Interpersonal and group processes

Social Influence

how other people influence our behavior

Compliance

change of behavior in response to a direct request

Obedience

change of behavior in response to a directive from an authority figure

Conformity

change in behavior to match the response or actions of others

Reciprocity

the rule that obliges us to repay others for what we have received from them

Norm of reciprocity

the rule that obliges us to repay others for what we have received from them (even when we did not request or want the favor)

Door-in-the-face technique

starting with an (unreasonably) large request and then lowering it after the other party says no

Consistency

the rule that obliges us to be consistent in our behavior

Foot-in-the-door technique

starting with a small request and then asking for a larger (related) request

Commitment

once we make a commitment, we feel pressure to follow through

Liking

people comply more with requests made by individuals they like

Authority

people comply more with requests made by individuals in a position of authority

Milgram's obedience studies

a series of experiments conducted by Stanley Milgram to study obedience to authority

Similarity

a factor that influences liking

Hofling et al

a real-world replication of Milgram's study conducted in a hospital setting

Sherif

a researcher who investigated the creation of social norms in the laboratory

Normative conformity

conformity based on the desire to be liked and accepted by others

Social inhibition

Decreased task performance in the presence of others.

Dominant response

The reaction elicited most quickly and easily by a given stimulus.

Prejudice

A shared attitude or feeling towards a social outgroup and their members based on group membership.

Stereotypes

Generalized beliefs about members of groups.

Discrimination

Behavior that stems from prejudice.

Linguistic intergroup bias

Tendency to use concrete, specific language describing positive outgroup characteristics and negative ingroup characteristics.

Illusory correlations

Perception of a relation between two distinctive elements that does not exist or is exaggerated.

Contact hypothesis

The idea that contact with people of the outgroup can reduce prejudice.