Social Psychology and Conformity

• Social psychology- scientific study of how a person’s thought, feelings, and behavior are influenced by the real, imagined, or implied presence of others

• Conformity- the attempt to change one’s own behavior to match that of other people; indirect pressure

Conformity

• Asch’s Research:

1. Showed comparison lines to subjects

2. 1st 6 subjects were confederates of experimenter instructed to select obviously wrong answer

3. 7th subject the actual answer

4. A

5. Results: Overall conformity to group pressure

Groupthink and Compliance

• Compliance- behavior that is initiated or changes in response to a direct request as opposed to a command or direct order

• Groupthink- group cohesiveness supersedes objectively assessing the facts of a problem

• Group polarization- tendency for members in a group discussion to take more extreme positions and suggest riskier action when compared to individuals who have not participated in a group discussion

Ways to Gain Compliance

• Foot-in-the-door Technique- asking for small commitment and, after gaining compliance, asking for a bigger commitment; ex. auto sales “test drive”

• Door-in-the-face technique- asking for a large commitment and being refused, then asking for a smaller commitment

• Norm of reciprocity- assumption that if someone does something for a person, that person should do something for the other in return; ex, offering “free” soda and snacks

• Lowball technique- getting a commitment from a person, then raising the cost of a commitment

• That’s-not-all technique- persuader makes an offer, then adds something extra to make the offer look better

Obedience

• Obedience- changing one’s behavior at the command of an authority figure

• Milgram study- “teacher” administered what they thought were real shocks to a “learner”

• Research question- How many teachers would listen to Milgram’s commands to proceed through entire

• Milgram Study Data: 67% proceeded through entire shock range despite “learner” being unconscious

• Essential finding: People will easily obey an authority figure and do harm to others

Attitude

• Attitude-