Evaluation to conformity

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P - there is a strong research support for information social influence (ISI)

Ev - Lucas conducted a study in which they asked students to answer maths questions. It was found that there was a greater conformity to incorrect answers when they were difficult. This suggests that people conform in situations where they feel less confident about the course of action

Ex - This supports informational social influence because the participants are looking to others for the right information

P - there is strong research support for normative social influence (NSI)

Ev - in Asch’s research, when he interviewed his participants, some said they conformed because they felt self-conscious giving the correct answer and they were afraid of disapproval. When participants wrote their answers down, conformity fell to 12.5%

Ex - This shows that at least some conformity is due to desire not to be rejected by the group for disagreeing with them

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P - one limitation is that normative social influence does not predict conformity in every case

Ev - McGhee and Teevan found that students who were nAffliators (people who have a strong need for affiliation) were more likely to conform

Ex - This shows that NSI underlies conformity for some people more than it does for others