Conformity, Compliance, Obedience

Conformity

A change in behavior due to the real or imagined influence of others

Compliance

Yielding to a direct, explicit appeal meant to produce a certain behavior or agreement

Obedience

A change in behavior due to commands of others

Informational Social Influence

Conforming because we believe others' interpretation of a situation is more correct

Normative Social Influence

Conforming to be liked and accepted by others, resulting in public compliance

Private Acceptance

Conforming out of genuine belief in others' behavior

Public Compliance

Conforming publicly without necessarily believing in others' behavior

Social Norms

Implicit or explicit rules a group has for acceptable behaviors, values, and beliefs

Autokinetic Effect

Visual perception phenomenon where a stationary light appears to move

Asch Line Study

Study by Solomon Asch involving participant conformity to confederates' wrong answers

Social Impact Theory

Predicts likelihood of conforming to social influence based on group strength, immediacy, and number

Group Unanimity

Most likely to conform when the group is unanimous, making it difficult to be the lone dissenter

Magic Number: 4

The point at which conformity peaks with group size before decreasing

Collectivist Cultures

Societies valuing group harmony and conformity

Infectious Disease Threat

May increase conformity to social norms in a culture

Normative Social Influence (Positive)

Leads to charitable donations and pro-environmental behaviors

Normative Social Influence (Negative)

Results in poor treatment of nonconformists within social groups

Idiosyncratic Credits

Credits earned by conforming to group norms over time

Minority Influence

When a minority influences the beliefs or behaviors of the majority

Door-in-the-Face Technique

Compliance after a large request followed by a smaller one

Foot-in-the-Door Technique

Compliance after a small request followed by a larger one

Lowballing Technique

Inducing agreement with a low-cost offer then raising the price

Reciprocity Norm

Feeling obliged to reciprocate a favor when a request is reduced

But-You-Are-Free Technique

Compliance due to the option not to comply being presented

Underlying Principles

Factors influencing compliance: commitment, scarcity, reciprocity, liking, social validation, authority

Commitment and Consistency

People prefer to be consistent with past actions or statements

Scarcity

Items are more desirable when perceived as less available

Reciprocity

Feeling obligated to agree when someone has done something for you

Liking

Tendency to comply with requests from friends or those liked

Social Validation

Acting in ways consistent with what similar others are doing

Werther Effect

Imitation of suicide post a highly publicized suicide

Authority

People follow credible experts' lead

Stanley Milgram Experiment

Study on obedience to authority figures involving electric shocks

Self-Justification

Justifying initial actions to continue in the same direction

Social Situation NOT Aggression

Participants' behavior influenced by the situation, not aggression

The Uniform Effect

Tendency to follow authority due to uniform perception

Learning Objectives

Understanding conformity, compliance, and obedience