Social Psych Chapter 8

What are the main types of social influence

persuasion (change attitudes), conformity (copy others), compliance (agree to requests), obedience (follow commands), and group processing

what are social norms

rules a group has for the behaviors, values, and beliefs of its members… what is expected and accepted in a group

examples of social norms

social media. facing forward in a elevator, saying thank you, dressing appropriately for occasions

are social norms good or bad and why

good- promote cooperation. bad- perpetuate discrimination. without social norms= chaos

What are injunctive social norms

what you believe is “right” or “wrong” what others “approve” or “disapprove” how you think you “should” act

what are descriptive social norms

your perception of what others are doing, whether “approved” or “disapprove”

What social norms should you use to stimulate behavior change

injunctive norms “most people approve of recycling”

what do social norms vary by

culture, subgroups or era

what is conformity

change behavior (or attitude) to match others (copy them) change to fix existing norms

is conformity good or bad

both. good-promotes order, cooperation, safety. bad- can suppress individually or encourage harmful behaviors

what is informational conformity

want to be right- see other as source of info when uncertain. likely in ambiguous stressful or crisis situations

examples of informational conformity

good- looking to experts during an emergency

bad- following misinformation on social media

what is normative conformity

want to fit in (to be liked, belong, accepted) leads to public compliance

examples of normative conformity

good- dressing formally for a job interview

bad- peer pressure to drink alcohol

when are we most likely to see informational conformity

if it is ambiguous (greater uncertainty, more reliance on others). crisis situations. others seen as expert

what is contagion

rapid spread of emotion or behavior in a crowd (unconscious conformity)

examples of contagion

contagious yawn, cell phone checking, or moods. mass hysteria

what is the exception to contagion

if we realize we are being manipulated, we resist

what is the chameleon effect

we tend to mimic those we like and like those who mimic (except anger)

what did sherif study

informational conformity and norm formation

how did sherif study

used autokinetic effect (ambiguous task) the light in a dark room and how much it moved

what did asch study

how did asch study work and what were the finding

line judgment task- choose correct line length- people conformed to incorrect group answers

what was the overall conformity rate in aschs study? what percentage conformed at least once

overall conformity 37%. At least once ~75%

what factors contribute to conformity rates

number, unanimity, public response, cohesiveness, status, public commitment, gender, personality, culture

how does number impact conformity

more in agreement = more likely to conform

how does unanimity impact conformity

if just one ‘disagrees’ it frees others to do the same (although mast deny that others going against the group impacted their decision to do so)

how does public response impact conformity

if you got to make your response in private conformity was reduced drastically (but not absent)

how does cohesiveness impact conformity

the more we like a group (or want to be in it) (or important it is) the more we conform, the more power it has over us

the higher the cohesiveness of the group as a whole, the more member conform

how does status impact conformity

people with high status have more freedom (they conform less) people with low status conform more

how does public commitment impact conformity

less likely to conform if you made a contrary public statement (we tent to stick to public statements)

how does gender impact conformity

men and women conform about equally if they have the same confidence level

how does personality impact conformity

poor predictor in powerful situations- more interest now in role it plays when there is less social pressure

how does culture impact conformity

they socialize people differently to be more socially responsive- subgroups and eras vary

what are the factors that increase the chance that a minority opinion will influence the majority

consistency, self-confidence, and defections from the majority

what happens in groups when someone does not conform

they try to bring you back into the fold, if it does not work they may say negative things and start to withdraw

what are idiosyncrasy credits

tolerance earned over time by conforming to group, once credits eared a person can behave defiantly without retribution

what is obedience to authority

change in ones behavior due to direct influence of authority figure. it is a social norm

what did Milgram study and what was the basic setup

to test obedience by have participants gives shocks to the learner. teacher was instructed to shock the learner, authority figure encourages continuation

what percentage went all the way and what percentage was predicted Milgram study

actual 65% went all way. 80% continued after repoted pain. experts predicted .1%

what factors influence obedience rates

authority takes responsibility, commands change gradually, events more quickly, victims distance or depersonalization, closeness and legitimacy of authority, institutional authority, other obeying

does milgram’s study prove people are heartless

no. many showed distress but obeyed due to situational pressure

why was jerry burger allowed to replicate milgrams study

he stopped at 150 volts and this was considered ethically acceptable

what did jerry burger find

obedience was still high (70%) no gender differences, signs of distress but followed authority