Social Psych- conformity and obedience

conformity

a change in behavior or belief as the result of real or imagined group pressure

types of conformity

compliance and acceptance

compliance

a type of conformity that involves publicly acting in accord with an implied or explicit request while privately disagreeing

obedience

a form of compliance involving acting in accord with a direct order or command

acceptance

a form of conformity that involves acting and believing in accord with social pressure

sherif’s studies of norm formation

person alone in dark room, sees a light moving, has to estimate how much in moves, the next day estimate with other people, we see that people will adjust their estimates to continue with the group norm

chameleon effect

social contagion where we mimic other’s behaviors (grammar, etc), people are more likely to help those who mimic their behaviors

mass hysteria

suggestibility to problems that spread throughout a large group of people

potential cases of mass hysteria

spring-heeled jack, salem witch trials, mad gasser of mattoon, 2016 clown sightings, mothman

things that support obedience

victim’s emotional distance, authority’s closeness and legitimacy, liberting effect of a disobedient fellow participant

we conform when…

there is unamity, the group size is 3-5 people, there is a cohesive group, status level is lower than those requesting conformation, in public, when previously committed to conforming

personalities who tend to conform

those who are more agreeable, more conscientious, less open to experience

reactance

a motive to protect/restore

asserting uniqueness

appearing to be uncomfortable with being too different, but also uncomfortable with being too similar

persuasion

process by which a message induces behavior change in beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors

education v propaganda

education is more factually based and complete

hurdles in persuasion

attentiveness, comprehension, belief, memory, behavior, action

two paths to persuasion

central and peripheral route

central route to persuasion

interested people focus on the argument, a strong argument makes persuasion more likely and without it people will make counterarguments, leads to quick more enduring attitude changes (people think deeply about it)

peripheral route to persuasion

focuses on cues that trigger automatic acceptance without much thinking, easily understood, uses heuristics, slowly builds implicit attitudes, uses less energy

elements of persuasion

who communicates the message, content of the message, channel of communication used, audience for the message

who communicates the message in persuasion

credibility increases persuasion, popularity increases persuasion only as long as they’re seen as credible

what makes someone credible

perceived expertise (having a title, saying thing the audience agrees with), speaking style (confident and fluent speech, charismatic, energetic), perceived trustworthiness, attractiveness and liking

perceived trustworthiness in persuasion

audience doesn’t believe someone is trying to persuade them, start with information and not an argument

sleeper effect

delayed impact of a message that occurs when a message becomes effective because we remember the message but not the reason for disagreeing with it

attractiveness and liking in persuasion

we like people who are attractive, good for superficial judgements, similarity to audience through mimicking and mirroring is also an aspect

channel of communication

the way the message is delivered (face to face, in writing, on film, etc)

minority influence

minorities can hold sway by being consistent, self-confident, and showing that there are individuals who don’t agree with the majority

challenges with minority influence

minority slowness effect, majority may dislike minority and ignore them

minority slowness effect

majority views in a group are expressed more slowly as it takes people with minority opinions longer to feel safe expressing them

leadership

The process by which certain group members motivate and guide the group can be formally appointed or can happen as a natural emergence from the group

types of leadership

task leadership, social leadership, and transformational leadership

task leadership

organizes work, sets standards for the tasks, keeps members focused on task, tends to be a directive style, high achievement for groups equals (specific, challenging goals and progress reports)

social leadership

builds teamwork, mediates conflict and offers support, tend to delegate authority and welcome input

transformational leadership

leader provides vision and inspiration, exerts influence, motivates the group to identify and commit to the group, and tends to be charismatic, energetic, self-confident, and extroverted