Social Psych Exam 2 Summer

social influence

change in behavior/beliefs stemming from conformity, compliance, and/or obedience

conformity (general definition)

a real or imagined group of others

compliance (general definition)

a direct request

obedience

commands of an authority

conformity

a change in one's behavior due to the real or imagined influence of other people (can occur automatically/nonconsciously)

why do people conform?

-don't know what to do in a confusing or unusual situation

-because they did not wish to be ridiculed or punished for being different from everybody else

don't know what to do in a confusing or unusual situation? (why do people conform)

the people around them served as a cue as to how to respond, and they decided to act in a similar manner

because they did not wish to be ridiculed or punished for being different from everybody else (why do people conform)

-choose to act the way the group expects so that you wouldn't be rejected or thought less of by group members

-violating social norms can get weird! (even when it's innocuous behavior)

informational social influence

influence of others that leads us to conform because we see them as a source of information to guide our behavior

we believe others' interpretation of an ambiguous situation is

-more correct than ours

-helpful when choosing an appropriate course of action

when do we engage in informational social influence?

1. situation is ambiguous

2. situation is a crisis

-need to act immediately, may panic

-look to how others respond

-might not always be right

3. the other people around you are experts

4. need to be accurate

private acceptance

conforming to others' behaviors due to a genuine belief that what they are doing or saying is 'right'

normative social influence

influence of others that leads us to conform in order to be liked and accepted by them

classic normative reasons for conforming... do not want to:

-attract attention

-feel like an idiot

-be rejected

public compliance

conforming to other's behavior publicly without necessarily believing in what we are doing or saying

social norms

implicit or explicit rules a group has for the acceptable behaviors, values, and beliefs of its members (deviating is frowned upon)

Latane's Social Impact Theory

idea that conforming or complying depends on strength, immediacy, and number

strength (Latane's Social Impact Theory)

importance of group to person

immediacy (Latane's Social Impact Theory)

closeness in time and space

number (Latane's Social Impact Theory)

size of the group

conformity increases as size of the group increases BUT,

once the group reaches 4 or 5, conformity does not increase much

allies in dissent

are other people not conforming?; if just one person dissents from the group, it gives the others the courage to stand up and not conform

Sherif-Autokinetic Effect Study Summary

-ambiguous stimuli

-informational conformity occurred

-private acceptance

-"need to know what's right"

Asch-Line Perception Study Summary

-unambiguous stimuli

-normative conformity occurred

-public compliance

-"need to be accepted"

Asch's "Line judgment study" is to normative social influence, as Sheriff's "Autokinetic effect study" is to

informational social influence

Brad grew a beard because most players on his hockey team did for the playoffs and he wanted to fit in. this is an example of ___________ social influence

normative

when reality is unclear people conform due to _________ influence; but when the reality is clear, people conform due to __________ influence

informational; normative

all of the following increase conformity except? a) the number of people in a group goes from 3 to 4 b) another person in the group non-conforms c) the situation is ambiguous and you lack information d) the group is very important to you

another person in the group non-conforms

conformity always includes

the real or imagined influence of other people

compliance

responding favorably to an explicit request by another person

compliance tactics

norm of reciprocity, door-in-the-face, foot-in-the-door, and that's-not-all

norm of reciprocity

when someone does something for you, it obligates you to do something back

the norm of reciprocity is

-very powerful, present in every society

-so strong, we sometimes try to avoid free gifts, because we don't want to feel indebted

door-in-the-face technique

large request followed by smaller request - creates pressure to comply with 2nd smaller request

why does the door-in-the-face technique work?

-creates guilt from saying "no" to first large request

-relative smallness of the 2nd request can be seen as a concession by the requester

-due to that concession, we want to reciprocate by fulfilling the second request

foot-in-the-door technique

small initial request followed by a second larger request

foot-in-the-door opposite of door-in-the-face

-person needs to comply with the first request

-the first request is smaller than the second request

why does the foot-in-the-door technique work?

-I complied with the first request, so why not the second?

-people want to be seen as consistent

-there may be some avoidance of dissonance here

that's-not-all technique

when the initial deal gets sweeter....

-50in TV for sale for $599, do you want it?

-but, thats not all!

-2 months of Apple TV included!

-and.... free shipping!

-today only, we'll give it to you for $499

why does the that's-not-all technique work?

adding something to the original offer can be seen as a concession, creating some pressure to reciprocate

obedience

following the demands of someone who is higher in social power than oneself

factors of obedience

authority and hierarchy of power

obedience drops when.... (Milgram Study)

-authority proximity = experimenter in different room

- victim proximity = learner in same room

-credibility = no longer in lab at Yale University

-dissent example = see other participants refuse

reasons why we obey - role of normative social influence (Milgram Study)

-don't want to disappoint experimenter

-insistent experimenter - difficult to say no

-variations - other co-teachers (confederates) refused to continue (only 10% gave max shock vs 62.5%)

reasons why we obey - role of informational social influence (Milgram Study)

-confusing situation for participants

-competing social norms (obey authority vs don't harm others)

-experimenter is an expert

-look for info on how to respond

-follow orders of expert

conforming to the wrong norm (Milgram Study)

fast-paced nature of the experiment; no time to reflect

self-justification (Milgram Study)

shock levels increased in small increments; internal pressure to continue to obey

step-by-step obedience (Milgram Study)

-450 volts!? that's crazy I would never do that!

-15 volt increments ... when is too much?

loss of personal responsibility (Milgram Study)

-experimenter took responsibility for participants' actions

-just a "tool" in someone else' hands

-"I was only following orders"

not "blind" obedience (Milgram Study)

-did Milgram's participants try to resist?

-participants appeared to have good intentions, but regretted their situation

-normal people in exceptional circumstances

-authority is psychologically powerful

Jamie wanted his sister to help him pick out new clothes. First, he asked if she could drive him to the mall. Once there, he asked her to come in and help him and she agreed. Which compliance technique was he using?

foot-in-the-door

societal rules regarding acceptable behavior are known as

social norms

the door-in-the-face technique

relies at least in part in on norms of reciprocity

the foot-in-the-door technique

capitalizes on people's desire for self-consistency

which of the following strategies of social influence creates a situation similar to that experienced by Milgram's study in that it relies on requests that increase in severity in incremental fashion

foot-in-the-door technique

say you were trying to convince someone to do something small for you. what would be the best method of obtaining compliance that we discussed in class?

the door-in-the-face method

Sherif's study on autokinetic effects showed that when information is _________ people will likely look to others due to ___________

ambiguous; informational social influence

when participants in Asch's study were asked their private beliefs __________ because the situation was unambiguous and they were no longer influenced by ___________

they did not conform; normative social influence

which of the following does not impact conformity according to Latane's Social Impact Theory?

whether or not you personally agree with the actions/behaviors

which of the following is NOT a factor that might have contributed to participant's obedience in Milgram's study?

the likability of the researcher

which of the following best explains why people were willing to send Christmas Cards back to complete strangers?

the norm of reciprocity

we only find decreases in obedience when another authority figure disagrees with an order, obedience does not decrease when the person disagreeing is not an authority figure

false

we find a plateau effect in conformity whereby adding more individuals to a group increases conformity but only up to a certain point

true

which of the following statements about conformity is false

it always leads to the best result

Brad grew a beard because most players on his hockey team did for the playoffs and he wanted to fit in. this is an example of __________ social influence

normative

propinquity effect

the more we see and interact with people (i.e. proximity), the more likely they are to become our friends

"propinquity" =

"proximity"

functional distance

the frequency with which people cross paths, rather than just geographic/physical distance

the propinquity effect occurs due to

mere exposure

mere exposure

the more you are exposed to something, the more you tend to like it

familiarity breeds

attraction and liking

similarity

we like people who are like us

initial attraction

-similarity

-familiarity = liking

-more is needed to create friendships/relationships

-that "fuel" is similarity

similarity in interests and experiences

-we choose to enter social situations where we find similar others

-thus new similarities are created via new shared experiences, that fuel the friendship

matching hypothesis

we become involved with people who are like us (in attractiveness and appearance)

why does similarity increase attraction?

-similar others validate us (self-verification), different others contradict us

-similarity leads to proximity

-interactions are more fluent with similar others

-similar others will like us!

comitted relationship

choose similar partner

low level of commitment

choose dissimilar partner

reciprocal liking

-we like people who like us

-for initial attraction, reciprocal liking can overcome dissimilarity in attitudes and attentional biasses to attractive faces

universals in attractiveness

-men: strong jaw, broad shoulders

-women: small nose, big smile

-everyone: large eyes, high cheek bones, consistent skin tone, facial symmetry

cognitive biases involving perceived attractiveness

-people attribute positive qualities to beautiful people

-"what is beautiful is good" stereotype

halo effect

assume attractive people possess other desirable traits

attractive men/women are judged to be (halo effect)

-happier

-more intelligent

-more popular

-better personalities

-more sociable

-more professional success

-more assertive & extraverted

physical attractiveness predicts

-greater salary

-more likely to get help in need

-less likely to be convicted, lesser sentences (86% longer sentences for normatively unattractive defendants)

to get some to be attracted to you...

-hang around (proximity)

-find someone similar (similarity)

-look your best (physical attractiveness)

-give complements/express interest (reciprocal liking)

companionate love

-feelings of intimacy and affection for someone that are not accompanied by passion or physiological arousal

-nonsexual relationships - close friends

-sexual relationships - psychological intimacy with less passion as once felt

passionate love

-an intense longing for a person, accompanied by physiological arousal

-when our love is reciprocated, we feel fulfillment and ecstasy, but when not, we feel sadness and despair

experiences of love (cultural differences)

-western cultures value passionate love more

-eastern cultures value companionate love more

although people all over the world experience love,

how love is defined varies across cultures

people are more likely to like each other if....

they have similar interests, they look similar, and they run into each other often

which of the following examples best illustrates how functional distance plays a role in the propinquity effect

Marge, whose cubicle is right next to both the kitchen and the elevator, is one of the most popular people in the entire office

the ____________ suggests that the more times we encounter someone or something, the more we tend to like it

mere exposure effect

which of the following is not identified as a major predictor of attraction in long-term romantic relationships?

complementarity

you and your friends decide to hold a heterosexual "speed-dating" event on campus. at this event, male students sit at tables arranged in a circle and have 3-minute conversations with a series of women. after each 3-minute period has ended, the women rotate in a clockwise direction and sit down with a new male student. when asked about their "dating" experiences after the event, research suggests that

the men should be somewhat pickier in terms of rating which women they would like to see again

attachment style

expectations individuals develop about relationships due to their relationships with caregivers growing up (can powerfully influence future close relationships)

3 kinds of attachment styles

secure, avoidant, and anxious/ambivalent

secure attachment style (56%)

trust, lack of concern with being abandoned; feel worthy and well liked

avoidant attachment style (25%)

aloof and distant caregivers; infants suppress their need for intimacy

anxious/ambivalent attachment style (19%)

inconsistent caregivers; infants can't predict how caregivers will respond

secure individuals

-most enduring, long-term relationships

-highest level of relationship commitment

-highest level of relationship satisfaction