Question

Define and describe normative influence, conformity, obedience. Discuss how these three social influences are related to desire to be socially accepted by others

Answer 1

1. normative behavior aare the behavior which are agreed as right by the society. human consider themselves as social beings and in order to live peacefully in the society they tend to follow its norms. norms are the rules of right and wrong developed by the society for all. hence, normative behavior is following the norms of the society and acting accordingly. normative influence is a social influence resulting in conformity. it id defined as the influence of others which leads us to conform in order to be socially accepted.
2. conformity- it is a change in behavior to fit into the group. it can be due to physical presence of others or due to pressure from soocil norms or group pressure. it indicates agreement to the majority in order to fit in the group. kelman distinguished between different tyoes of conformity.

• compliance- it involves accepting a behavior in order to achieve a favourable reaction from another person. it is a temporary change. we just comply in front of the group but we dont agree.
• internalisation- accepting something because it is intrinsically rewarding. the behavior is adopted as it is consistent with the values. we change the behavior to fit in the group and also agree with them.
• identification- accepting something to maintain a relationship with someone or the group. there is no change in private opinion and people conform to the group or social norms related to their roles.
• ingratiational- it is when a person tries to gain aceptance from others. it iis motivated by the need of rewards,

3. obedience- the behavior changes due to orders from an authority figure. people show obedience as they want to get rewards, or to avoid negative consequences, or because they believe in authority legitimate. they geberally dont want to be rude and jusitify the change as the responsibility of the authority. they also obey easy commands first and feel compelled to obey bigger orders then.

all the 3 are related to the desire of being socially accepted. people have this desire in ofrder to connect with others and maintain rekationships with them. this becomes easy when the person changes his behavior as per the norms of the society or as per demands by the4 surrounding people which happens in the above mentioned concepts. the main cause of all the 3 behaviors is the desire to be accepted by others only.