1. Informational influence
   1. Informational social influence occurs when one turns to the members of one's group to obtain accurate information.
      1. When a situation is ambiguous, people become uncertain about what to do.
         1. They are more likely to depend on others for the answer
      2. During a crisis immediate action is necessary, in spite of panic.
         1. Looking to other people can help ease fears, but unfortunately they are not always right.
      3. people often turn to experts for help
         1. The more knowledgeable a person is, the more valuable they are as a resource
   2. Informational social influence often results in internalization or private acceptance, where a person genuinely believes that the information is right.
2. Normative influence
   1. Normative social influence occurs when one conforms to be liked or accepted by the members of the group. It usually results in public compliance, doing or saying something without believing in it
      1. The number of people in the group has a surprising effect.
         1. As the number increases each person has less impact
      2. . A group's strength is how important the group is to a person.
         1. Groups we value generally have more social influence.
      3. Immediacy is how close the group is in time and space when the influence is taking place
3. Asch Experiment
   1. Method
      1. In the basic Asch paradigm, the participants — the real subject and the confederates — were all seated in a classroom. They were asked a variety of questions about the lines (which line was longer than the other, which lines were the same length, etc.) The group was told to announce their answers to each question out loud and the confederates always provided their answers before the study participant. The confederates always gave the same answer as each other. They answered a few questions correctly but eventually began providing i ncorrect responses. In a control group, with no pressure to conform to an erroneous view, only 1 subject out of 35 ever gave an incorrect answer. However, when surrounded by individuals all voicing an incorrect answer, participants provided incorrect responses on a high proportion of the questions (36.8%). 75% of the participants gave an incorrect answer to at least one question.
   2. Result
      1. Variations of the basic paradigm tested how many confederates were necessary to induce conformity, examining the influence of just 1 confederate and as many as 15 confederates. Results indicate that 1 confederate has virtually no influence and 2 confederates have only a small influence. When 3 or more confederates are present, the tendency to conform is relatively stable. The unanimity of the confederates has also been varied. When the confederates are not unanimous in their judgment, even if only 1 confederate voices a different opinion, participants are much more likely to resist the urge to conform than when the confederates all agree. This finding illuminates the power that even a small dissenting minority can have. Interestingly, this finding holds whether or not the dissenting confederate gives the correct answer. As long as the dissenting confederate gives an answer that is different from the majority, participants are more likely to give the correct answer.