psyc4200 chapter 8: social influence

social influence

refers to the many ways people affect one another

involves changes in attitudes or behavior that result from the comments, actions, or simply the presence of others

conformity

changing one’s beliefs or behavior to more closely align with those of others in response to real or imagined pressure to do so

compliance

when conformity pressure is sufficiently explicit

occurs when a person responds favorably to an explicit request from another person

obedience

occurs when a more powerful person issues a demand rather than a request to which a less powerful person submits

automatic mimicry

most subtle form of conformity is our tendency to mindlessly imitate other people’s behavior and movements

why do we mimic?

William James provided one explanation: argued that merely thinking about a behavior makes performing that behavior more likely

• based on the fact that the brain regions responsible for perception overlap with those responsible for action

• when we see others behave in a certain way, that behavior is brought to mind, making us more likely to behave that way ourselves

reason 2 is to facilitate smooth, gratifying interaction and foster social connection

• people tend to like those who mimic them, even when unaware that they’re being mimicked

informational social influence

the influence of other people that results from taking their comments or actions as a source of information about what is correct, proper, or effective

**most pronounced when we are uncertain

Asch’s conformity experiment

eight male students were gathered together to perform a simple perceptual task: determining which of three lines was the same length as a target line

each person called out his judgment publicly, one at a time

7 of the men were actually confederates who answered incorrectly on purpose

NO AMBIGUITY

result: less conformity than other experiments, but still surprisingly high rate

• ¾ of the participants conformed to the group’s incorrect answer at least once

• overall, participants conformed on a third of the critical trials

normative social influence

the influence of other people that comes from the desire to avoid their disapproval and other social sanctions

people are often reluctant to depart from the norms of society or groups they care about because they fear the social consequences

what factors affect conformity pressure?

1. group size: conformity rates increase as group size increases, but only up to a point ( 2 vs. 4 is more impactful than 12 vs. 14)

2. group unanimity: more conformity when the group is unanimous; even one ally who breaks unanimity breaks conformity dramatically

3. anonymity: private response removes the fear of disapproval

   1. highlights how informational social influence leads to internalization (private acceptance of the position advanced by the majority)

   2. normative social influence has a greater impact on public compliance than private acceptance

4. expertise and status: expertise primarily affects informational social influence; status mainly affects normative social influence

how does culture influence conformity?

people in interdependent cultures are more susceptible to both informational social influence and normative social influence

people from interdependent cultures might be expected to conform more often than those from independent cultures

influence of minority opinion

minorities influence most when their opinion is consistent

works mainly through informational social influence

can make the majority reconsider its position

ex: suffrage, gay rights, civil rights

compliance

agreeing to the explicit request of another person, regardless of that person’s status, although you’re often more likely to comply with the request of someone who has authority over you

compliance and consistency

we are motivated to behave in ways that are consistent with our self-image, to avoid the discomfort of inconsistency

foot-in-the-door technique

making an initial small request, followed by a larger request involving the real behavior of interest

norm-based compliance

most effective when the information is surprising

pluralistic ignorance

acting in ways that conflict with our true beliefs because we think they are not widely shared by others — perceived norms vs. private realities

Princeton student drinking study

demonstration of pluralistic ignorance

researchers asked Princeton undergraduates how comfortable they felt about campus drinking habits as well as how comfortable with drinking their friends and other general undergraduates are

if they showed pluralistic ignorance, they would indicate that they were less comfortable with drinking than they supposed most students were

bullying compliance study

56 middle schools in New Jersey

half the schools were randomly assigned a treatment in which a randomly selected group of students was asked to express opposition to the kinds of conflict and harassment prevalent in their school

other schools served as the control

there was a 30% decrease in disciplinary reports in the treatment schools

popular students exerted more influence over their peers when they spoke out

norm of reciprocity

we should give benefits to those who have given benefits to us

door-in-the-face technique

making a large request that is refused, followed by a smaller request, which tends to be seen as a concession the target feels compelled to honor

descriptive vs. prescriptive norms

descriptive: simply descriptions of what is typically done in a given context

prescriptive: the way a person is supposed to behave in a given context

effect of mood on compliance

positive mood: requests seem less intrusive, and helping keeps the good feeling going

bad mood: actually increase compliance too

• guilt: people are more compliant to get rid of guilty feelings

negative state relief hypothesis

taking an action to benefit someone else, especially when it’s for a good cause, is one way to make ourselves feel better

Milgram and obedience

although it initially was a conformity study, it became useful for obedience studies as well

participants wanted to avoid the experimenter’s disapproval and didn’t want to make a scene

what enables people to resist social influence?

reactance: when freedom feels threatened, we push back

create delay: emotions fade, wait before answering an emotional appeal

spot escalation: watch for slippery slopes and resist at the first step

seek an ally: one dissenter makes holding out easier

practice refusal: people who had practiced helping and acting were better at it