Social Psych

Social Influence/Persuasion

a form of social influence where individuals or groups deliberately attempt to alter the beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors of others through communication, reasoning, or emotional appeals

Conformity

Changing your behavior to match other people without a direct request

Compliance

Changing your behavior due to a direct request

Obedience

Form of compliance where the direct request comes from an authority figure

Asch (1956)

One standard length line, and 3 other lines. You have to match which one is the same length as the standard length. Before you give your answer, 10 other people in a group answer the wrong answer. The real participant out of these people is then observed – will they answer correctly or go with the group? The study found that as long as there are 3+ people in a group, it is more likely you will give in and conform

• Right answers were given for a set period of time from the confederates, then they switched to the wrong answers

• If someone else in a group also goes against the majority openly, we are more likely to express our disagreement– power came from unanimity

• People will deny what they see to submit to group pressure

Schacter (1961)

Groups of actual participants and one confederate were asked to come up with a solution to a problem. The confederate was told that whatever the group came up with → go against it. Schacter then looked to see what the group did to handle this dissenter → Three Step Process

• Argue - Argue with the dissenter → convince them to agree with the group

• Ignore - Ignore the dissenter → speak over them, etc.

• Punish - Punish the dissenter → expelling them from the group or making them unhappy within the group

Argue

Argue with the dissenter → convince them to agree with the group

Ignore

Ignore the dissenter → speak over them, etc.

Punish

Punish the dissenter → expelling them from the group or making them unhappy within the group

Normative Influence

Going along with a group to not make waves or cause dissent in a group – operates off of approval motivation – disappears when the group is gone

Descriptive (N)

Going along with the actions of a group

Injunctive (N)

Going along with what is thought normal in the group

Why does size of a group matter when it comes to normative influence?

Larger groups put more pressure

Moscovici’s Theory

A majority will influence the individual by the size of the majority. A minority will influence the individual by the style of their argument

Unanimity

If everyone says the same thing, it causes a lot more pressure

Immediacy

More likely if the task is more close in time between the group pressure and the task, or if the group is physically close to you

Social Strength

More likely to occur when the group matters to you

Bond & Smith (1996)

People from collectivist cultures were more likely to conform than people from individualist cultures → Group matters more in collectivist cultures

Informational

Going along with the group because they start to genuinely believe the group is right and they are wrong – operates off of accuracy motivation – stays when the group is gone

Social Validation

Social validation for correctness and accuracy

Sherif (1935)

• Had participants come in and give a rating of these influences on their own, then had them come back with 3 others and found that all the participants came up with an agreed upon movement.

• Participants then came back on their own and gave an individual rating again. It was found that after the group session, their rating was more similar to the second group session

Autokinetic Effect

If you show a beam of light, people will perceive movement even though it is steady

Ambiguity

We are likely to fall for informational influence with more ambiguity, or when there is a less clear answer

Crisis

We are more likely to fall for informational influence when there is a crisis or emergency

Experts

We look to experts (or perceived experts) more in a given situation and take their influence

Social Contagion

Starts with one individual or smaller group, and through exposure spreads to more people and population → think fads/trends

Mass Psychogenic Illness

Where a psychosomatic (no biological basis) spreads through individuals through social contagion

Tanganyikan Laughing Epidemic

Three girls at a school started laughing and couldn’t stop. Soon, most of the students started laughing to the point that it caused them to feel faint/in pain. The students were sent home, and their families and communities were influenced to not be able to stop laughing

Dancing Plague of 1518

People started dancing and couldn’t seem to stop, and it caused death. An amount of people between 50

Warren County High School

A group of students (mostly girls) developed symptoms like fainting, nausea, and dizziness. Doctors found no physical cause, and symptoms spread among students. It was later identified as a mass psychogenic illness, likely triggered by stress and anxiety.

Milgram

• Psychiatrist survey done before the experiment

  • Psychiatrists said that 1 in 1000 individuals would fall prey to the obedience that Milgram was eliciting during his study

  • In actuality, 2/3rds of the participants went to the top of the shock board

• Participants were told to shock a confederate and were told to do so by an authority figure

  • Each time a wrong answer was provided, the participant was told by the confederate researcher to shock the confederate test subject

  • All of the participants knew and heard that the confederate test subject had a heart problem

• A potential issue with the study is how they define obedience

  • 2/3rds of the people go to the top of the shock board, but this may not be indicative of obedience

  • For example, you could have had a sadist who wanted to keep going because he thought it was fun

Foot in the door

Start by asking for small requests, then begin to ask for increasingly larger requests until you get to your actual request

Freedman & Fraser (1966)

• Had half of the participants wear a sticker that said “be a safe driver”

• The other half weren’t asked anything

• Followed up by asking them to put up an ugly sign saying “be a safe driver” on their lawn

• For individuals who didn’t have the sticker request, almost 1-2% agreed

• For individuals who were asked to wear the sticker, 76% agreed

• Shows that the “Foot in the door” tactic does work

Low Ball

Suck people in with a low cost offer, but fail to mention that there are a bunch of hidden costs that inflate the original cost

Bait and Switch

Use an attractive offer to bait people, then once you have their attention/interest, switch the offer

Labeling

When someone gives you a label, it makes you want to act in accordance with that label

Obligation

Feeling a sense of duty or pressure to comply with a request because of social norms (e.g., reciprocity or responsibility)

Reciprocation

The thought that because you did something for me, I will do something for you

Door in the Face

Starting with a big request, and then begin to ask for much smaller requests

Conceivable (DITF)

These requests need to be conceivable

Same Person (DITF)

The requests must come from the same person

That’s not All

Sell you on a product and then say, "That's not all!” to make the offer more attractive

Infomercials

Many infomercials used this tactic, would play an entire ad and then say “that’s not all!” and offer some sort of sale/deal/etc.

Burger (1986)

• A field study

• A bake sale with 3 different conditions

  • Control → cupcakes are $1

  • Bargain → cupcakes used to be $1.25, now they are $1

  • That’s not all → if you buy it right now, i’ll give it to you for $1

• 25% → control

• 25% → bargain

• 56% → that’s not all

Favors

Get people to do favors for you

Scarcity

When something is rare, it is good

Limited Number

The limited amount makes us want to buy it because we are afraid we will regret it

Fast-Approaching Deadline

If there isn’t a lot of time left, we want to buy

Pique

Pique their interest by using an unusual request

Disrupt then reframe

Disrupt cognition then reframe request

David & Knowles (1999)

Offering a post card for $3 or 300 pennies

You are more likely to go along w/ requests from your friends

True

Incidental Similarity

When you and someone share a minor or coincidental trait, that makes you like them more

Ingratiation & Self Promotion

Complimenting the person you are requesting something from/increasing people’s thinking of ourselves by highlighting our successes

Persuasion

An attempt to change someone’s private attitude

Who

Who is asking

Source Credibility

Is the person who is giving me this argument giving me credible reason

Hovland & Weiss (1951)

Looked at propaganda we saw in WW1 and WW2 → Gave people speeches that were advocating for atomic submarines

• They were the same speeches, everyone read the same thing

• Told half the participants that the speech was written by Oppenheimer (high source credibility)

• Told the other half that the speech was written by a Soviet journalist (lower source credibility)

• Got ratings for the submarines before, after, and a month after reading

• What they saw was that after → Thought Oppenheimer rated the submarines as positive

• A month after → The source no longer mattered

Sleeper Effect

Someone can be persuasive even without credibility, it just takes longer

Expertise

If someone is an expert at something, we will be persuaded by them

Trustworthiness

Must be trustworthy

Source Likability

If we like someone, we are more likely to be persuaded by them

Similarity

When someone is similar to us, we put them in the in group category

Attractiveness

A shortcut → We assume attractive people have other positive traits → More persuasive

Power

People with authority or control can influence behavior more easily

What

What they are asking

Personal Importance

Messages that are more important to us are more persuasive

Humor

40% of ads use humor → Draws our attention, more likely to remember it

Fear

A bell curve → too little fear isn’t successful, and too much causes us to shut down–avoidance emotion

Susceptible to danger

Fear is strongest when we perceive ourselves as vulnerable

Told how to avoid it

Need to know how to create the change to get rid of fear

Leventhal, Watts, & Pagano (1967)

• Gave current smokers notice about lung cancer, a pamphlet on how to avoid lung cancer, or both

• Fear plus actions made a difference

One-sided Persuasion

Can still be effective → persuading someone but only using your side → works for people who are uninfluenced — Informed receiver - Feel like you are hiding something

Primacy vs Recency

When all of your options are presented at once, primacy is more relevant. When there is more time, recency matters more

Primacy

The first argument you heard

Whom

Who your argument is for

Receptivity

Did you receive the message

Yielding

Did you accept the message

Emotional State

Open to persuasion when you are in a good mood

Intelligence

• Moderate intelligence = most persuadable

• Very high → analyze too much (resist)

• Very low → may not fully understand

Need for Cognition

• High → prefer deep, logical arguments (central route)

• Low → persuaded by surface features (peripheral route)

Self Presentation

People may agree with messages to look good to others. Persuasion can depend on social image

Individualist vs. Collectivist Cultures

• Individualist → value personal benefits, independence

• Collectivist → value group harmony, family, community

Han & Shavitt (1994)

• Ads are more persuasive when they match cultural values

• Example: Individualist ads focus on “be unique”, collectivist ads on “belong”

Ego Depletion

When mentally exhausted, people are more easily persuaded

Wheeler, Briñol, & Hermann (2007)

People with low mental energy are less likely to critically evaluate messages

Active vs. Passive Experience

• Active (engaging with message) → stronger persuasion

• Passive (just receiving) → weaker

Repetition

• Repeated exposure → increases liking (mere exposure effect)

Advertisement Wear Out

Too much repetition → message becomes annoying / less effective

Repetition with Variation

Best strategy → repeat message but change it slightly to keep interest

Straightforwardness

• Clear, simple messages are often more persuasive

Product Placement

• Showing products in movies/shows → subtle persuasion

Subliminal Advertising

• Messages presented below conscious awareness

Karremans, Stroebe, & Claus (2006)

• Subliminal messages can influence behavior only if you already have the need (e.g., thirsty → more likely to choose a drink) 

Theory of Persuasion (ELM)

There are 2 different routes to persuade someone

Central

Really focused on the message

Peripheral

Trying to use things outside of the message to change the opinion of the one you want to persuade

Attitude Inoculation

Introduce yourself to the counterargument in order to feel more secure in your argument

Forewarning

Don’t like to think of our autonomy being taken away from us

Groups need

a minimum of 2 people