Groups and individuals often shift their preferences following discussion of an issue. Explanations for such shifts typically invoke either informational or normative influence processes. The former refers to influence based on sharing of facts or persuasive arguments about the issue, and the latter refers to conformity to implicit decision norms and others' preferences. We investigated conditions under which one or the other influence mode predominates during discussion. Groups discussed and made decisions on either an intellective issue (attempting to discover the true or correct answer) or a judgmental issue (deciding on the moral, valued, or appropriate position), given either a unanimity or a majority decision rule. The largest shift in preference was found for the judgmental issue decided by unanimity rule. The least satisfaction with both the process and the outcome of discussion was found in groups that decided a judgmental issue under majority rule. Content analysis showed that, as expected, the intellective issue elicited more informational than normative influence, and the judgmental issue provoked more normative than informational influence. This pattern was stronger under unanimity rule than under majority rule. Thus, the mode of influence that predominates in group discussion depends on type of issue, and the degree of dominance is moderated by the decision rule. Possible limitations and extensions of the research are discussed.Group discussion often has the effect of inducing shifts in both individual opinions and group decisions. The mode by which groups exert influence on members during discussion has been an issue of long-standing interest, with two alternative influence modes receiving the most attention (Deutsch & Gerard, 1955). The first, normative influence, is based on the desire to conform to the expectations of others. Judgment shifts are assumed to result from exposure to others' choice preferences and from subsequent conformity to the norms that are implicit or explicit in these preferences. The second, informational influence, is based on the acceptance of information from others as evidence about reality. Shifts are attributed to the sharing of relevant arguments and factual information about the judged

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