explanations of conformity

• informational social influence 


  person conforms because of the desire to be right
• informational social influence occurs when people are not sure how to behave so they use the majority as a source of information
• informational social influence is usually associated with :

  internalisation = changing public behaviour and private beliefs
• informational social influence example

  in a classroom, a child goes along with the answer of someone who they perceive to be highly intelligent
• informational social influence support

  Asch line task variation = difficulty

  internalisation - more unsure of the answer so more likely to change their public behaviours and private beliefs as they genuinely believe the group is right
• normative social influence


  person conforms due to the desire to be liked
• normative social influence occurs when a person conforms because it is socially rewarding or to avoid a social punishment
• normative social influence is usually associated with

  compliance and identification
• normative social influence support

  Asch line task original

  37% conformity rate in the critical trials