Explanations

• Describe Informational Social Influence (ISI)?

  Explanation of conformity

  When the correct answer is unclear and we look for guidance as we want to be correct

  Linked to Internalisation as results in a permanent change in beliefs
• What is Normative Social Influence (NSI)?

  Explanation of conformity

  Explains conformity in cases where the individual conforms to appea normal becuase they want approval/fear rejection from the group

  Often results in compliance as behaviour is temporary
• ISI is a cognitive process as people generally want to be right
• ISI leads to internalisation
• ISI is most likely in situations which are new or there’s some ambiguity so it isn’t clear what’s right
• NSI is about norms

  • a desire to behave like others and not look foolish
• Norms regulate the behaviour of groups and individuals
• NSI is an emotional rather than cognitive process

  • people prefer social approval rather than rejection
• NSI leads to compliance
• NSI occurs in unfamiliar situations and with people you know
• NSI is most likely where you don’t know te norms and look to others on how to behave
• NSI occurs in situations with strangers if you don’t want to be rejected or with people we know because we want the approval of our friends
• NSI may be more pronounced in stressful situations where we need social support
• Research support for NSI- A03

  Asch (1951)

  • found many participants conformed rather than give the correct answer because they were afraid of disapproval
  • but when participant wrote down their answer conformity fell to 12.5%

  this shows that at least conformity is due to a desire not to be rejected by the group for disagreeing with them
• Research support for ISI- A03

  Lucas et al. (2006)

  • found participants conformed more to incorrect answers when maths problems were difficult

  For hard problems the situation was ambiguous so they relied on the answers of others.

  This supports ISI becuase the results are what ISI would predict
• Hard To seperate NSI and ISI- A03

  Can’t study NSI and ISI separately

  Less scientific as we can’t be sure which one is causing the effect.

  It’s too complex to study only one explanation.

  Therefore ISI and NSI are hard to separate and operate together in most real world situations

  So we know that both happen but not to what extent.
• Individual differences in NSI- A03

  Some people are concerned about being liked by others

  • nAffiliators who have a strong need for affiliation and the need to relate to others

  McGhee and Teevan (1967)

  • found that students who were nAffiliators were more likely to conform

  Shows NSI underlies conformity for some people more than others

  • an individual difference which isn’t explained by a theory of situational pressures
• Is the NSI/ISI distinction useful- A03

  Lucas et al.’s study shows that the NSI/ISI distinction may not be useful as it’s impossible to work out which one is operating.

  But Asch’s research supports both NSI and ISI

  So overall both concepts are useful because they can be identified and used to explain the reasons for conformity in studies and real world situations