Informational Social Influence

• Informational social influence is about who has the better information - you or the rest of the group
• In ISI we are often uncertain about what behaviours or beliefs are right or wrong
• For example, you may not know the answer to a question in class, but if most of the class agrees on one answer, you accept that answer because you feel they are likely to be right
• The reason individuals follow the behaviour of the group is because people want to be right
• ISI is a cognitive process because it has to do with what you think
• ISI is most likely to happen in situations that are new to a person or situations where there is some ambiguity, so it isn't clear what is right
• It is also typical in crises where decisions have to be made quickly
• ISI also occurs when one person is regarded as being more of an expert