Normative Social Influence
Encyclopedia
Normative social influence is one form of conformity. It is "the influence of other people that leads us to conform in order to be liked and accepted by them." This often leads to public compliance—but not necessarily private acceptance—of the group's social norms
. When people tend to conform to normative social influence is explained in Bibb Latané
's social impact theory
. Social impact theory states that the more important the group is, the closer the physical distance is between the group and oneself, and the number of people in the group all affect the likelihood that one will conform to the group's social norms.
conducted his classic conformity experiments
in an attempt to discover if people would still conform when the right answer was obvious. Using confederates, he created the illusion that an entire group of participants believed something that was obviously false. When in this situation, participants conformed about a third of the time on trials where the confederates gave obviously false answers. When asked to make the judgements in private, participants gave the right answer more than 98% of the time. Obviously, normative social influence played a role in the participants' decision making. Schultz (1999)found that households that received more normative messages in which described the frequency and amount of weekly recycling, began to have a direct impact on both the households frequency and amount of curbside recycling. The sudden change was due to the fact that "the other neighbors" recycling habits had a direct normative effect on the household to change theirs. Similar results were apparent in hotels where towel usage increased by 28% through normative messages.
While the above experiments clearly indicate that witnessing directly how others act can influence behavior, latter day research suggests that direct personal experience is not a necessity for normative tendency. Research shows that written communication instructing how people should behave or describing how most people act in a given situation can generate the same normative behavior in people.
Also compare ‘informational social influence’ or social proof
wherein people look to others to determine what the best course of action for a certain situation may be.
Penis
. When a majority of group members conform to social norms, the group generally becomes more stable. This stability translates into social cohesion, which allows group members to work together toward a common understanding, or "good".
exerts normative social influence by publicising deviations from the social norms of a group or society. When an action is labeled deviant, it both reinforces the social norm about that action and requires the deviant individual to either conform "regardless of his private predilections" or publicly reject the norm.
Norm (sociology)
Social norms are the accepted behaviors within a society or group. This sociological and social psychological term has been defined as "the rules that a group uses for appropriate and inappropriate values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. These rules may be explicit or implicit...
. When people tend to conform to normative social influence is explained in Bibb Latané
Bibb Latané
Bibb Latané is a United States social psychologist. He is probably most famous for his work with John Darley on bystander intervention in emergencies, but he has also published many articles on social attraction in animals, social loafing in groups, and the spread of social influence in populations...
's social impact theory
Social impact theory
Social Impact theory was created by Bibb Latané in 1981 and consists of three basic rules. The first rule is that social impact is the result of social forces including the strength of the source of impact, the immediacy of the event, and the number of sources exerting the impact...
. Social impact theory states that the more important the group is, the closer the physical distance is between the group and oneself, and the number of people in the group all affect the likelihood that one will conform to the group's social norms.
Research
Solomon AschSolomon Asch
Solomon Eliot Asch , also known as Shlaym, was an American Gestalt psychologist and pioneer in social psychology.-Early life and education:...
conducted his classic conformity experiments
Asch conformity experiments
The Asch conformity experiments were a series of studies published in the 1950s that demonstrated the power of conformity in groups. These are also known as the Asch Paradigm.-Introduction:...
in an attempt to discover if people would still conform when the right answer was obvious. Using confederates, he created the illusion that an entire group of participants believed something that was obviously false. When in this situation, participants conformed about a third of the time on trials where the confederates gave obviously false answers. When asked to make the judgements in private, participants gave the right answer more than 98% of the time. Obviously, normative social influence played a role in the participants' decision making. Schultz (1999)found that households that received more normative messages in which described the frequency and amount of weekly recycling, began to have a direct impact on both the households frequency and amount of curbside recycling. The sudden change was due to the fact that "the other neighbors" recycling habits had a direct normative effect on the household to change theirs. Similar results were apparent in hotels where towel usage increased by 28% through normative messages.
While the above experiments clearly indicate that witnessing directly how others act can influence behavior, latter day research suggests that direct personal experience is not a necessity for normative tendency. Research shows that written communication instructing how people should behave or describing how most people act in a given situation can generate the same normative behavior in people.
Also compare ‘informational social influence’ or social proof
Social proof
Social proof, also known as informational social influence, is a psychological phenomenon where people assume the actions of others reflect correct behavior for a given situation...
wherein people look to others to determine what the best course of action for a certain situation may be.
Types
There are two types of social norms that exert influence. While the result, conformity, is the same for both types of influence, the motivation behind conformity is different in each case. Injunctive norms encourage conformity by implying that a certain attitude or behaviour is approved of or disapproved of by a social group. Descriptive norms imply that an attitude or behaviour is common among members of a group, regardless of approval.Penis
Functions
In many cases, normative social influence serves to promote social cohesionSocial cohesion
Social cohesion is a term used in social policy, sociology and political science to describe the bonds or "glue" that bring people together in society, particularly in the context of cultural diversity. Social cohesion is a multi-faceted notion covering many different kinds of social phenomena...
. When a majority of group members conform to social norms, the group generally becomes more stable. This stability translates into social cohesion, which allows group members to work together toward a common understanding, or "good".
Everyday life
Normative social influence is found in our everyday lives, from fashion trends to workplace habits. One of the most frequent forms of normative social influence involves conforming to cultural definitions of the "ideal body type." In Western culture, particularly American fashion, attractive women are expected to be extremely thin. This explains women's attempts to conform by extreme dieting, creating eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia. Males are also subject to this phenomenon. Studies have shown that the "ideal body" for males has slowly changed over the years, becoming more muscular. This has created an epidemic of steroid and ephedrine use to achieve a more muscular physique.Media
The mass mediaMass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
exerts normative social influence by publicising deviations from the social norms of a group or society. When an action is labeled deviant, it both reinforces the social norm about that action and requires the deviant individual to either conform "regardless of his private predilections" or publicly reject the norm.
See also
- Conformity
- Asch conformity experimentsAsch conformity experimentsThe Asch conformity experiments were a series of studies published in the 1950s that demonstrated the power of conformity in groups. These are also known as the Asch Paradigm.-Introduction:...
- Informational Social Influence
- Social influenceSocial influenceSocial influence occurs when an individual's thoughts, feelings or actions are affected by other people. Social influence takes many forms and can be seen in conformity, socialization, peer pressure, obedience, leadership, persuasion, sales, and marketing...
- Social psychologySocial psychologySocial psychology is the scientific study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. By this definition, scientific refers to the empirical method of investigation. The terms thoughts, feelings, and behaviors include all...
- ObedienceObedience (human behavior)In human behavior, obedience is the quality of being obedient, which describes the act of carrying-out commands or being actuated. Obedience differs from compliance, which is behavior influenced by peers, and from conformity, which is behavior intended to match that of the majority. Obedience can...