Social Influence Part 1

Asch Paradigm date

1955

What is normative social influence?

When a person conforms to the norms of a group in order to fit in.

Asch paradigm aim

To study the effect of normative social influence on behavior

What is the procedure in the Asch paradigm?

• One subject in a room with 6-8 confederates.

• Researcher holds up 2 cards:

  • one with 3 lines of different lengths labeled A, B, C

  • one with a single line matching one of the lines on the first card (the target line)

• Participants and confederates match the target line with one of the other 3 lines.

What happens in the critical trial of the Asch paradigm?

Confederates give the wrong answer, and the participant's response is observed.

What is the control group in the Asch paradigm?

Participants perform the experiment alone without confederates present.

What percentage of participants in Asch’s study conformed at least once?

74%

(Asch Paradigm) Percentage of incorrect responses on the critical trial?

36.8%

How does size of group affect conformity?

levels of conformity/social influence increase as size of the group increases

What is individualism?

Focus on independence and personal achievement

What is collectivism?

Focus on group harmony, cooperation, and personal relationships

Berry date

1967

Berry aim

To compare cultures with different food gathering practices

Berry participants

The Temne and Inuit tribes

What were the food gathering practices of the Temne tribes?

Agricultural practices

What were the food gathering practices of the Inuit tribes?

Hunting/Gathering practices

Berry procedure

Similar to Asch paradigm

Critical trial: Researcher would point out an incorrect answer and claim most people of their tribe chose that one

Berry results

The Temne showed higher conformity due to agricultural practices requiring cooperation (collectivist), while the Inuit showed lower conformity from hunter-gathering that necessitates less cooperation (individualist).

Bond and Smith date

1997

Bond and Smith aim

To investigate how cultural values influence conformity

Bond and Smith procedure

• Used surveys to measure the individualism/collectivism of 17 countries

• Gathered 133 Asch paradigm studies conducted in those areas

Bond and Smith results

• Individualist countries -> lower rates of conformity

• Collectivist countries -> higher rates of conformity

Enculturation

The process of acquiring the cultural norms and values of one's home culture.

Barry et al. date

1959

Barry et al. aim

To investigate whether child training practices were correlated with economic factors in different cultural groups.

Pastoralism/Agricultural Economy

Raising animals and crops, leading to high food accumulation.

Subsistence Economy

producing enough food on a day-to-day basis, leading to low food accumulation

Barry et al. procedure

• Compared 46 different cultures

• Gathered data on their child-training practices

Barry et al. results

High food accumulating cultures emphasize responsibility and obedience, while low food accumulating cultures emphasize independence, achievement, and innovation.

Acculturation

Changes to an individual as a result of contact/interaction with other cultures

Acculturative strategies

Integration, separation, assimilation, marginalization

Integration

Retains original culture and participates in new culture

Separation

Rejection of new culture, retaining of original culture

Assimilation

Fully adopting new culture, rejecting original culture

Marginilization

Not belonging to either culture

Torres et al. date

2012

Torres et al. aim

To investigate the relationship between acculturation, discrimination and psychological distress

Torres et al. participants

669 American Latinos

Torres et al. procedure

Participants completed questionnaires assessing perceived discrimination, acculturative stress, and psychological distress, and their integration into mainstream US culture was measured through language acquisition.

Torres et al. results

• Positive correlation between perceived discrimination and acculturative stress

• Positive correlation between acculturative stress and psychological distress

• Negative correlation between Anglo behavioral orientation (fluency in English, engagement in mainstream US culture) and levels of acculturative stress

Realistic Conflict Theory

Hostility/conflict between groups is caused by direct competition for limited resources

Sherif et al. date

1954

Sherif et al. aim

To investigate how conflict between groups arises using realistic conflict theory

Sherif et al. participants

12 y.o. white boys, protestant, both parents at home, middle class

Sherif et al. procedure pt 1

• Boys randomly allocated into 2 groups (Eagles and Rattlers)

• Groups put in competition with each other

• Winning group got prizes, losing group got nothing

• Set up situation of negative interdependence (1 group delayed to a dinner party, other group ate all the good food)

Sherif et al. results pt 1

Displayed hostility between the 2 groups, even violence/sabotage

Allport's contact hypothesis

Contact can reduce conflict and prejudice when:

1. Groups are of equal status

2. They share a common goal

3. Their interaction is supported by an authority and social norms

4. No competition between groups

Sherif et al. procedure pt 2

Had both teams work together to achieve a common goal (fixing the water tank, fixing a broken down truck with food supplies)

Sherif et al. results pt 3

• Reduced hostility between groups

• Percentage of boys who said they had a best friend in the out-group increased (10% to 25/35%)

Social Identity Theory (Tajfel and Turner 1979)

Belonging to an in-group can affect our thinking and behavior

SIT Self-esteem hypothesis

People tend to identify with an in-group that enhances their self-esteem

Cialdini et al (1976) aim

Testing the self-esteem hypothesis in SIT in college students

Cialdini et al (1976) procedure

They counted the number of students wearing college merch (sweatshirts and t-shirts) on campus after their football team just won or lost a game

Cialdini et al (1976) results

• Victory: more likely to wear college clothing + refer to the team as "we"

• Loss: less likely to wear college clothing + refer to the team as "them"

In-group bias

The tendency for people to favor/treat people from their group better than members of an out-group.

Tajfel et al. date

1971

Tajfel et al. aim

To investigate if intergroup discrimination would take place based on being put into different groups.

Tajfel et al. Participants

48 boys from a school in the UK

What was the procedure in Tajfel et al.'s study?

The boys were led to believe that their groups were formed based on preference for a painter (Klee or Kadinsky)

What task were the boys asked to perform in Tajfel et al.'s study?

Each boy was asked to award 2 other boys points (one from his group, one from the out-group)

Tajfel et al. results

The boys would choose the option that created the biggest difference in points between his in-group and the out-group

Out-group homogeneity effect

The tendency to see members of out-groups as very similar to one another

Park and Rothbart date

1982

Park and Rothbart aim

To demonstrate the out-group homogeneity effect between groups

Park and Rothbart participants

90 college females from different sororities

Park and Rothbart procedure

Asked participants to rate other sororities and themselves on how similar they are

Park and Rothbart results

They judged the out-group sorority members as being more similar to each other than girls in their own sorority