Normative Social Influence

Normative social influence is one of conformity. It is "the influence of other people that leads us to conform in order to be liked and accepted by them." This often leads to public compliance—but not necessarily private acceptance—of the group's social norms.Social norms refers to the unwritten rules that govern social behavior. These are customary standards for behavior that are widely shared by members of a culture When people tend to conform to normative social influence is explained in Bibb Latané's social impact theory. Social impact theory states that the more important the group is, the closer the physical distance is between the group and oneself, and the number of people in the group all affect the likelihood that one will conform to the group's social norms. This can also be referred to as "Normative Influence" which is described as a phenomenon that occurs when another person's behavior provides information about what is appropriate.