Which type of influence occurs when a person accepts others' opinions about reality because they want to be right or do something correctly?

Which type of influence occurs when a person accepts others' opinions about reality because they want to be right or do something correctly?

• A. Normative Social Influence
• B. Informational Social Influence
• C. Social Facilitation
• D. Prejudice

Answer: (B)

When people accept others’ opinions about reality because they want to be right or do something correctly, they’re showing informational social influence. In this process, you look to others as a source of information, especially in situations that feel uncertain or ambiguous. You assume the group has more or better information, so you internalize what they think and end up adopting those beliefs as your own. This often leads to genuine changes in your beliefs, not just surface agreement. This differs from normative social influence, where the motive is to fit in or gain social approval rather than to arrive at the truth. It also isn’t about how performance changes in the presence of others (social facilitation) or about attitudes toward groups (prejudice).

When people accept others’ opinions about reality because they want to be right or do something correctly, they’re showing informational social influence. In this process, you look to others as a source of information, especially in situations that feel uncertain or ambiguous. You assume the group has more or better information, so you internalize what they think and end up adopting those beliefs as your own. This often leads to genuine changes in your beliefs, not just surface agreement.

This differs from normative social influence, where the motive is to fit in or gain social approval rather than to arrive at the truth. It also isn’t about how performance changes in the presence of others (social facilitation) or about attitudes toward groups (prejudice).