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 Polly's behaviour. Polly checks what her friends are going to wear before she gets ready to go out because she does not want to be the odd one out. This suggests that she conforms in order to fit in and gain social approval from her friendship group. Her behaviour is therefore influenced by normative social influence, as she is going along with the group norm so that she is not seen as different.

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 Polly'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 she 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 a person is uncertain, new to a group, or believes that other people know more than they do. It is usually linked to internalisation, because the person accepts the group's behaviour or opinion as correct, leading to a genuine change in belief or behaviour.

This can be seen in Jed's behaviour. When Jed starts a new job, he watches his colleagues carefully so that he can work out where to put his things and how long to take for lunch. This suggests that he sees his colleagues as a useful source of information in an unfamiliar situation. His conformity is therefore due to informational social influence, because he is looking to others to help him behave correctly in his new workplace.

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 Jed's behaviour, because he changes his behaviour to match his colleagues to ensure that he is behaving appropriately in a new and unfamiliar situation.