PSY100 Chapter Thirteen

What is social psychology?

The study of how people think about, influence, and relate to other people.

* the study of groups and social processes

How do your neurotransmitters react when you are on the social hierarchy / how you are perceived on it?

* dopamine and serotonin

Serotonin is high when you are high on the hierarchy and low when you are low on it

How do sociology and social psychology differ?

They are both interested in human social behaviour

* Sociology focuses on a group level (and how they function in society), but social psychology focuses on how groups influences individuals and individuals influence groups

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* Social psychologists focus on the immediate social situation to figure out why people do what they do
* They are interested in studying how a person’s thoughts, feelings and behaviours are influenced by the actual (or imagined) presence of others

How are social psychology and personality psychology similar and different?

* Within psychology, they are the most closely aligned with each other
* They are both psychologists interested in understanding and predicting behaviour
* The thing that distinguishes them is where they look for the causes of behaviour
* Personality psychologists look for traits, motives, and so forth
* Social psychologists typically focus on situational factors that lead to behaviour

Social psychology shares many characteristics with other areas of psychology, but what two ways is it distinctuve in? (what are the features of social psychology?)

its connnection to real-life events and its reliance on experimental methods

How has social psychology been connected to real-life events?

during times like WW1, WW2 and the civil rights union, social psychology was used to study why the Holocaust even happened and how changing social arenas might change a person’s life for the better

How does social psychology have important implications for many aspects of everyday life, not only real-life events? (first feature of social psychology?)

social psychologists research include topics like:

* leadership
* organizational behaviour
* marketing
* persuasion

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they also place many topics from other areas of psychology like:

* neurloscience
* perception
* cognition
* learning
* motivation and emotion
* all into a social context b/c humans are innately social creates, it is best to put these factors in a social context

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Is social psychological research often experimental? What does this mean for social psychologists? (second feature of social psychology?)

* some are correlative in nature, but they often use experimental methods
* they are likely to manipulate an independent variable to draw causal conclusions about its effects on some outcome (the dependent variable)
* FOR EX. an aspect of social context
* these experiments are often observations of the phenomena in the social world

What is an example of how social psychology is experimental?

the experiment of the bystander effect

Why was there an experiment for the bystander effect and what was it about (the IVs and DVs)?

A women was brutally murdered in 1964 in front of 38 windows and no one asked for help, whcih invoked John Darley and Bibb Latane to conduct a study about the bystander effect.

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They would put people in distressed situations or emergencies and the independent variable was whether they were alone or not while the dependent variable is how they acted to help the person in trouble or respond to the emergency

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* When they were alone, they were more likely to take action 75% of the time BUT when there was a bystander present, it dropped to 50%

What is the bystander effect?

the tendency of an individual who observes an emergency to help less when other people are present than when the observer is alone.

* a bystander is someone who is at the event, but isn’t actively participating in it
* EX. they were 5 year old kids painting and they were more likely to clean up the spilled paint when they were alone with the experimenter

What are digital bystanders?

they are people who just take videos or pictures of the event happening instead of helping

* think of WORLDDD STARRR hip hop which just posts crime and violence and they don’t usually report the crime or help the victims
* they encourage the attacker by yelling WORLD STARRR as the violence is taking place

What are the 5 steps to helping in an emergency according to Darley and Latane?

The actor (person observing the event) must:

* notice the event
* understand that it is an emergency
* take responsibility
* know how to help
* help

Why does the bystander effect occur? (where does it short circuit the 5 steps of helping?)

* if no one is helping then it tells the actor that maybe they shouldn’t help. the presence of other people not helping signals to the actor that there might not even be a real emergency or that people aren’t supposed to help
* diffusion of responsibility, the presence of others may have an effect of draining responsibility from each person present

What is social cognition?

the area of social psychology that explores how people select, interpret, remember, and use social information

* the way that individuals think in social situations

How is person perception?

refers to the processes by which we use social stimuli to form impressions of others

* one important social cue is the face
* by seeing only a face we automatically process information about how trustworthy and dominant a person is likely to be
* FOR EX. people accurately predicted the outcome for about 70% of the elections just by looking at the candidates’ face and judging their competent and trustworthy they felt each candidate would be

How does physically attractiveness play into person perception and perceptual cues?

* infants as young as 3-6 months have a preference for more attractive faces than unattractiveness
* people assume attractive people are better adjusted, social skilled, friendly, likeable, extroverted and likely to achieve superior job performance
* this is called the “beautiful is good” stereotype

What is a stereotype?

a generalization about a group’s characteristics that does not consider any variations from one individual to another.

What do stereotypes show about humans?

* stereotypes are a natural extension of the limits on human cognitive processing and our reliance on concepts in cognitive processes
* we simplify the tasksof understanding people by putting them into groups or categories with which we are familiar b/c it takes a lot of mental effort to consider a person’s individual characteristics so we label them as a member of a particular group or category
* we automatically use mental shortcuts so stereoypes are often automatically part of the way we think about people

Is the “beautiful is good” stereotype true?

No it isn’t. Attractive people can possess those qualities (like better social skills), but them being attractive doesn’t mean they do

What is the self-fulfilling prophecy?

social expectations that cause an individual to act in such a way that expectations are realized

FOR EX. teachers told 5 year old kids that they were “late bloomers” and their smartness would show over time and those kids actually did perform better academically than the other kids

THIS shows the potential power of stereotypes and other sources of expectations on human behaviour

How does the self-fulfilling prophecy relate to attractive people?

since they are treated better, it will increase the likelihood of them being more social and confident than others

What makes faces attractive?

* averageness (morphed 8, 16, and 32 faces together and the morph was more attractive than other people) - Langloiss
* attention (the more we pay attention to a face, the more it attractive it is than faces we don’t pay attention to)

How are influenced by first impressions?

they have lasting effects

* primacy effect: the tendency to attend to and remember what we learned first

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* individuals only need 100 milliseconds to form an impression with an unfamiliar face

Are first impressions correct?

They can be

* a lot of studies show that people are able to tell if someone is attracted to them, are more likely to be violent and sexual orientation by first impression
* even studies that showed two people slightly acquainted were able to accurately tell the other individual’s self-rating on characteristics like extroversion, conscientiousness and intelligence (neuroticism, openness to experience and agreeableness took a little longer)

What is attribution?

the process by which we come to understand the causes of others’ behaviour and form an impression of them as individuals

* they are explanations of the causes of behaviour

What is an example of attribution?

we can observe someone’s actions, such as a friend giving money to a homeless person. to determine the underlying cause of that behaviour, what it means about that friend, we often have to make inferences. making inferences means taking the information we have and coming up with a good guess about who someone is and what the person is likely to do in the future.

* there are factors that play a role in the attributions we make about behaviours which are addressed by the attribution theory

What are the 6 attributions?

* Internal vs. External
* Stability
* Fundamental Attribution Error
* Defensive Attribution
* Self-serving bias
* Individualism vs. collectivism

What is attribution theory?

the view that people are motivated to discover the underlying causes of behaviour as part of their effort to make sense of the behaviour.

* they are naive causal reasons why people do what they do. when people are unpredictable, we feel in danger

Why do we make attributions?

because when people are unpredictable, we feel like we are in danger

What three dimensions do attribution vary on? What do we make attributions based on?

* Internal/external causes: Internal attributions are causes inside and specific to the person, such as their traits and abilities. External attributions are causes outside the person, such as social pressure, aspects of the social situation, the weather, and luck. Did Beth get a D on the test because she didn’t study or because the test was too hard?
* Stable/unstable causes: Whether the cause of behaviour is relatively enduring and permanent or temporary influences attributions. Did Jean honk their car horn because they are a hostile person or because they happened to be in a big hurry that day?
* Controllable/uncontrollable causes: We perceive that people have power over some causes (for instance, by preparing delicious food for a picnic) but not others (rain on picnic day). So, if a rainstorm spoils Rocco’s delicious picnic, we would not hold that against him.

What is the actor and observer in the attribution theory?

* the person who produces the behaviour to be explained is called the actor.
* the person who offers a causal explanation of the actor’s behaviour is called the observer.

What do actors and observers differ according to the attribution theory?

actors often explain their own behaviour in terms of external causes.

ex. that means that Beth might say she did poorly on the test because it was, in fact, too hard.

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in contrast, observers frequently explain the actor’s behaviour in terms of internal causes.

ex. Jean might explain that they honked at a car that was slow to move when the light turned green because Jean was in a hurry to get to the hospital to see their ill father, but the other driver might think they were rude.

What is fundamental attribution error?

refers to the tendency of observers to overestimate the importance of internal traits and underestimate the importance of external factors when they explain an actor’s behaviour

* general human default tilt towards making causal attributions upon dispositional characteristics / internal stable characteristics

ex. someone cut in front of you then they are an idiot instead of them being nervous or something else

Is the fundamental attribution error universal?

No

* Crosscultural studies show that Westerners tend to attribute causes of behaviour to the person. In contrast, those from collectivistic cultures are more likely to look to the situation to explain the behaviour of others

What are heuristics?

rules-of-thumb that can be applied to guide decision-making based on a more limited subset of the available information.

* because they rely on less information, heuristics are assumed to facilitate faster decision-making than strategies that require more information.

How do heuristics play a role in social information proccessing?

Heuristics can be helpful tools for navigating the complex social landscape, but they can lead to mistakes.

* because these mistakes occur in the social context, their consequences can be serious.

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FOR EX. the representativeness heuristic. When we use this heuristic, we ignore unbiased information in favour of the resemblance between a person and our image of a typical member of a group. If a woman does not look like any of the other engineers we know (like men), we may not view her as capable of the job

What is another common heuristic?

the false consensus effect

* overestimating the degree to which everybody else thinks or acts the way we do.
* FOR EX. Ask yourself: “How many students at your school support the death penalty?” The false consensus effect tells us that your answer is likely to depend on whether you support the death penalty

What do the fundamental attribution error and false consensus effect show about us?

the special significance we hold about our own thoughrts and circumstances. it shows the vast amount of nfo we have about ourselves and the limited info we have about other people and it emphasizes the role of self in social information processing

What is defensive attribution?

A tendency to blame (make internal attributions about) victims for their misfortune so one feels likely to be victimized that way ex. with rape, you say “oh she was basically naked” so you trick yourself into believing that if you cover up, you won’t get raped

What does individualism vs. collectivism mean?

Individualism is the individual self / independent self and collectivism is the dependent self, everyone else’s needs is over ours

How does how we view ourselves differ from how we view others? (how is the self special)

The self is different from other social objects because we know so much more about ourselves than we do about others

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* how we think of ourselves is our schema (for who we are, what we are like (and not like), and how we feel about these perceptions.)

How else is the self special?

We value ourselves

* one of the most important self-related variables is self-esteem, the degree to which we have positive or negative feelings about ourselves
* it is good to feel good about yourself

What do people with high self-esteem seem to have? What does it mean

a variety of positive illusions

* rosy views of themselves that are not necessarily rooted in reality.
* research shows that many of us think of ourselves as “above average” on valued characteristics, including how trustworthy, objective, and capable we are
* studies demonstrate that those who hold positive illusions about themselves are psychologically healthier and more likely to be judged positively by others

What is self-serving bias? How does it relate to the fundamental attribution error?

refers to the tendency to take credit for our successes and to deny responsibility for our failures when we make attributions about our own behaviour.

* think about taking an exam. If you do well, you are likely to take credit for that success (“I’m smart”); you tend to make internal attributions. If you do poorly, however, you are more likely to blame situational factors (“The test was too hard”); you tend to make external attributions.

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* You might note that self-serving bias suggests a twist on the fundamental attribution error. We look to situational factors to explain our failures (as in the fundamental attribution error). However, we are happy to take credit for our successes, making personal attributions for these.

What is an effect that self-serving bias is evident in? What does it mean?

the Dunning–Kruger effect

* where people generally believe they are smarter and more capable than they really are. The Dunning–Kruger effect leads most of us to overestimate our capabilities in areas about which we are not very knowledgeable

What is the better-than-average effect?

people also tend to have very optimistic appraisals of how they compare to others in situations that are not easily quantified. Studies of the betterthan-average-effect show that most people rate themselves as better than most others on traits and skills, judging themselves to be a better friend, more ethical, kinder, more honest, a better driver, more law-abiding, and so on

What is self-objectification?

refers to the tendency to see oneself as an object in others’ eyes.

How have women being socialized to think of themselves as objects affected them?

* induce body image concerns, shame, and restricted eating
* chronic feelings of objectification are associated with lower self-esteem and higher levels of depression
* women who feel objectified are less likely to reject sexism and less likely to engage in social activism

Can self-objectification interfere with task performance? Give an example.

Yes.

* FOR EX. in a series of studies, men and women were asked first to try on either a sweater or a swimsuit and then to complete a math test. After trying on a swimsuit, women performed much more poorly on the math test. The researchers surmised that trying on the swimsuit heightened women’s experience of self-objectification and body shame, reducing their mental resources for completing the math test

What is stereotype threat?

an individual’s fast-acting, self-fulfilling fear of being judged based on a negative stereotype about their group

* person who experiences stereotype threat is well aware of stereotypical expectations for them as a member of a group.
* in stereotype relevant situations, the individual experiences anxiety about living “down” to expectations and consequently underperforms
* FOR EX. research has shown that when a test is presented to Black students and White students who have first simply checked a box indicating their ethnicity, the Black students perform more poorly. when attention was not drawn to ethnicity, no differences in performance emerged in these studies. However, scores in these studies were statistically adjusted for differences in the students’ prior SAT performance. Thus, the two groups only differed to the degree that would be expected based on their prior SAT scores
* Women and math / leadership positions
* White men, too, can fall prey to stereotype threat; in a study of golf ability, White men performed more poorly than Black men when they were told the test measured “natural athletic ability”
* boys, compared to girls, can be affected by stereotype threat in academic endeavours, especially reading, that are more stereotypically associated with girls

How exactly does stereotype threat interfere with performance?

There are likely many processes at work, including anxiety, distraction, and loss of motivation and effort. When someone is told that others believe they are not as good at a particular skill, they tend to internalize this belief and it may cause them to give up more quickly when facing adversity or encountering difficulty, rather than persevering and giving their full effort before giving up.

What factors might help prevent the consequences of stereotype threat?

In one study, Black schoolchildren who were asked their race prior to a math test did not perform as well unless the test was presented to them as a challenge, not as a threat. When we are motivated to do our best, we will not give up so easily.

What are social comparison?

the process by which we evaluate our thoughts, feelings, behaviours, and abilities in relation to others. social comparison tells us what our distinctive characteristics are and aids us in building an identity.

ex. your friend gets an a and you get a b

Who proposed the theory of social comparison?

Leon Festinger

* the theory states that when no objective means are available to evaluate our opinions and abilities, we compare ourselves with others. Extended and modified over the years, Festinger’s theory continues to provide an important rationale for how individuals come to know themselves

What is upward social comparisons?

when we compare ourselves to those who are better off than we are—can foster feelings of envy and inadequacy. Have you ever looked at a fashion magazine and felt worse about yourself after? Social media can also lead to negative feelings, as most people post only very positive portrayals of their lives online

What is downward social comparisons?

that is, comparing ourselves with others who are less fortunate—can make us feel better about our own lives

What are attitudes? What are social psychologists interested in relation to attitudes?

* our opinions and beliefs about people, objects, and ideas—how we think and feel about and evaluate the world.


* social psychologists are interested in how attitudes relate to behaviour, where attitudes come from, and whether and how attitudes can change

What are the three conditions in which attitude predict behaviour? How?

* When the person’s attitudes are strong:: If you are very passionate about recycling, you are less likely to pitch that can in the trash compared to someone who has only a weak attitude

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* When the person shows a strong awareness of an attitude and rehearses and practices it: For example, a person who has been asked to give a speech about the benefits of recycling is more likely to recycle than is an individual with the same attitude about recycling who has not been asked

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* When the person has a vested interest: People are more likely to act on attitudes when the issue at stake is something that will affect them personally. A classic study examined whether students would show up for a rally protesting a change that would raise the legal drinking age from 18 to 21

What are the two ways behaviour influence attitude?

* cognitive dissonance theory
* self-perception theory

What is cognitive dissonance theory?

* another concept introduced by Festinger (1957), is the psychological discomfort (dissonance) caused by two inconsistent thoughts, values, or beliefs.

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* according to the theory, we feel uneasy when we notice an inconsistency between what we believe and what we do. After all, who wants to feel like a hypocrite, or have others think that their word is not worth very much because their actions are not consistent with what they express?

Why did the people in Festinger’s study enjoy the task more when paid 1 dollar?

* they experience cognitive dissonance
* “How could I lie for just $1? If I said I liked the task, I must have really liked it.” The inconsistency between what they did (tell a lie) and what they were paid for it (just $1) moved these individuals to change their attitudes about the task.

How can we reduce cognitive dissonance?

change our behaviour to fit our attitudes or change our attitudes to fit our behaviour.

* FOR EX. participants changed their attitudes about the task to match their behaviour. If you pitched that pop can, for example, you might feel dissonance (“Wait, I believe in recycling, yet I just pitched that can”) and relieve that dissonance by telling yourself, “Recycling is not really that important.” Through cognitive dissonance, your behaviour changed your attitude.

What is effort justification? Give an example.

coming up with a rationale for the amount of work we put into getting something, typically by increasing the value associated with things that are difficult to attain.

* if someone works hard to attain a goal, it will be more attractive than to the individual who achieves the same goal with no effort


* effort justification explains the strong group loyalty that emerges after enduring difficult experiences to get into groups, such as initiation rites for sports teams, boot camp in the military, and the rigours of medical school en route to becoming a physician.

What are some examples of justification of effort?

Hazing - embarrassing tasks to get in

Basic training - breaking down the individual to build them up as a collective. individualism is bad for war

charging money for puppies and adoptees - the harder it is to buy them and get them, the more likely you are to keep them. think of mr. s adopting people or nya

aronson and mills sex discussion group with embarrassing initiation

How does effort justification work according to the cognitive dissonance theory?

From a cognitive dissonance perspective, individuals in these situations are likely to think, “If it’s this tough to get into, it must be worth it.” (LIKE HARVARD)

* Working hard to get into a group can change our attitudes about that group. If you want someone joining your group to be very loyal, make it difficult for them to get in.

What was Aronson and Mills experiment on cognitive dissonance?

In one condition (mild-embarrassment condition) the women were asked to read aloud a list of sex-related words, such as prostitute or virgin. In a second condition (severe-embarrassment condition) the women were asked to read aloud a list of highly sexual words (e.g., fuck, cock) and to read two vivid descriptions of sexual activity taken from contemporary novels. In the control condition the women were simply allowed to join the discussion group. All participants listened to a recording of a discussion about sexual behaviour in animals which was purposefully designed to be quite dull and uninformative. When asked to rate how much they enjoyed the group, the control and mild-embarrassment groups did not differ in their negative assessments, but the severe-embarrassment group’s ratings were significantly more positive. The group that had to undergo severe embarrassment to join needed to unconsciously raise their appraisal of the benefit of the discussion group in order to make the negative state of dissonance go away. Perhaps this is why we are made to wait so long in lines to get into general admission seating for movies during film festivals.

What are the 3 ways behaviours change attitudes?

* Self-Presentation (impression management)


* Self-Justification (cognitive dissonance)
* Self-Perception

What is self-perception theory? (Daryl Bem)

individuals make inferences about their attitudes by observing their behaviour.

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That is, behaviours can cause attitudes, because when we are questioned about our attitudes, we think back on our behaviours for information.

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FOR EX. If you stood in line for five hours to vote and someone asked about your attitude toward voting, for example, you might think, “Well, I have waited all this time, it must be very important to me.”

According to Bem, when do we look to our behaviour to determine our attitude?

when those attitudes are unclear

FOR EX. some anecdotal evidence can be seen in the cases of actors who have onscreen love affairs and later become a couple in real life. you can imagine that rolling around half-naked and passionately kissing someone for several months on a film set might start to influence your real-life feelings for your acting partner. however, as with the example of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, these relationships tend not to last, perhaps because those involved in them fall in love with their partner’s character in the movie, not with the real person.

How are cognitive dissonance theory and self-perception similar?

* Both theories have merit in explaining the connection between attitudes and behaviour, and these opposing views bring to light the complexity that may exist in this connection.


* Both theories suggest that behaviour can change attitudes

How does persuasion affect attitudes?

persuasion involves trying to change someone’s attitude—and often their behaviour as well

* teachers, lawyers, and sales representatives study techniques that will help them sway their audiences (children, juries, and buyers). Politicians have arsenals of speechwriters and image consultants to help ensure that their words are persuasive. Advertisers are skilled persuaders who draw on a full array of techniques to sell everything from cornflakes to carpets to cars.

According to Carl Hovland, what are the 4 elements of persuasion?

The communicator (source): the person doing the persuading/delivering the message, are they viewed as credible? trustworthiness, expertise, power, attractiveness, likeability and similarity are part of the credible characteristics that help a communicator change people’s attitudes or convince them to act

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The medium: the medium or technology used to get the message across? is it old like newspaper or tv or social media. since tv has live images, television is more of a powerful medium than print sources for changing attitudes. the effects of the medium also differ on who is receiving the message LIKE if you want old people to receive the message then you use newspaper

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The target (audience): the audience of a message can play a role in message persuasiveness. younger people are more likely to change their attitudes than older ones. and individuals with weak attitudes are more likely to persuaded than people with strong ones.

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The message: the message itself. some messages use logical arguments and emotional ones to invoke fear and anger. the elaboration likelihood model addresses

What is the elaboration likelihood model?

identifies two pathways of persuasion:

a central route: works by engaging the audience thoughtfully with a sound, logical argument.

* is more persuasive when people have the ability and the motivation to pay attention.

a peripheral route: involves factors such as the source’s attractiveness or the emotional power of an appeal

* effective when people are not paying close attention or lack the time or energy to think about the message.

What are the two strategies for successful persuasion?

* foot-in-the-door technique
* door-in-the-face technique

What is the foot-in-the-door technique?

making a smaller request at the beginning and saving the bigger demand for last.

* by agreeing with a smaller offer, the customer has created a relationship with the seller, expressing a level of trust.

FOR EX. would you be interested in a 3-month trial subscription to netflix then how about a year?

What is the door-in-the-face technique?

you make the bigger pitch first which the customer will probably reject and then make smaller, “concessionary” demand

* this technique relies on the fact that you let the customer off the hook with the bigger request so they should be nice and take the smaller offer

FOR EX. would you like one year for netflix then would you like a three-month trial

How do you resist persuasion?

inoculation

* giving people a weak version of a persuasive message and allowing them time to argue against it can help individuals avoid persuasion LIKE when they are warned they are going to be hit with persuasive appeals and are given arguments to help them resist these pitches, they are able to do so
* FOR EX. introducing the dead version to the immune system of a vaccine helps prevent the virus

What is social behaviour?

we don’t only think socially, we behave in social ways

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* two particular types of behaviour that have interested psychologists represent the extremes of human social activity: altruism and aggression.

What are prosocial behaviours?

they involve helping other people like donating an extra cent for donation

What is altruism?

giving to another person with the ultimate goal of benefiting that person, even if it incurs a cost to oneself

Why do psychologists debate whether or not motives are truly altruistic?

* altruistic motives contrast with egoistic motives and selfish motives
* egoistic in the sense that helping another person for personal gain, such as to feel good or avoid guilt.
* selfishness in the sense that ensuring reciprocity, meaning that we help another person to increase the chances that the person will return the favour.

What is the true meaning of altruism then?

doing something good for another even if it poses a cost to oneself and even if the act can never be repaid.

Why does altruism “confuse” evolutionary psychologists and what’s the answer to this?

it confuses them because how can behaviour that doesn’t benefit you be adaptive?

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but the answer to this is that the behaviour can be extended among family members, because helping a relative also means promoting the survival of the family’s genes

* believe that reciprocity in relationships with nonfamily members is essentially the mistaken application of a heuristic that made sense in human evolutionary history—to engage in selfless acts of kindness with one’s own family

How does the media affect sociocultural aggression?

Agression has many determinants

* The link between TV violence and aggression in children is influenced by children’s personality traits, attitudes toward violence, and prior exposure to violence.
* Violent pornography is more related to tolerance of violence towards women
* It is one of a number of factor sthat lead to sexual violence against women.
* Reinforces rape myth - the false belief that women desire coercive sex

Do video games affect aggression?

a meta-analysis concluded that children and adolescents who play violent video games extensively are more aggressive, less sensitive to real-life violence, and more likely to engage in delinquent acts than their counterparts who spend less time playing the games or do not play them at all

* Critics of the conclusion that violent video-game exposure leads to aggression have pointed out that the acts of aggression studied in the laboratory are not generalizable to real-world criminal violence
* FOR EX. violent games are often more challenging and difficult than nonviolent games. In addition, many studies have not consistently measured important third variables, such as family violence, in predicting both video-game use and aggression

What is conformity?

change in a person’s behaviour to coincide more closely with a group standard.

* when we conform, we do something we might not have done otherwise because everyone else is doing it.
* conformity takes many forms and affects many aspects of people’s lives, in positive and negative ways.
* conformity is at work when we obey the rules and regulations that allow society to run smoothly.
* FOR EX. how chaotic it would be if people did not conform to social norms such as showing up for class at the same time, driving on the correct side of the road, and not punching others in the face.

What is conformity good at increasing?

Conformity can also be a powerful way to increase group cohesion. Even something as simple as marching in step together or singing a song along with a group can lead to enhanced cooperation among group members

* Some of the most important rituals in which humans participate involve conforming to particular actions: We march, stand, kneel, dance—in unison. Such behaviours increase our sense of belonging
* FOR EX. all rise for the national anthem

How can conformity be destructive?

when students come to university and start to drink heavily at parties, even though they never consumed alcohol before.

* conformity is a powerful social force.
* ex. you can feel the pressure of conformity for yourself if, the next time you get on an elevator with other people, you do not turn around to face the door, or when at lunch with your friends you eat your chocolate bar with a knife and fork.

What is Asch’s experiment?

There are you and 4 actors and on the 4th trial all the actors say the wrong line on purpose.

* Asch instructed the confederates to give incorrect responses on 12 of 18 trials. To his surprise, Asch found that participants conformed to the incorrect answers 35 percent of the time.

What increases the likelihood of resistance to authority?

Knowledge and social support

* ex. obedience was much lower when they knew the drug and could consult someone about it

What can norms be?

arbitrary, pervasive and unintentional

* norms tell us that we are safe (ex. when you sneeze, some people think there are demons coming out)

What is the first biological factor in conformity?

Your brain feels better

* Women were asked to rate a variety of female faces for attractiveness, and their brains were scanned while they received feedback about whether their ratings agreed with those of the other group members. When participants were told that their ratings differed from the group’s ratings, they showed enhanced activation in the brain area typically associated with monitoring for errors. In other words, the brain responded to their own judgments that differed from the group’s as if they were mistakes. Further, when their ratings differed from the group’s, women experienced less activation in the nucleus accumbens and the ventral tegmental area—the brain’s reward centres. The greater the degree to which women’s brains responded to being different as an error and as not rewarding, the more they tended to conform when given a chance to re-rate the faces at the end of the study.

What is the second biological factor in conformity?

oxytocin, the neurotransmitter and hormone associated with social bonding. In a double-blind experiment, participants were randomly assigned to receive oxytocin or a placebo and were then placed in groups to make ratings about the attractiveness of various symbols. Those who were given oxytocin were more likely to report preferences that matched the ratings of members of their groups—that is, to conform.

What are the two main psychological factors identified as contributing to conformity?

informational social influence and normative social influence

What is informational social influence?

* the influence other people have on us because we want to be right


* the social group can provide us with information that we do not have or may help us see things in ways that had not occurred to us. As a result, we may conform because we have come to agree with the group.

Which two factors is the tendency to conform based on for informational social influence?

how confident we are in our own judgment and how well informed we perceive the group to be.

FOR EX. if you know little about computers and three of your acquaintances who are IT geeks tell you not to buy a particular brand of computer, you are likely to conform to their recommendation. They have knowledge you lack, and you want to make the right choice.

What is normative social influence?

the influence others have on us because we want them to like us. Whether the group is a gang or members of a profession such as medicine or law, if a particular group is important to us, we might adopt the clothing style of the group, use the same slang words, and assume the attitudes that characterize the group’s members

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ex. On your first day of work at a new job, you might remind yourself what you saw others wearing during your interview and follow suit because you want to fit in. That’s normative social influence.

What are the cultural factors in conformity?

* individualistic cultures value independence and individual accomplishments and emphasize differences and uniqueness.


* collectivistic cultures value the group, emphasize group harmony, and believe that accomplishments depend on individuals’ carrying out their roles in the larger social network. It is not surprising, then, that collectivism has been associated with greater levels of conformity.
* One research review, summarizing 133 experiments following Asch’s design, found that individualism within cultures was negatively correlated with conformity