g. i stopped going to church years ago but the group goes every week.

→ This lack of cohesion with the group may cause anxiety , which in turn may lead to an adjustment in behaviour , e.g. - i’m going to start attending church with the group so that they feel that i am one of them.

What else may NSI involve ?

• NSI may involve an individual going against their inner beliefs, ideals or opinions in order not to be rejected by the group , e.g. agreeing with the group that a new film is rubbish while secretly having enjoyed it.

As an explanation of conformity what is NSI linked to?

• Linked to compliance

• → Essence of NSI is emotional, as it’s based on the need to be liked and accepted.

When does ISI take place ?

• When the individual is unsure and / or lacks knowledge about what to do or how to behave in a specific situation, e.g. →

• Someone’s first day at work , they will look to others for cues.

When does ISI typically occur and when are they more likely to be affected by ISI?

• Occurs when the individual looks to the group for guidance , can occur when there is a crisis and a decision needs to be made quickly.

• More likely to be affected by ISI if they are insecure about what is deemed ‘right /wrong’ behaviour , e.g. someone falls in the street no one helps so you don’t either.

As an explanation of conformity what is ISI linked to ?

• Linked to internalisation

• - Essence of ISI is cognitive ,as it is based on information processing.

STRENGTHS 1 EVAL OF EXPLANATIONS FOR CONFORMITY

• There is good research support for ISI:

• → Jenness (1932) asked participants to estimate the number of beans contained in a jar

• → Participants then discussed their estimates in groups , then each participant made a second independent estimate.

• →findings showed that the second estimate moved closer to the group estimate , indicating ISI thus , the theory has validity.

STRENGTHS 2 EVAL OF EXPLANATIONS FOR CONFORMITY

• NSI has good application to real behaviour in real settings (high ecological validity):

• →Schultz et al. (2008) conducted a series of field experiments to test NSI

• →Guests were exposed to signs providing descriptive normative information (e.g. most guests reuse their towels)

• →The findings showed that the guests who received normative messages were significantly more likely to reuse towels than those in control conditions (no sign)

• →DEMONSTRATES that NSI can influence real behaviour in everyday settings.

LIMITATIONS 1 EVAL OF EXPLANATIONS FOR CONFORMITY

• Neither explanation for conformity explains why some people resist both NSI and ISI ,e.g. freedom fighters ,rebels,iconoclasts

• →Means that both explanations for conformity cannot be generalised to everyone , to this extent they cannot account for individual differences.

LIMITATIONS 2 EVAL OF EXPLANATIONS FOR CONFORMITY

• It is rare for both NSI AND ISI to be tested in real conditions

• →Most research in this field is lab - based

• →Lab - based research is low in mundane realism , which reduces the scope of its external validity.