Ch. 8 Conformity

conformity

any change in behavior as a result of the real/imagined influence of other people

informational social influence

relying on other people as a source of information/accurate knowledge and cues to appropriate behavior

happens when: ambiguous situation, crisis situation, others are experts

Sherif

Autokinetic effect is the apparent movement of bright light in a dark background due to lack of fixed reference. People asked to determine how much light moved (didn’t move but autokinetic effect made it seem like it did)

1. Asked a first time without people, a second time with two others

   1. People converged on an estimate by using others as sources of information

private acceptance

people conform to the behavior of others because they genuinely believe others are right

public compliance

conforming publicly without necessarily believing in what the other peole are doing or saying

normative social influence

conforming in order to be accepted by them, usually leads to public conformity with group’s beliefs/behaviors, don’t wan to fail the “team”

happens when: larger group, important group, no allies, collectivist group

Asch Line Judgment Studies

Ps told to identify which line matches the prompt image length, in a group iwth 6 confederates

1. Confederates say correct answer for first two rounds, say wrong on the third round, attempting to change ps answer (public compliance without private acceptance)

2. variation had ps write down answer instead of saying it aloud, conformity levels dropped

   1. similar study showed that nonconformists experienced arousal of negative emotional states (fear of being wrong/judged)

social norms

implicit (sometimes explicit) rules for acceptable behaviors, values, & beliefs

compliance

behavior change as a result of a direct request

reciprocity

if someone does something for you, it creates an expectation that you will repay those actions in kind

foot-in-the-door

starting with a smaller related request and gaining compliance with it, then later getting compliance for a related larger request

social impact theory

the likelihood we will respond to social influence depends on the strength of the group (its importance to you), immediacy (how close the group is to you in the space and time during the attempt to influence you) and number (how many ppl are in the group)

idiosyncrasy credits

the tolerance one earns over time by conforming to group norms; if enough credits are earns, the person can occasionally deviate from the group without retribution

Freedman & Frasier (foot-in-the-door)

IV: requests made (large only “drive carefully” versus small index card reminder then large)

DV: % of ps agreeing

Results: higher compliance with small then large request

door-in-the-face

if unlikely to get agreement with a request, devise a much larger request and have it denied then negotiate down to your real request

Cialdini et al. (door-in-the-face)

IV: small and less time-consuming request vs large and bigger commitment request first

DV: % of students willing to help

Results: larger for second group

Principal of Reciprocal Concessions

in negotiation situations, concessions by one party should be met with concessions from the other, “do something for me, I’ll do something for you”

injunctive norms

people’s perceptions of what behaviors are approved/disapproved of

descriptive norms

perceptions of the way people actually behave in a given situation, regardless of whether behavior is approved/disapproved by others

obedience

behavior change as the direct result of influence by an authority figure

Milgram Study

Ps were with a learner (actor) and authority figure who told ps to shock learner if they were wrong

IV: amount of distress expressed by the learner (on a scale of ouch to complaining about heart condition to assumed unconsciousness)

DV: how will teachers respond/when will they stop?

Results: Significant amount of people did not stop until the full voltage was reached because of the authority figure telling them to keep going

The Agentic State

state in which an individual places responsibility for actions on an authority, greater likelihood to obey disagreeable requests, offers lack of personal culpability