Social Psych Ch. 8 - Social Influence & Persuasion

Social Influence and Persuasion

Social Influence

• Definition: Emotional, opinions, or behaviors are affected by others.

  • Example: Washing hands in public restrooms shows conformity to hygiene norms.

  • Example: Sitting halfway when a door is closed indicates social behaviors influenced by norms.

  • Example: Rioting demonstrates collective behavior influenced by group dynamics.

  • Example: Heaven’s Gate mass suicide exemplifies a tragic outcome of social influence (cult behaviors).

Techniques of Social Influence

• Reciprocity: Feeling obligated to repay others for favors received.

  • Innate sense of fairness drives this behavior.

  • Door-in-the-Face Technique: Starts with a large request likely to be refused, followed by a smaller, more reasonable request.

  • Example: Asking for donations to a charity (large request initially).

  • That’s-Not-All Technique: Begins with a request, then adds bonuses before a response.

  • Example: "Buy one, get one free" promotions.

• Consistency and Commitment: The desire to act consistently with past behaviors or commitments.

  • Freedman & Fraser (1966): Demonstrated that smaller prior agreements increase compliance with larger subsequent requests.

• Foot-in-the-Door Technique: Start with a small request, then progressively ask for larger favors.

• Low-Ball Technique: Agree to a low-cost request, then reveal hidden costs afterward.

  • Example: Resort fees added after initial low booking rates.

• Scarcity: Using the principle that perceived scarcity increases desire.

  • Pique Technique: Making an unusual request to capture attention.

  • Disrupt-Then-Reframe Technique: Changing the way people view a situation to manipulate decision-making.

• Obedience: Following orders from authority figures.

  • Example: Nurses following doctor’s orders or compliance in traffic laws.

  • Milgram's (1963) Experiment: Involved participants administering shocks to a confederate, highlighting obedience to authority.

Bypassing Central vs Peripheral Processing

• Distraction’s Role in Persuasion: Low distraction leads to focus on arguments, while high distraction results in increased likelihood of agreement with weaker arguments.

  • Petty, Wells, & Brock (1976): Study on listeners agreeing or disagreeing with funding arguments highlighting the impact of distraction.

Elaboration Likelihood Model

• Central Route: Involves deep processing based on the quality of arguments.

• Peripheral Route: Involves shallow processing focusing on cues unrelated to the argument quality (like attractiveness or source credibility).

Source Credibility

• Expertise vs. Trustworthiness: Compelling sources provide a combination of authoritative knowledge and reliability.

• Likeability: Physical attractiveness and similarity can enhance persuasive power.

  • Evidence indicates people are more likely to be persuaded by those they find relatable rather than just experts.

Prosocial Behavior

Primary Features

• Defined as intentionally benefiting another, regardless of motive (can also benefit oneself).

• Benevolence: Helping others without expecting any reward.

  • Example: Donating money to charity for internal satisfaction.

• Pure Altruism: Helping others without any expectation of reward.

  • Example: Rescuing someone from danger selflessly.

Bystander Effect and Intervention Model

• The bystander effect describes reduced helping behavior in groups.

• Five Steps of Bystander Intervention:

  1. Notice the situation.

  2. Interpret it as an emergency.

  3. Assume responsibility for helping.

  4. Know how to help.

  5. Evaluate costs and benefits of helping.

• Egoistic vs. Altruistic Motivation: Egoistic is self-benefiting, while altruistic is selfless.

Empathy in Helping Behavior

• The Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis suggests that feeling empathy increases the likelihood of helping others.

• Distinguishing between levels of empathy:

  • Affective, Somatic, and Cognitive empathy.

• Studies: Batson’s research shows high empathy participants are more willing to help others in distress.

Psychological Aspects of Morality

• Morality: Influence behavior and rationalization related to good and bad actions.

• Moral Development: Describes how moral reasoning progresses through: Preconventional, Conventional, and Postconventional stages.

• Moral Licensing and Moral Credits: Past good deeds may encourage future moral lapses, indicating a complex relationship between moral actions.

Antisocial Behavior

Aggression

• Defined as behavior intended to harm another individual who wants to avoid that harm.

• Types of Aggression:

  • Direct vs. Indirect

  • Reactive vs. Proactive

  • Active vs. Passive.

Theories of Aggression

• Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis: Unfulfilled goals lead to aggression.

  • Unpleasant experiences trigger aggressive responses (Reformulated Hypothesis).

• Longitudinal Study: Lefkowitz’s research on how childhood TV consumption relates to adult aggression shows complexity in media's influence.

Conclusion

Understanding social influence, prosocial behavior, and antisocial behavior is essential to grasp how situational contexts and personal motivations shape individual actions in society. These factors significantly impact interpersonal dynamics and societal norms.