1 social influence

• Descriptive norms

• How others actually behave

• Injunctive (prescriptive) norms

• How one should behave 

• Can be formal or informal

• Tight norms

• stronger norms, less tolerance for deviance 

Loose norms

• Weaker norms, more tolerance for deviance 

• Informational influence

• Sherif study

• Accepting data provided by others

• We want to be correct, maybe others have the right answer 

• Normative influence 

• Asch study

• Desire to meet others’ expectations, be accepted, and not stand out

Conformity

• Change in behavior (or beliefs) to match others 

Mimicry — why?

• Often happens automatically and non-consciously 

• Why? 

  • Ideomotor action

    • We are more likely to in mentally accessible behavior 

  • Foster social connection

    • We want to be liked

    • Mimicry increases liking 

Sherif — autokinetic effect study 

• Groups of people made judgements after trial 1

• Formation of group norms 

Asch line study

• Matching line lengths 

• Independent answers high accuracy, with others they conformed to the wrong answer 

• 3 different groups recruited, no significant difference between education/status/location

conformity: group size

1. Larger groups = greater conformity 

2. Even for anti-conformists 

conformity: unanimity

1. With even 1 dissenter, decreases

conformity: cohesion

1. Members of cohesive groups conform more 

conformity: status

1. People conform more to high status group members 

conformity: public responses

1. When responses are public

conformity: public commitment

1. Committing to a different opinion publicly decreases later conformity

conformity: culture

1. Interdependent and tight cultures conform more 

Compliance

• Yielding to a request to change behavior or opinion (perhaps while privately disagreeing)

• Negative state relief 

• Increase in actions that would help mood, like helping feeling negative

• But not for negative moods like anti-social behavior (anger, frustration) 

Obedience 

• Change in behavior or beliefs as a result of commands from authority figures 

  • Would a nurse inject a patient with lethal medicine if a doctor orders it? 

Factors that influence obedience (Milgram)

• Emotional distance from the victim 

  • Can’t hear the learner and shock by remote = 100% obedience

• Institutional authority 

  • Random place instead of Yale = only 50% obeyed 

• Presence of resisters

  • Contradictory experimenters, 0% went to the end  

Reactance

• When our freedom is threatened, we react by doing the opposite of what we are being pressured to do 

  • Motive to protect or restore sense of freedom 

  • Not doing dishes when someone explicitly tells you to 

• How to breakdown reactance

• Reminding people of their freedom

• saying “you are free to accept or refuse” 

• Minority influence

• Can help resist obedience (Milgram study)

• Consistent minority beliefs can be persuasive 

• Primarily effective through informational influence

  • Leads to majority members to examine their beliefs 

Uniqueness

• People sometimes want to be (a little) different than others 

• Ordering different food at restaurants just because