PS4031 week 4 - norms attitudes and pursuasion

normative influence

a phenomenon that occurs when another person's behavior provides information about what is appropriate

- conformity

- stanford prison experiment

attitude change and persuasion

the process by which one person tries to change the belief, opinion, position, or course of action of another person through argument, pleading, or explanation

- factors of persuasion

- models of attitude change

social acceptance

having others like us, accept us, and approve of us is a powerful human motive (Baumeister and Leary, 1995)

related to:

- conformity

- normative influence

conformity

Adjusting one's behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard.

the tendency to do what others are doing just because others are doing it- partly because of normative influence

Asch's conformity experiment (1951, 1956)

composed of 8 people, 7 of which were confederates.

each individual had to state which of 3 lines matched the standard line printed on the other card.

there were 2 normal trials and on the last trial confederates all gave the wrong answer.

this process was then changed up giving the non confederate an accomplice- making them more likely to answer with the correct line

normative influence

one persons behaviour is influenced by another persons behaviour(attitudes and expectations), because the latter provides information about what is appropriate

norms

the unwritten rules that govern social behaviour.

customary standards for behaviour that are widely shared by members of a group or society

what are norms informed by

social identity

group memberships

norm of reciprocity

the expectation that helping others will increase the likelihood that they will help us in the future

the unwritten rule that people should benefit those who have benefitted them

stanford prison experiment

to study the psychological effects of adopting the role of a prisoner or a guard

- guards ended up behaving sadistically while prisoners became stressed and depressed

stanford prison experiment procedure

-24 male students were used as participants and were pre-screened for psychological issues'

-paid 15 dollars per day to participate

-a coin flip divided them into guards and prisoners- random assignment

-the prisoners were arrested outside their homes which was not agreed upon beforehand

-they were imprisoned in a hallway in the basement

stanford prison experiment conclusions - see results of experiment in slides

revealed how people will readily conform to the social roles they are expected to play.

the power of the situation was at play.

demand characteristics were also present

criticisms of the stanford prison experiment

behaviour of the guards varied alot.

some evidence found that the researchers encouraged the guards (Haslam et al, 2019)

demand characteristics

the researchers were watching, which influenced behaviour

the power of the situation

idea that behavior is influenced by environmental factors, even though we focus on personal traits for explanation

it is the situation that one finds oneself in rather than personality traits, that can sometimes determine behaviour

persuasion

involves the communication of arguments and information intended to change another persons attitudes

attitudes

-evaluations of people, objects and ideas.

-relatively stable but stability can vary between people and attitude objects

-we rely heavily on attitudes and beliefs to guide our actions, therefore we are motivated to have the right ones

key variables in attitude change

these are important factors for a message to be accepted and persuasion to be successful

the source: factor of persuasion

the person who sends a message

factors affecting:

-credibility

-expertise

-trustworthiness

-attractiveness

similarity

message: factors of persuasion

the information that is transmitted by the source

factors affecting:

-fear appeal versus logic

-one sided versus two sided argument

-repetition

the channel: factor of persuasion

the medium through which the message is sent

factors affecting:

-in person

-on tv

-online

-via audiotape

the receiver: factor of persuasion

the person to whom the message is sent

factors affecting:

-personality

-expectations

-pre existing attitudes

how are source factors used to make persuasion more effective

-when the source has high credibility, if the source has expertise and are trustworthy they are perceived to be more credible

-if the source is likeable. likeability is increased when the source is attractive and/or similar to the receiver

how are message factors used to make persuasion more effective

how are receiver factors used to make persuasion more effective

6 principles of social influence

1. Reciprocity

2. Consistency / commitment

3. Scarcity

4. Liking

5. Consensus / Social Proof

6. Authority

reciprocity

reciprocation recognises that people feel indebted to those who do something for them or give them a gift

Commitment and consistency

people do not like to back out of deals.

people are more likely to do something after they've agreed to it verbally or in writing.

people strive for consistency in their commitments

social proof / consensus

when people are uncertain about a course of action, they tend to look to those around them to guide their decisions and actions. they want to know what everyone else is doing- especially their peers- conformity

Authority

people respect authority. they want to follow the lead of real experts. Business titles, impressive clothing, and even driving fancy cars; lend credibility to individuals

liking

people prefer to say yes to those they know and like.

people are also more likely to favour those who are physically attractive, or similar to themselves(even as little as sharing a first name), or who give them compliments

scarcity

the less of something there is, the more valuable it is perceived to be.- the more rare and uncommon a thing is, the more people want it

persuasion tactics

if a source(communicator) is credible or can make themselves appear credible, they can employ several influence tactics to increase the likelihood of persuasion

-foot in the door technique

-door in the face technique

foot in the door

a technique where you first make a small request and later make a much larger request.

people who respond favourable to the initial request are more likely to respond favourably to the second request

foot in the door experiment

Freedman and Fraser, 1966 - see slides

based on agreement of housewives to let a survey team of 5-6 men come to their house for 2 hours to classify household products used

door in the face

the first request must be so large that it is rejected, then a smaller second request will be more likely to be granted

door in the face experiment

asked college students if they would be willing to spend 2 hrs chaperoning group of troubled kids to the zoo; 17% agreed; in another condition, they were first asked to volunteer every week for at least 2 yrs at a juvenile detention center; everyone said no; they were than asked about the 2 hr chaperoning; 50% agreed

Cialdini et al, 1975- see slides

Elaboration Likelihood Model

petty and cacioppo, 1985

this is a model of attitude change that suggests two routes to persuasion:

- central route

-peripheral route

benefit of elaboration is determined by motivation and capacity of the receiver.

central route persuasion

conscious and thoughtful consideration and elaboration of arguments concerning a given issue

for central route processing the occur

the receiver must be motivated to process the persuasive message(relevance)

the receiver must also be able to grasp the persuasive message

peripheral route

less careful, more emotional, quick, and superficial evaluation of a message

messages perceived through the central routes are

more effective

longer lasting

better predictor of behaviour

central route method of processing a persuasive message

the audience: motivated and analytical

processing: high effort, evaluation of the message in depth

persuasion: lasting change in attitude

peripheral route of processing a persuasive message

audience: unmotivated, not analytical

processing: low effort, persuaded by cues outside of the actual message

persuasion: may lead to a temporary change in attitude