What are three types of social influence?

• A. Emotional support, instrumental support, and informational support
• B. Physical activity and dietary guidelines, physician recommendations, and educational media
• C. Social support, informative influences, and normative influences
• D. Social bias, peer pressure, and social media

Answer: (C)

Social influence operates through informational, normative, and social-support pathways. Informational influence happens when we look to others for information to guide our actions, especially in uncertain situations, and we accept their judgments as correct. Normative influence is the drive to conform to be liked or accepted by others, so we adjust our behavior to fit social norms and avoid disapproval. Social support acts as a social-context mechanism that provides emotional, instrumental, or informational resources from others, making certain behaviors easier to adopt and sustain because the surrounding network reinforces and enables them.

This combination best captures how people’s behavior can be shaped by others: we may follow what seems like correct information from others, align with group norms to gain social acceptance, and rely on supportive networks that encourage or facilitate the intended behavior. The other options mix different ideas—types of support, channels or sources of guidance, or broader social phenomena—without identifying the recognized influence processes themselves.