Outline and evaluate NSI and ISI as explanations for conformity.

Deutsch and Gerard proposed a two-process model to explain conformity consisting of informational
social influence and normative social influence. Informational social influence (ISI) is a cognitive
explanation for conformity in which people go along with the group that appears to have the correct
information. For example, in class ISI would be at work if a new student did not know the answer but
went along with the majority because they had been in the class longer. This is because people generally
want to be right. NSI is an emotional explanation for conformity that suggests people accept the group
norm in order to gain social acceptance and avoid rejection. This is because people generally want to
avoid looking foolish. An example of when NSI is in play is in class when a person conforms to the
majority answer because they are self-conscious about being cast out for disagreeing.

One weakness of the two-process model is that Deutsch and Gerard suggested that either NSI is at play
OR ISI is at play but not both at the same time. However, in a variation of Asch's line experiment where a
dissenting confederate was added, conformity decreased significantly. This makes it difficult to tell
whether ISI or NSI was decreased. ISI may have been decreased because the correct information was
cast into doubt, however NSI may have been decreased because there was less social pressure due to
the majority being smaller. Thus, the internal validity of the model can be questioned as boundaries can
overlap.

One strength of ISI is the research support given by Lucas et al, who found that conformity in answering
maths questions increased when participants rated their ability as poor and increased further when
questions were more difficult. This shows that people do conform in order to seem as though they have
the correct information and improves the validity of the model.

One limitation of ISI is that individual differences may impact the results. For example, when Perrin and
Spencer recreated Asch's line study with 396 engineering students, only one case of conformity was
found. This shows that a person's expertise and confidence in their information can impact the effect of
informational social influence.

One strength of NSI is the research that supports it. For example, in a follow-up questionnaire, some
participants cited self-consciousness as justification for their conformity to the group. This shows that
the desire to fit with the group can lead to people giving a wrong answer even when they know the
answer is incorrect.

One limitation of NSI is that individual differences, such as being an nAfilliator, can impact the validty of
the explanation. This suggests that those who have less need for relationships or 'affiliation' are less
likely to conform due to social pressure or normative social influence as they care less about others'
opinion about them.