social psychology exam 3 review

social influence

the effect that the words, actions, or mere presence of others have on our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors

harmless social influence example

elevator norms video

positive social influence example

ice bucket challenge; not only for social media but raised funds for ALS

conformity

changing behavior in response to what others are doing (or what you imagine they’re doing)

two motivations of conformity

1. need to be accurate

- we see others as a source of information

- we watch and learn from others’ behavior

- we conform because we believe the person is correct

2. need for self-esteem

- we see others as a source of validation

- we conform to be liked and accepted by others, and to avoid negative social consequences

social norms

rules and standards (explicit or implicit) that are understood by members of a group, and that guide behavior without the force of laws

explicit norms

directly communicated rules (ex. stated aloud or written)

implicit norms

indirectly communicated rules (ex. unspoken, but we know them anyway)

informational social influence

we conform to get the “right” answer (so that we do things the “correct” way)

leads to private acceptance: true, permanent belief/behavior change

when are we most likely to conform to informational social influence?

when the situation is ambiguous

when the situation is a crisis

when other people are experts

normative social influence

we conform to be liked and accepted by others (or to avoid negative social consequences)

normative social influences: follow-up studies

when participants wrote answers on paper instead of saying them aloud or when they had an ally, conformity decreased

public compliance

superficial change in observable behavior, without a corresponding change in attitude

when are we most likely to conform to normative social influence?

strength/importance of the group (more important = more conformity)

number/group size (larger group = more conformity)

immediacy (closer in time/space = more conformity)
unanimity (if others are unanimous = more conformity)
culture (collectivist culture = more conformity)

automatic conformity

a lot of conformity occurs automatically (effortlessly, involuntarily, unconsciously)

compliance

changing one’s behavior in response to a direct request

six principles of compliance

1. liking

2. consistency

3. reciprocity

4. authority

5. social validation

6. scarcity

principles of compliance: liking

should I comply? yes, if I like the person

why? we believe we should help our friends and people we like

principles of compliance: consistency

should I comply? yes, if I’ve behaved similarly in the past or given a commitment

why? I act in consistent ways to avoid dissonance

foot-in-the-door technique

getting someone to agree to a small initial favor makes them more willing to do a larger (similar) favor later

agreeing to a small commitment frequently leads to larger commitments

principle of compliance: reciprocity

should I comply? yes, if they’ve done something for me first

why? if someone does something nice for me, I need to do something nice for them

door-in-the-face technique

make an extremely large request, then follow up with a much smaller request

works through reciprocity: first request creates a debt that the second request offers to clear

principle of compliance: authority

should I comply? yes, if person asking is an authority/expert

why? informational social influence

principle of compliance: social validation

should I comply? yes, if others are complying

why? normative and informational social influence

principle of compliance: scarcity

should I comply? yes, if the offer is scarce

why? we believe that things that are harder to get are more valuable

obedience

changing one’s behavior in response to an order from an authority figure

obedience is lessened when individuals:

don’t trust the expertise of the authority

feel personally responsible for their actions

observe others who disobey authority

group

two or more people who interact and are interdependent such that their needs and goals cause them to influence each other

why do people join groups?

1. provides information (satisfies need for accuracy)

2. helps us define ourselves (we conform to group norms and attitudes)

3. enhances self-esteem (satisfies need for self-esteem and the need to be liked/accepted)

4. gets things done (we divide labor)

social facilitation

when the presence of others improves (or facilitates) task performance. in some situations, others observing you betters your performance

social inhibition

sometimes the presence of other people hurts individual performance (singing infront of an audience)

social loafing

the tendency for people to relax/slack off when they are in the presence of others and their individual performance cannot be evaluated

simple tasks → impaired performance

complex tasks → enhanced performance

deindividualization

the loosening of normal constraints on behavior when people can’t be identified

it makes people feel less accountable, and increases conformity to group norms