Informative social influence occurs when the subject abandons his or her opinion and accepts that of the group, since believing that it is more accurate produces an internal change. This process is known as conversion, where we observe a conformity to the private type group.
Social influence happens more than we think or would like it to happen, because as social beings we are affected by the judgments expressed by our environment. Different investigations have been carried out that have verified such influence, observing different ways of acting and different factors that affect how the group influences.
In this article We will see what is meant by informational social influence who exerts social influence, what conformity is and what variables influence it, and what is the difference between the two social influences.
What is informational social influence?
Informational influence, also called social proof or social demonstration, is a type of conformity that occurs before the group In this case we perceive a private conformity, since the subject’s change of opinion is internal; the individual accepts the group’s judgment as more valid than his own. This process is known as conversion.
On the other hand, we understand by social influence the change that occurs in the opinions, judgments, ideas or attitudes of a person when exposed to the judgments, attitudes or opinions of other subjects In other words, it is the modification of our beliefs, our way of thinking or behaviors due to the effect that society produces on us.
Although human beings do not like to believe that our behavior or way of acting and thinking is influenced by society, this event constantly happens in our daily lives, when we buy a product, request a service or simply watch television, we are continually received opinions from others that influence us to a greater or lesser degree. We must not forget that we are social beings; We feel the need to relate to other individuals of our species, and it is inevitable that they influence us.
Who exercises social influence?
When we think about social influence, the first idea that comes to mind is linked to the effect produced by a larger group, that is, the majority, on a smaller individual or group, the minority. But this influence can be bidirectional, since although it may seem more difficult, using the necessary mode and components, a smaller group of people can influence the majority group.
Thus, depending on the size of the group that exerts the influence We will consider that conformity occurs if it is linked to the majority or innovation if, on the contrary, the change is related to the minority
The conformity
As we have seen, conformity occurs under the influence of the majority. This effect produced by the majority group has been verified in different investigations, such as that carried out by the psychologist Muzafer Sherif who was based on the autokinetic effect, which consists of the perception of erratic movement when a light point is placed on a dark background.
In Sherif’s experiment two groups were formed; One first performed the test accompanied by other subjects and then alone, and the other group did the reverse process, first alone and then accompanied. The results showed that when these subjects were studied first alone and then in a group, a personal norm was formed in the first instance, and that in the second condition, in a group, an attempt was made to reach a position shared with others. Instead, When they began the experiment in group mode, a group norm was already formed that persisted in the individual situation
From the previous research it is concluded that when faced with an ambiguous, abstract stimulus, subjects tend to be guided by the opinion of others, but what was surprising was to verify that they also accepted and welcomed the opinion of others when the stimulus was clear and objective. They knew that others were making mistakes. This influence is especially interesting, as despite knowing that others are wrong, we prefer to accept their opinion.
Another well-known experiment to test conformity to the majority was carried out by psychologist Solomon Ash. The test was easy, it consisted of identifying, among three lines placed together, which one was equal in length to another line shown to the subject. As expected, the control group was correct most of the time, showing an error rate of only 0.7%. Instead, In the experimental situation where the subject had to give his answer publicly, the error rate increased to 37%
The increase in error observed in Asch’s experiment was a consequence of the influence received by the majority: in this experiment the group was complicit and therefore several people intentionally gave a wrong answer, surprisingly causing the experimental subject to accept the other’s answer even though he sensed that it was not correct This research was the starting point for others, such as those carried out to verify whether conformity occurred privately or only publicly, that is, whether the individual’s opinion truly changes or not.
Variables that influence compliance
In the study carried out by Asch and in subsequent research it has been seen that public compliance is more powerful than private compliance That is, it happens more often. Now, different variables have been observed that will affect conformity, and one of them is the number of subjects that make up the group. As expected, if there are more people exerting pressure (voluntarily or involuntarily) there will be more influence, but this does not increase proportionally: after three subjects, adding one more affects less and less.
Linked to the number of subjects, it will also be important that they see themselves as independent individuals, that they do not present themselves as a group and a joint opinion, but that each one gives their own. If they are perceived as independent, more compliance will appear
Another factor is the presence of an accomplice. If a subject is added who gives his opinion before and coincides with that of the experimental individual, conformity decreases.
Similarly, intrapersonal variables affect: how competent one perceives oneself in relation to others and one’s self-confidence influence conformity. If the subject has a better perception of himself, conformity with the group will be lower.
Informational influence and normative influence
We see how individuals are influenced by our environment, and in this sense, to form a response and believe that one is right, the subject takes two variables into account. On the one hand, what he perceives through the senses, linked to the most objective part; and on the other hand, what others think or express Depending on which of the two variables has more strength, we will talk about normative influence or the aforementioned informational influence.
The main difference between the two types of influence lies in whether the subject accepts the opinion of others because he trusts more in the judgment of others than in his own (in this case, as we already know, we are referring to informational influence) or wants to be accepted by others and perceived as someone who supports the group and thinks like them (on this occasion the type of influence is called normative, since the purpose is to follow the social norm to be perceived positively).
In this way, the change that occurs in each type of influence is different. In the case of informational influence, the subject abandons her opinion to accept that of the group, producing a change in both thought and external behavior. On the contrary, in normative influence where the objective is to avoid rejection and please the group, the individual will only modify visible behavior; your inner thought will remain the same, yours either.
Likewise, in both cases, conformity is observed, but in the informational influence we will consider that it is private, given that an internal change occurs. This process is known as conversion, the subject converts his opinion. For his part, normative influence gives rise to public conformity, since it only modifies its behavior in front of others; This process is known as submission, one submits to be liked.
The two previous processes, submission and conversion, are independent. We perceive this independence when we compare the influence caused by the majority and the minority. In the case of the effect produced by the large group we see how submission normally appears, that is, normative influence (the subject changes externally). On the other hand, the minority makes the subject reflect and be able to accept its opinion, and thus an internal change will occur, a conversion, without this having to be expressed externally.