Conformity, Obedience and Leadership - Chap 7 - PSYC390

Conformity

The adjustment of one’s opinions, judgments, or actions so that they become moe consistent with (a) the opinions, judgments, or actions of other people or (b) the normative standards of a social group or situation

Informational social infleunce

Interpersonal process that challenge the correctness of an individuals beliefs or the appropriateness of his or her behavior, therefore promoting change. Such influence may occur directly, as a resut of communication and persuasion, or indirectly, through exposure to information.

Private acceptance

Actual change in an individuals beliefs, attitudes or behaviors

Normative social influence

The personal and interpersonal processes that cause individuals to feel, think and act in ways that are consistent with social norms, standards and conventions (adhering to social norms to fit in)

Public conformity

A superficial change in behavior (including the public expression of opinions) that is not accompanied by an actual change in one’s private opinion (we conform in public even though we believe something else in private)

Majority influence

Occurs when the beliefs held by the larger number or indivduals in the current social group prevail

Minority influence

Occurs when the beliefs held by a smaller number of individuals in the current social group prevail

Social impact

The increase in the amount of conformity that is produced by adding new members to the majority group

Social power

The cpacity to influence others, even when they try to resist this influence

Employers have power over their workers

Leadership

The processes involved in leading others, including organizing, directing, coordinating and motivating their efforts toward achieving certain group or organizational goods

Psychological reactance

In response to a percieved threat to - or loss of- behavioral freedom, a person will experience a motivational state characterized by distress, anxiety, resistance, and the desire to restore that freedom

Ex. Child is forced to eat veggies by parents, but they wil resist

Compliance

Conformity that involves publicly acting in accord with an implied on explicit request while privately disagreeing

Obedience

A type of compliance involving acting in accord with a direct order or command

Acceptance

Comformity that involves both action and believing in accord with social pressure

Mass hysteria

Suggestiblity to problems that spreads throughout a large group of people

Cohesiveness

A “we feeling”; the extent to which members of a group are bound together, such as by attraction to one another

Minority opinions have the greatest influence when

THhe opinion is consistent

throught informational social influence

seen as having a reason for diverging from the majority

Positive mood and obedience

Requesting a favor is more effective when the person is in a good mood

Negative mood and obedience

Can decrease compliance, but also increase it sometimes

Guilt: Can motivate people to do something to redeem themselves

Fear and anger are powerful motivators

Negative state relief hypothesis

People agree to the request in order to alleviate negative feelings and feel better about themselves

Propaganda

Messaging (generally political, but not always) that aims to cultivate of leverage specific values to shift both opinion and behavior in ways that reinforce the authority or control of groups in specific ways

Consistent and subtle messaging that normalizes increasingly extreme values or beliefs