Intro to Psych: Group Influence, Conformity, Persuasion Terms

Social Influence

When a person changes their beliefs thoughts, behaviors, or feelings because of the presence, actions, or expectations of others.

Social Facilitation

The tendency of people to perform tasks better when others are present

Social Inhibition

The tendency of people to perform worse on tasks when others are present

Robert Zajonc (Zy-ence) – Arousal facilitates dominant responses

• Boosts performance on easy tasks; e.g., eating or doing simple multiplication problems à better ”performance”

• Hinders performance on difficult tasks; e.g., doing complicated math or learning nonsensical words à worse “performance”

Evaluation Apprehension

It is the fear or concern about being judged by others.

Distraction

It is not evaluation apprehension that affects our performance, it is only focusing on evaluation apprehension that affects our performance.

Mere Presence

Zajonc believed that presence may be enough, even without evaluation apprehension or distraction

Social Loafing

The tendency for people to exert less effort when they pool their effort toward a common goal than when they are individually accountable

Group Polarization

Group-produced enhancement of members’ preexisting tendencies

Informational influence

when people conform because they believe others have more accurate information, especially in situations of uncertainty.

Normative influence

conforming to be liked and to avoid social rejection.

Social Comparison

People comparing their views to others and shifting their stance to a more extreme perceived group norm.

"I wanna be like the other kids… maybe even a little better!"
You look around at what others are doing or saying, and then you copy them or go a tiny bit further so you fit in and seem cool.

 Pluralistic Ignorance

People privately disagree with the norm, but go along with it because they think everyone else agrees.

"I think everyone else likes this… so I guess I do too?"
Even if you don’t like something, you think everyone else does—so you pretend to agree, and everyone ends up pretending too. Nobody says what they really think!

What is conformity?

a change in behavior or belief to be more consistent with those of others or the standards of a group as the result of real or imagined group pressure

Social arousal

Increase of alertness or excitement when you’re around people

What is persuasion?

a process in which communicators try to convince other people to change their attitudes or behaviors regarding an issue through the transmission of a message in an atmosphere of free choice

What is the difference between conformity and persuasion?

Persuasion = active pressure

Conformity = passive / unconscious pressure

Elements of Persuasion?

Communicator

Message

How the message is communicated

Audience

Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)

Persuasion is likely to occur via one of two routes

1. Central route to persuasion:

• Deep, careful thinking about the message content

• Systematic evaluation of arguments, evidence, and logic

• Focus on message quality rather than superficial cues

2. Peripheral route to persuasion:

• Quick, automatic judgments based on simple cues

• Mental shortcuts (heuristics) rather than careful analysis

• Focus on surface features rather than argument quality

Communicator - Credibility

• One important characteristic of the communicator is credibility, or believability

• Credibility is affected by

1. Perceived expertise

2. Perceived trustworthiness

Credibility: Expertise

Definition: People are more likely to be persuaded by someone who is perceived as knowledgeable or skilled in a relevant area.

Example: A doctor (expert) discussing the health benefits of red meat vs. white meat is more persuasive than a regular person giving the same advice, because the doctor is seen as having expertise in health and nutrition.

Credibility: Trustworthiness

Definition: People are more persuaded by sources they believe are honest, sincere, and not just saying something to benefit themselves.

Key Points:

• Trustworthy people are more persuasive.

• If someone argues against their own interests, they seem more trustworthy.

Communicator’s - Attractiveness

Definition: A communicator is more persuasive when they have qualities that the audience finds appealing—this can include physical appearance, similarity, and likability.

• Attractiveness comes in multiple forms:

  • Physical attractiveness (e.g., good looks)

  • Similarity (e.g., shared background, interests, age)

Evoking Positive Emotion

• Good feelings often enhance persuasion.

• Positive emotions are contagious—when the audience feels good, they may transfer those emotions to the message or product.

• The audience may associate their positive feelings with the object or idea being promoted (classical conditioning).

• Positive emotions can be distracting, reducing the likelihood of deep or critical thinking.

• These emotions can also alter perceptions of the communicator, making the person seem more likable or attractive—even if they aren’t.

• As a result, positive feelings can mask flaws, such as a weak argument or an unattractive source.

Evoking Negative Emotions

• Persuasive messages can also use negative emotions, such as fear, to influence people.

• Fear is a potent emotion with high motivational value because it relates to survival instincts.

• Negative emotions create strong associations between the risk and the source or product being promoted.

• This approach is less common in product advertising because it can backfire by causing avoidance.

• However, it’s very common in political campaigns and prosocial messages, such as public health appeals (e.g., anti-smoking or disease prevention campaigns).

Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon

• Study: Freedman and Fraser (1966)

• Definition: Agreeing to a small initial request increases the chance of agreeing to a larger request later.

• Why it works: People like to stay consistent with their previous behavior, so once they say yes to something small, they’re more likely to say yes again.

  • Self-perception & need for consistency

Door-in-the-Face Technique

• Study: Cialdini (1975)

• Definition: Refusing a large, often unreasonable request increases the likelihood of agreeing to a smaller, more reasonable request afterward.

• Why it works: The smaller request feels like a concession, so people feel obliged to also concede (reciprocity).

  • Length of delay between requests

  • Familiarity with requester

Lowball Technique

• Study: Cialdini et al. (1978)

• Definition: After someone commits to an attractive offer, the terms are changed to be less favorable, but the person still agrees.

• Why it works:

  • Commitment and consistency: Once people commit, they want to act consistently with their decision.

  • Cognitive dissonance: Changing their mind creates discomfort, so they stick with the choice even if it’s less attractive

How can persuasion be resisted?

• With logic, information, and motivation

• Rethink habitual responses (e.g., being persuaded by experts or attractive people)

• Question what we don’t understand

• Seek more information