PSYB10H3 Chapter Notes - Chapter 9: Social Proof, Normative Social Influence
Document Summary
People sometimes conform because of informational social influence; they view the actions of others as informative about proper behaviour. People also conform because of normative social influence, out of a concern for the social consequences of their actions: conformity pressure depends on group characteristics. The larger the size, the greater the group"s influence, but only up to about four people. Unanimous groups exert more pressure to conform than those with even a single dissenter. The greater the expertise and status of the group members, the greater their influence: people from interdependent cultures are more likely to conform than people from independent cultures. Women tend to conform more than men, and both women and men conform more in domains in which they have less knowledge: the direction of influence is not always from the majority to the minority. People are generally reluctant to stray too far from the mainstream, and descriptive norms indicate how people actually behave in specific contexts.
