Explanations for conformity

• What is normative social influence?

  A form of social influence whereby an individual conforms with the expectations of the majority to gain approval or avoid disapproval.

  • This type of conformity is usually referred to as 'compliance'.
  • An important condition for normative influence to occur is that the individual must believe they are under surveillance by the group. When this is the case, people tend to conform to the majority position in public but do not necessarily internalise this view as it does not carry over into private settings.
• What is informational social influence?

  A form of social influence, which is the result of a to be right-looking to others as a way of gaining evidence about reality.

  • It is more likely in situations where the situation is ambiguous (i.e., the right course of action is not clear) or where others are experts (i.e., we believe they have more knowledge than we do).
  • It is an example of ‘internalisation’ because this involves changing both public and private attitudes and behaviours.
• Whats a strength of conformity?

  Research support for normative influence

  • Linkenbach and Perkins found that adolescents exposed to the simple message that the majority of their age peers did not smoke were subsequently less likely to take up smoking.
  • Likewise, Schultz et al. found that hotel guests exposed to the normative message that 75% of their guests reused their towels each day reduced their own towel usage by 25%.
  • Their studies support the claim that people shape their behaviour out of a desire to fit in with their reference group.