Chapter Seven: Conformity

social influence

refers to the ways that people are affected by the real and imagined pressures of others

constructive

helping oneself or others

destructive

hurting oneself or others

Chartrand and Barghs chameleon effect

when youre in a conversation with someone, youre subtly mirroring them

conformity

tendency of people to change their perceptions, opinions, and behavior in ways that are consistent with group norms

Muzafer Sherif

participants converged on a common perception when brought into a group

Solomon Asch

confederates picked the wrong answer, leaving the participant caught between the need to be right and a desire to be liked

informational influence

people conform because they want to make good and accurate judgments of reality and assume that when others agree on something, they must be right

normative influence

people conform because they fear the consequence of rejection that follows deviance

social death

our need to belong is so primitive that rejection can inflict a social pain that feels like physical pain

private conformity (true acceptance / conversion)

the change of beliefs that occurs when a person privately accepts the position taken by others

public conformity (compliance)

a superficial change in overt behavior without a corresponding change of opinion that is produced by real or imagined group pressure

minority influence

the process by which dissenters produce change within a group

idiosyncrasy credits

interpersonal "credits" that a person earns by following group norms

dual-process approach

majorities and minorities exert influence in different ways and for different reason

majorities

elicit public conformity by bringing stressful normative pressures to bear on the individual

minorities

produce a deeper and more lasting form of private conformity by leading others to become curious and rethink their original positions

complexity

as ppl come to live in more complex industrialized societies, there are more groups to identify with, which leads to less loyalty to any one group and a greater focus on personal goals

affluence

as people proper, they gain financial independence from others

heterogeneity

societies that are homogenous tend to be rigid and intolerant of those who veer from the norm

compliance

changes in behavior that are elicited by direct requests

foot-in-the-door technique

starting with a small request and working up to a big one

lowballing

giving a deal and then lowering the deal (raising the price after someone already agreed)

door-in-the-face technique

starting with a large request and transferring to a small one

thats-not-all technique

door in the face, if they agree, keep going

Cialdini

being able to resist compliance pressures rests on being vigilant

Leonard Bickman

uniforms signify the power of authority

Wim Meeus and Quinten Raaijmakers

ordered participants to cause psychological harm

strength

determined by their status, ability, or relationship to a target

immediacy

sources proximity in time and space to the target

number

as the number of sources increases, so does their influence (up to a point)

True or False? When all members of a group give an incorrect response to an easy question, most people most of the time conform to that response.

False

True or False? An effective way to get someone to do you a favor is to make a first request that is so large the person is sure to reject it.

True

True or False? In experiments on obedience, most participants who were ordered to administer severe shocks to an innocent person refused to do so.

False

True or False? As the number of people in a group increases, so does the group’s impact on an individual.

False

True or False? Conformity rates vary across different cultures and from one generation to the next.

True

collectivism

A cultural orientation in which interdependence, cooperation, and social harmony take priority over personal goals.

individualism

A cultural orientation in which independence, autonomy,
and self-reliance take priority over group allegiances.

obedience

behavior change produced by the commands of authority

social impact theory

the theory that social influence depends on the strength, immediacy, and number of source persons relative to target persons