Essay Hint: Students should avoid simply lifting quotes from the scenario. Students must meaningfully apply the material by explaining what each quote shows and linking it clearly to the relevant psychological concept.

Normative social influence happens when a person conforms because they want to fit in with the group and avoid rejection. The person goes along with the group publicly, even if they do not privately agree. This is usually linked to compliance, because the individual changes their behaviour but not their private beliefs.

This can be seen in Jeff's behaviour. Jeff says that "everyone else seemed to be striking" and that he did not want to be the only one who was not. This suggests that he conformed for normative reasons, because he wanted to avoid being the odd one out and gain acceptance from the other teachers. His behaviour is likely to be temporary, as there is no evidence that he has genuinely changed his private views.

There is research support for normative social influence as an explanation for conformity. In Asch's study, participants often gave the same incorrect answer as the confederates, even when the correct answer was obvious. Interviews afterwards suggested that many of them conformed because they wanted to fit in and avoid social rejection, rather than because they actually believed the group was right. This supports the theory of normative social influence because it shows that people may change their public behaviour without changing their private beliefs. However, Asch's study may lack temporal validity because it was carried out in 1950s America, when conformity may have been higher than it is today. This means the findings may not fully reflect how strongly people conform in modern society. It may also suggest that Jeff's behaviour may not be fully explained by normative social influence, as other factors, such as dispositional influences like personality or confidence, may also affect whether he chooses to conform or not.

Informational social influence happens when a person conforms because they want to be correct. This is more likely in situations where someone is unsure, new to a group, or believes that other people know more than they do. It is usually linked to internalisation, because the person comes to accept the group's view as correct, leading to a real and often lasting change in belief.

This can be seen in Steph's behaviour. Steph says that she "listened to the other teachers' arguments" and has now "become quite passionate about it". This suggests that she conformed for informational reasons, because she was influenced by the views of others and came to believe that their position was correct. Her comment suggests that her change in attitude is genuine and lasting, which means internalisation has taken place.

There is research support for informational social influence as an explanation for conformity. Jenness asked participants to estimate the number of beans in a jar individually and then discuss their answers in a group. When they later gave a second individual estimate, many changed their answer so that it was closer to the group estimate. This suggests that participants believed the group judgement was more likely to be correct than their own, particularly in an uncertain situation. This supports informational social influence and helps to explain Steph's behaviour, because she appears to have accepted the views of the other teachers as valid and has genuinely changed her own attitude towards striking.