informational social influence
Summary
Informational social influence is conforming because you treat other people's behavior as evidence of what is correct. It is strongest when a situation is ambiguous or you feel unsure, and it often leads to private acceptance. Normative influence, by contrast, is driven by a wish for acceptance.
Detail
Meaning: Informational social influence is a source of conformity in which a person uses the group as information about reality. When a task is difficult, a situation is ambiguous, a crisis is unfolding, or the others seem to be experts, their behavior counts as evidence. Because the person actually revises their belief, the result is often internalization (private acceptance), not just outward compliance.
On the MCAT: A passage may describe sherif's autokinetic effect study. Participants judged how far a stationary point of light seemed to move, and their estimates converged on a group norm. Predict that conformity rises with ambiguity, task difficulty, and the perceived expertise of the group. The bystander effect is a common application. In an unclear emergency, people watch each other's inaction and conclude that no help is needed. Asch's line-judgment studies are usually used to illustrate normative pressure, because the correct answer is obvious.
Common confusion: Students mix this up with normative social influence. Ask why the person went along. "They probably know better" points to informational influence. "I don't want to stand out or be rejected" points to normative influence, which can produce public compliance with private disagreement. Both can operate in the same situation, so choose the one the passage's wording supports.
Sources
- Psychology (Myers)
- Social Psychology (Aronson, Wilson, Akert)
- Introduction to Psychology (Gleitman)
Written for the MCAT and checked before it was published. For study reference only. Spotted an error? Let us know.