1.1.2 Explanations for Conformity

• Conformity can be explained via two different motivations:
  
  • The need to know what to do (fear of social disapproval/humiliation) - this is informational social influence (ISI)
  • The need to be liked/accepted by others (the fear of rejection) - this normative social influence (NSI)

Informative social influence (ISI)

• ISI tends to take place when the individual is unsure and lacks knowledge about a situation (which is usually new) and so looks to the group for guidance
• ISI can take place when there is a crisis situation, a decision needs to be made quickly and the assumption follows that the group knows what to do
• Someone is more likely to be affected by ISI if they are insecure about what is deemed 'right/wrong' by the group i.e. they don't want to look silly/ignorant/out of the 'loop' (i.e. it's more about information-processing than NSI)
• ISI as an explanation of conformity is linked to internalisation (a type of conformity as outlined on the previous page)
• Examples of ISI include:
  • On the first day of a new job an individual follows the group at lunchtime as their assumption is that the group knows where the canteen is
  • Someone collapses in the street but no-one stops to help so the individual assumes that it's not serious (after all, if it was a serious emergency then someone would stop to help, wouldn't they?)

Normative social influence (NSI)

• NSI tends to take place when the individual wishes to be accepted by a group (possibly a new/unfamiliar group though not always)
• NSI can takes place when an individual is trying to fit in with the group's norms
• Someone is more likely to be affected by NSI if they feel that their own behaviour/attitudes do not align with the group and this causes them some anxiety which in turn may lead them to publicly adjust to the group (i.e. it's more emotional than ISI)
• NSI as an explanation of conformity is linked to compliance and identification (types of conformity as outlined on the previous page)
• Examples of NSI include:
  • Agreeing with the group that the new Star Wars film is rubbish while secretly having enjoyed it
  • 'Ghosting' a schoolfriend because this is what everyone else in the group is doing but feeling bad about it and believing that this is cruel and wrong

Research support for informational social influence 

• Lucas et al (2006):
  • Participants showed higher rates of conformity when confronted with difficult maths questions compared to when the questions were easier thus ISI was demonstrated in the students not wanting to give the wrong answer publicly

Research support for normative social influence 

• Asch (1951):
  • Participants who gave the wrong answer to an unambiguous line-length task were likely succumbing to NSI as giving a different answer would have risked rejection by the group

Evaluation of explanations for conformity

Strengths

• There is good research support for both ISI and NSI e.g. Smith & Bond's (1996) meta-analysis which gives both explanations validity
• NSI has good application to global/historical events e.g. the behaviour of normal German people involved in the Holocaust

Weaknesses

• It is often difficult sometimes to differentiate between NSI and ISI (e.g. in Asch's research both explanations could apply)
• Both explanations cannot explain why some people refuse to or resist conformity