Interpersonal Behavior Topic 9: Social Influence

Social Influence

Efforts by one or more people to change attitudes, beliefs, perceptions, and behaviors

Conformity

Individuals change attitudes to conform to social norms

Social norms

Rules affecting conformity

Factors affecting conformity

• Cohesion: degree of attraction felt toward a group by an individual

  • Cohesiveness increases conformity

• The larger the group size, the greater the conformity

Types of Norms

• Descriptive: indicate what most people do in a given situation

• Injunctive: indicate what should be done

Reasons for Conforming

• Normative social influence: need to be liked

• Informational social influence: thinking the norms come from an accurate source of information

When do people resist conformity?

• When valuing autonomy and control

• Depends on culture

• Sometimes people cannot conform even if they want to

Compliance

Direct requests from one person to another

Principles of Compliance

• Friendship/liking

• Commitment

• Security

• Reciprocity

• Social Validation

• Authority

Ingratiation compliance tactic

Induce liking, then behavioral changes

Foot-in-the-door compliance tactic

Small requests that escalate

Low-ball procedure compliance tactic

Changing an offer to be less attractive after people agree to it

Door-in-the-face compliance tactic

Large requests that deescalate

That’s-not-all compliance tactic

Offering additional benefits to make an offer more attractive

Playing-hard-to-get compliance tactic

Suggesting the opportunity/reward is rare

Deadline technique

Scarcity due to timing

Symbolic social influence

Influence from mental representation of others or our relationships with them

• Thinking, WWJD

• Even if the other person is not there

Obedience

Following the orders of one or more others

• i.e., Milgram Shock Experiment: 65% of people were willing to administer fatal shocks

How does destructive obedience happens?

1. Authority status is evident

2. Obedience is a norm

3. Gradual escalation of commands

4. Participants have little time for reflection

Resisting destructive obedience

• Increasing the participant’s responsibility

• Indicate that submission is inappropriate

• Provide disobedient models

• Question authority

• Increase awareness of the situation’s power

• Share results of research studies on obedience