... 75% of participants. Upon subsequent interview, Asch's (1955) subjects revealed their conformity to be public acceptance or compliance. This can be viewed as qualitatively different from the private acceptance or conversion under majority influence shown by Sherif (1936). Types of Influence * Informational influence - the need to behave correctly and in accordance with reality - leads an individual to rely on others for information. An individual may compare their personal norms with those of others because of: o uncertainty as to what is appropriate (social comparison) o greater expertise/knowledge of others (systematic informational influence) o need for a short cut when there is no time to think things through (heuristic informational influence) A majority may be perceived as particularly influential because 'a large number of people can't all be wrong'. Sherif's (1936) autokinetic effect experiments showed that when individuals made judgements in groups, their estimates of the movement of light converged over time as a ...

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