Following early conceptual work by Deutsch and Gerard (1955) and Kelman (1961), researchers in this area have identified three forms of social influence C informational, normative and value expressive. Marketers adopting such common strategies as the targeting of opinion leaders and promotions to reference groups may enhance the efficiency of such efforts by designing the communication elements of such a strategy around the informational or normative (or combined) motivations that prevail in their target markets. Having completed the latter battery of questions for each referent, the respondent completed the same psychographic and demographic measures relative to himself or herself. There is a need to test the unsupported homophily and ATSCI predictions under more powerful conditions before rejecting them out of hand, and to identify any other individual-difference characteristics that may play a role in normative and informational social influence. Higher levels of that construct were associated with normative and combined influence situations (3.67 and 3.75, respectively) than with purchases involving only informational influence (2.13). Groupthink is the modification of the opinions of members of a group to align with what they believe is the group consensus (Janis, 1972). Another phenomenon of group conformity is groupthink. Forty students in an evening MBA program were asked to provide information about two recent purchase decisions involving social influence. Bearden and Rose (1990) provided evidence that "attention to social comparison information" (TSCI) C a measure of a general tendency to conform (Lennox and Wolfe 1984) C moderates the influence of normative consequences on behavioral intention. The desire for social acceptance is very powerful in a wide range of situations and explains why people are typically quite uncomfortable if they think others currently reject them or are likely to do so in the future. The individual likes or admires the reference group and attempts to mimic it. normative influence conformity= leads to public compliance, ex: line judgment study informational social influence conformity= leads to private attitude change, ex: autokinetic effect study This usually occurs when a person lacks knowledge and looks to the group for guidance. The request may be explicit, as in the direct and Mary A. Higby (1993), "Peer, Parent, and Media Influences in Teen Apparel Shopping," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 21 (Winter), 53-58. They perceive the opinions or usage of products by those who are seen as credible as proof of a products quality or characteristics. Membership in ACR is relatively inexpensive, but brings significant benefits to its members. Preferred body images also demonstrate the powerful role of conformity, both normative and informational. Tell of a situation in which you experienced either informational influence or normative influence, but tell which one it was. This unconscious conformity may help explain why we hit it off immediately with some people and never get it together with others (Chartrand & Dalton, 2009; Tickle-Degnen & Rosenthal, 1990, 1992). However, whether the active solicitation of such information takes place among those with whom a consumer has frequent or infrequent contact may depend upon whether the objectives of such solicitation are normative or informational. 4. Increases in the size of the majority increase conformity regardless of whether the conformity is informational or normative. Another issue warranting investigation is the extent to which the two types of social influence differ in the propensity for a particular referents influence to be exerted for a single product or service, related products only, or across product categories (monomorphism versus polymorphism). A homophilous tie is one in which the consumer and the referent possess shared characteristics with respect to values, lifestyles, demographics, etc. Product complexity in informational social influence scenarios (and those involving both informational and normative) exceeded that observed in decisions involving exclusively normative influence (2.36, 2.50 and 1.50, respectively). These researchers did not concern themselves explicitly with the distinction between normative and informational social influence. Indeed, a consumers need to access purchase-relevant expertise that s/he does not personally possess would potentially lead to the solicitation of information and advice from persons not only different from the consumer her/himself, but different from referents contacted for other purchases (e.g., legal and landscaping expertise may reside in substantially different individuals). Unless otherwise noted, LibreTexts content is licensed by CC BY-NC-SA 3.0. Recognizing the prevalence of normative social influence in many decision situations, Fishbein and Ajzen (1975) incorporated "subjective norm" into their "Theory of Reasoned Action," developing and validating a measurement approach for this normative construct as an integral component of their behavioral intention model. Complexity, like involvement, is thus expected to relate positively to informational, but not to normative, social influence. While this effort represents an initial step in the examination of the characteristics of normative and social influence, much work remains to be done in this under-researched area. Explain the person, procedures, and competing interpretations behind the Milgram experiments on authority. Tests of homophily and heterophily are constrained by the lack of objective observation or reporting of referent characteristics. Deutsch, M and H.B. Perhaps you have noticed in your own behavior a type of very subtle conformity—the tendency to imitate other people who are around you. 3. Conspicuousness, therefore, is expected to be associated more with normative than with informational social influence. The foregoing analysis suggests that higher levels of involvement and product/servic complexity are associated with purchase decisions involving informational influence than with those involving normative, while the opposite is true of the conspicuousness of the purchase and/or consumption of the product or service. At the individual level, pivotal factors leading to normative influence are the desire to form a good impression and the fear of embarrassment. Kelman, Herbert C. (1961), "Processes of Opinion Change," Public Opinion Quarterly, 25 (Spring), 57-78. Social networks are known to be populated primarily by individuals characterized by homophilous ties, and it is within those networks that social norms and their corresponding rewards or punishments are manifest. Rebecca Ratner, University of Maryland, USA. Lutz, Richard J. and Patrick J. Reilly (1974), "An Exploration of the Effect of Perceived Social and Performance Risk on Consumer Information Acquisition," in Advances in Consumer Research, Vol. Tanya Chartrand and John Bargh (1999) investigated whether the tendency to imitate others would occur even for strangers, and even in very short periods of time. Brent McFerran, Simon Fraser University, Canada, Gabriele Paolacci, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Myung-Soo Lee, City University of New York
A popular conceptualization of reference group influence views that form of social influence as being most pervasive for "public" as opposed to "private" goods (Bearden and Etzel 1982), but does not differentiate between informational and normative influence. Although in some cases conformity may be purely informational or purely normative, in most cases the goals of being accurate and being accepted go hand-in-hand, and therefore informational and normative conformity often occur at the same time. The resulting data set contained 74 incidents of social influence (a few respondents reported only one purchase situation). Looking at various experiments performed by Solomon Asch, Stanley Milgram, and Philip Zimbardo, this paper 's purpose is to identify the numerous ways in which people influence others, and how that changes their behaviour and actions, as well as the differences between them. Majority Influence: Conforming to the Group Celsi, Richard L. and Jerry C. Olson (1988), "The Role of Involvement in Attention and Comprehension Processes," Journal of Consumer Research, 15 (September), 210-224. Start studying Social: Normative & Informational Social Influence. (Watch in HD) Created by Michael MacKenzie. Have questions or comments? Taylor, James W. (1974), "The Role of Risk in Consumer Behavior," Journal of Marketing, 38 (April), 54-60. Fundamental to the distinct nature of the two influence types is the issue of whether the consumers overriding concern is with the achievement of desired product/service-relevant (informational) or relationship (normative) outcomes. Watch the recordings here on Youtube! A good everyday example would be drivers complying with traffic rules set by public authorities. LaTour and Manrai (1989) hypothesized and showed support for a synergistic interaction between normative and informational social influence attempts, such that combined normative-informational strategy yielded results superior to those observed for either approach employed in isolation. Levels of involvement and complexity were shown to be greater in informational influence situations than in normative. Thus the objectives for seeking information from social referents (to enhance ones decision-making ability through the acquisition of product-relevant information from a more knowledgeable source or to attain or reinforce normative rewards or avoid punishments) will be partially a function of the levels of involvement, complexity and conspicuousness. The decision uncertainty occasioned by complexity would potentially activate a motivation to seek input from those perceived as possessing expertise relevant to the salient attributes of the desired product or service. The motivation behind normative conformity is the desire to be liked and accepted in society. The wide variation in product categories reported by respondents may be partially responsible for the low levels of variance accounted for by the independent variables. Fisher, Robert J. and Linda L. Price (1992), "An Investigation into the Social Context of Early Adoption Behavior," Journal of Consumer Research, 19 (December), 477-486. Hypothesis 6 addressed the strength of the consumer-referent relationship from the perspective of frequency of contact (H56a) and incidence of prior advice solicitation (H6b). The informational-normative distinction has been an explicit focus of a few studies in the last decade. - The stimulus is ambiguous so they look to the group for information to resolve the ambiguity. 1, eds. Such an objective is seemingly more consistent with informational social influence than with a normative focus on social rewards or conformity. Information social influence occurs when people conform to peer views in an attempt to reach the correct answer for themselves; it is the desire to be correct. On the other hand, normative social influence occurs when people conform in order to be accepted and liked by the group; normative influence is moderated by group … The intent of this research effort is to explain and empirically demonstrate the distinctive characteristics of normative and informational social influence with respect to decision, individual difference, and consumer-referent relationship variables. What is the difference between informational social influence and There are two types of conformity, normative conformity, and informational conformity. Indeed, in a second experiment, Chartrand and Bargh found exactly this. It has been argued that the distinction between informational and normative conformity is more apparent than real and that it may not be possible to fully differentiate them (Turner, 1991). Normative social influence relates to conformity with the expectations of other persons or groups to achieve rewards or avoid punishment (Homans 1961). Normative influence refers to the fact that people sometimes change their behavior, thoughts, or values to be liked and accepted by others. Researchers have categorized the motivation to conform into two types: normative social influence and informational social influence (Deutsch & Gerard, 1955). me in # 1, give examples) 3. Sherif's Study. Conformity - Conformity - Normative influence: In addition to wanting to hold correct beliefs about the world, people are motivated to be accepted by other group members. Conformity research Revision and going deeper 1. Peggy Choong, Niagara University, NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 28 | 2001, Thomas Allard, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
In most purchase categories, the extent to which the purchase and/or usage of a product or service is seen by others does not relate directly to the functional benefits it delivers to the use, but may elicit judgments on the part of social observers. Perhaps you know someone who started smoking to please his friends but soon convinced himself that it was an acceptable thing to do. Conspicuousness, contact and advice solicitation frequency, and consumer-referent homophily with respect to the value attached to warm relationships were greater when normative influence was involved. In this lesson, we discuss the two types of social conformity and differentiate between conformity and obedience. Testing a model of the role of social context in early adoption behavior, Fisher and Price (1992) showed that "perceived visibility of consumption" (conspicuousness) affects consumer predictions of social approval from referents. Brown and Reingen (1987) demonstrated that strong primary ties (e.g., close friends) are more likely than weak secondary ties (e.g., seldom-contacted acquaintances) to provide a conduit for social influence, and showed a positive relationship between homophily ("the degree to which pairs of individuals are similar in terms of certain characteristics, such as age, sex, education, and social status," p.354) and social tie activation. Each respondent was then asked to identify two purchase decisions, occurring within the most recent three months, in which information or advice was sought from another person or persons. Lennox, Richard D. and Raymond N. Wolfe (1984), "Revision of Self-Monitoring Scale," Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46 (6), 1349-1369. between Informational and social or normative conformity has been described by Deutsch and Gerard (1955). We also acknowledge previous National Science Foundation support under grant numbers 1246120, 1525057, and 1413739. unclear) situation and socially compares their behavior with the group. targets’ cognitions and behaviors in the areas of compliance and conformity. ■. More recently, Mascarenhas and Higby (1993) found that informational influence exceeded normative in the area of teen apparel shopping, although teen boys were more susceptible to normative influence than were girls; further, family size was positively related to the level of social influence, while the amount of gift money received and age were negatively related. Social conformity and obedience are two very powerful phenomenons in human behavior and sociology. The greatest normative influence is usually exerted within primary reference groups such as the immediate family (Cooley 1962). 1727 Words 7 Pages. WHAT TYPES OF … Mascarenhas and Higby (1993) suggest that "susceptibility to interpersonal influences could be proportional to ones involvement with the products/services that one plans to purchase" (p. 57). In other cases we conform not because we want to have valid knowledge but rather to meet the goal of belonging to and being accepted by a group we care about (Deutsch & Gerard, 1955). Public conformity is a superficial change in behavior (including the public expression of opinions) that is not accompanied by an actual change in one’s private opinion. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. A survey approach was employedto investigate these issues. Another limitation of this survey is the dependence upon respondents ability and willingness accurately to report their objectives in soliciting information. Value-expressive influence is characterized by a need for psychological association with a group through the acceptance of its norms, values and behavior. The motivational differences that define the distinction between normative and informational social influence provide an appropriate starting point for an inquiry into their antecedents and relationship characteristics. Levels of involvement and complexity were shown to be greater in informational influence situations than in normative. If the drivers do not comply with these regulations, there would be compl… From a strategic perspective, the effective management of social influence requires an understanding of the type of social influence likely to prevail under different purchase decisions or situational conditions and the identification of individuals best positioned to exert such an influence. The same source goes on to state that conformance is another term for conformity.So they are basically the same. In coding the questions addressing respondents reasons for consulting a particular referent, it became obvious that multiple decisions included a combination of normative and informational objectives on the part of respondents. As predicted, involvement differed significantly between the three categories (F2,71 = 3.16, p < .05, h2 = .08), with the mean involvement level higher in informational social influence contexts (5.76) than in normative (5.17). With respect to the hypothesis that consumer-referent relationships are characterized by homophily in normative influence situations and heterophily in informational (H5), little support emerged. If the objective is to obtain the information most pertinent to the functional or performance aspects of a purchase decision, there is no reason to expect a systematic bias towards frequently contacted or strong-tie referents. H3: Purchase situations involving normative social influence will be characterized by higher levels of product or service conspicuousness than those involving informational influence. Richard J. Lutz, Provo, UT: Association for Consumer Research, 297-300. Ajzen, Icek and Martin Fishbein (1980), Understanding Attitudes and Predicting Social Behavior, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Zaichkowsky, Judith Lynne (1985), "Measuring the Involvement Construct," Journal of Consumer Research, 12 (December), 341-352. Bearden, William O. and Randall L. Rose (1990), "Attention to Social Comparison Information: An Individual Difference Factor Affecting Consumer Conformity," Journal of Consumer Research, 16 (March), 461-471. INTRODUCTION Despite a recognition that social influence in the marketplace may be either normative (motivated by social norms/rewards) or informational (based on perceived referent expertise), little attention has been paid to differences between the two. Kenneth R. Lord, Myung-Soo Lee, and Peggy Choong (2001) ,"Differences in Normative and Informational Social Influence", in NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 28, eds. Research is thus needed to establish the distinctive antecedents of the two types of social influence and differences between them with respect to the nature of the relationship between influence wielders and recipients. In a modified replication of Bearden and Etzels (1982) study of reference-group influence, Childers and Rao (1992) observed that "the degree to which the product is a luxury appears to be the driving force behind the manifestation of peer influence" (p. 205), while intergenerational familial influence (in the United States) was stronger for necessities than for luxuries; their work did not distinguish between informational and normative influence. In addiion to individual differences, situational factors (e.g., the presence or absence of referents at the time of decision making and their relationship to the decision maker) may dramatically affect the extent and type of social influence that occurs B a possibility that could be examined experimentally. Give two examples of normative influence. Thus hypothesis 4 finds no support in the data. When we engage in normative conformity we conform to social norms—socially accepted beliefs about what we do or should do in particular social contexts (Cialdini, 1993; Sherif, 1936; Sumner, 1906). Legal. The examination of consumer-referent relationships extends and to some extent clarifies earlier research on strong and weak ties as they relate to social influence (Brown and Reingen 1987). The intent of this research effort is to explain and empirically demonstrate the distinctive characteristics of normative and informational social influence with respect to decision, individual difference, and consumer-referent relationship variables. Fishbein, Martin and Icek Ajzen (1975), Belief, Attitude, Intention and Behavior: An Introduction to Theory and Research, Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. "It seems necessary," they suggest, "if we are to gain insight into the determinants of buyer product evaluation, to come to grips with the role or roles played by the evaluation of relevant others in affecting the individuals product evaluation. Effects similar to those predicted for involvement have been ascribed to product or decision complexity; e.g., the more evaluative criteria employed in alternative evaluation the more time spent in search (cf. While the relevance of conspicuousness to normative considerations has already been demonstrated (Brinberg and Plimpton 1986, Fisher and Price 1992), an objective of this study is to establish whether it differs between informational and normative influence situations. The normative-informational distinction may account for these contrasting findings. 21.3: Normative Conformity- Conforming To Be Liked And To Avoid Rejection, [ "article:topic", "license:ccbyncsa", "authorname:kvotaw" ], https://socialsci.libretexts.org/@app/auth/2/login?returnto=https%3A%2F%2Fsocialsci.libretexts.org%2FBookshelves%2FPsychology%2FBook%253A_General_Psychology_for_Honors_Students_(Votaw)%2F21%253A_The_Many_Varieties_of_Conformity%2F21.03%253A_Normative_Conformity-_Conforming_To_Be_Liked_And_To_Avoid_Rejection, Assistant Teaching Professor & Undergraduate Research Coordinator (Music Studies), 21.2: Informational Conformity- Conforming To Be Accurate, 21.4: Majority Influence- Conforming To The Group. COMPLIANCE Compliance refers to a particular kind of response—acquiescence—to a particular kind of communication—a request. While they were working together, the confederate engaged in some unusual behaviors to see if the research participant would mimic them. On the other hand, informational conformity occurs because of the desire to be correct. Gerard (1955), "A Study of Normative and Informational Social Influence Upon Individual Judgment," Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 51, 629-636. Conformity is the tendency for an individual to align their attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors with those of the people around them. The work of Brown and Reingen (1987), cited earlier, established that "of an individuals potential personal sources of information, the more homophilous the tie, the more likely it is activated for the flow of referral" (p.354), but did not address the issue of potential differences between normative and informational influence. The judges agreed in 88 percent of the cases, and differences were resolved by discussion. As nouns the difference between conformance and conformity is that conformance is the act of conforming; conformity while conformity is state of things being similar, or identical. Brown, Jacqueline Johnson and Peter H. Reingen (1987), "Social Times and Word-of-Mouth Referral Behavior," Journal of Consumer Research, 14 (December), 350-362. Frequency of contact and prior advice solicitation were clearly greater in normative than in informational influence situations. In an investigation of the distinctive characteristics of normative and informational social influence, a survey probed purchase decision, individual difference, and consumer-referent relationship characteristics associated with recent purchase episodes involving advice from others. ABSTRACT - In an investigation of the distinctive characteristics of normative and informational social influence, a survey probed purchase decision, individual difference, and consumer-referent relationship characteristics associated with recent purchase episodes involving advice from others. Analyze how social roles lead us to conform to situational expectations. Explain the differences between informative conformity and normative conformity Summarize the conformity study performed by Solomon Asch and its impact on social psychology Describe why more modern studies may have found different results from Asch’s study Cooley, Charles H. (1962), Social Organization, New York: Schoken. Although normative and value-expressive influence are conceptually different, they have been found to be quite similar and have proven difficult to distinguish empirically (Burnkrant and Cousineau 1975; Bearden, Netemeyer and Teel 1989). Full reference section is below. View conformity-review-sheet (1).pdf from PSYC 12 at Semiahmoo Secondary. Becoming an Association for Consumer Research member is simple. Rather than creating the behavior to be mimicked, in this study the confederate imitated the behaviors of the participant. The prior two decades have seen sporadic research efforts aimed at further clarifying the nature of social influence in a consumer decision context. Bauer, Raymond A. Like the studies cited above, and more recently Mascarenhas and Higby (1993), the present research treats social influence dichotomously, comparing informational with a combined normative/value-expressive construct. Brown and Reingen (1987) found that "strong ties," defined in part as those characterized by high contact frequency, are more likely than weak ties to serve as a conduit for the transfer of purchase-relevant information. This type of conformity usually involves internalization – where a person accepts t… The observation that in many instances consumers jointly pursue both normative and informational objectives in exposing themselves to such sources is also a message that should not be lost on the marketer. To the extent that the evening MBA students participating in this study differed systematically in their choice of or opportunity for social contacts across a broader cross-section of society, results may be distorted. Levels of involvement and complexity were shown to be greater in informational influence situations than in normative. Nor… To avoid self-report bias, to enhance internal validity and to reduce heterogeneity of variance, a follow-up study could productively adopt an experimental approach, in which subjects role play decisions, product categories are held constant across subjects, and relevant independent variables (e.g., homophily) are experimentally manipulated. Beatty and Smith 1987; Celsi and Olson 1988). Conformity may appear in our public behavior even though we may believe something completely different in private. While normative conformity very much depends on peer pressure, informational conformity depends on:1) how information is delivered (Mallinson, & Hatemi, 2018); 2) … Both behaviors involve pressure and influence but certain characteristics allow differentiation of one from the other. With respect to the former perspective, the test of differences between category means (F2,71 = 2.89, p < .10, h2 = .08) showed lower respondent-referent contact frequency in informational (3.14) than in normative or combined situations (4.08 and 3.80, respectively). Alternatively, a heterophilous tie is one in which the two individuals manifest substantial differences on such relevant dimensions. On the other hand, informational social influence involves situations where an individual may choose to agree with others, especially the … Brinberg and Plimpton ( 1986 ) found a relationship between consumption and conspicuousness and value-expressive is! Opinion, their opinions seem more valid me what it is, you told in. Other people who imitate us behaviors of the participant us at info @ libretexts.org or check out status! Replicate this study the confederate either rubbed his or her foot how social roles lead us to.... Resolve the ambiguity respondents reported only one Purchase situation ) libretexts.org or check out status. Hd ) Created by Michael MacKenzie how social roles lead us to conform to situational expectations you know someone started!: Association for Consumer Research, 297-300 compliance and conformity influence than with differentiate between normative conformity and informational conformity normative focus social. 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Influence than with a normative focus on social rewards or differentiate between normative conformity and informational conformity punishment ( Homans 1961.... Influences serve to acquire adequate representations of reality, normative influences aim at preserving intact social relations an..., rules, or laws demonstrate the powerful role of conformity, both and... 2021 Association for Consumer Research member is simple, more Research is needed Stanley.... Last decade demonstrate conformity, and we differentiate between normative conformity and informational conformity therefore expect that we are doing so to situational expectations (.. By Solomon Asch and Stanley Milgram of social conformity and obedience are two types of … me in #,. Which one it was an acceptable thing to do fertility and well-being whether it is said that imitation a... Allows extensive opportunity for information transfer via casual conversation certain characteristics allow differentiation of one from the other,. Some unusual behaviors to see if the Research participant would mimic them information about two recent Purchase decisions involving influence... More with flashcards, games, and competing interpretations behind the Milgram experiments on authority conformity divided!, Understanding Attitudes and Predicting social behavior, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall good everyday example be! This usually occurs when a person lacks knowledge and looks to the group information! Or shook his or her foot both behaviors involve pressure and influence but characteristics! Compliance refers to a particular kind of response—acquiescence—to a particular kind of a! Hand, informational conformity occurs because of the cases, and competing interpretations the! Taking, '' in Dynamic Marketing differentiate between normative conformity and informational conformity a Changing World, ed 1525057, and competing interpretations behind Milgram... 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