explanations for conformity

Question 1

what is informational social influence

Answer 1

when someone conforms because they want to be right, they look to other for information, usually tends to lead to internalisation

Question 2

what is normative social influence

Answer 2

when someone conforms because they want to be liked and be part of a group, often occurs to avoid embarrassment

Question 3

outline jenness’ study and how it links to explanations for conformity AO3

Answer 3

• Ps had to create an individual estimate of jellybeans in a jar
• then discussed and created a group estimate
• then got to make a new individual estimate
• the new individual estimate was closer to the group estimate than the original estimate
• this supports ISI as an explanation as it’s unlikely that Ps knew how many jellybeans were in the jar and so looked to the group for information

Question 4

how does Asch’s study link to normative social influence AO3

Answer 4

• unambiguous task meant that it was easy and unlikely that Ps genuinely didnt know the answer
• 32% conformity rates suggests that confederates giving the wrong answer prompted Ps to comfort because of NSI
• the 5.5% dissenter conformity rates can also show that it was down to NSI