JI

4.3a Social Influence: Conformity and Obedience

Learning Targets

  • LT 4.3-1: Explain how social contagion is a form of conformity, and how conformity experiments reveal the power of social influence.
  • LT 4.3-2: Explain what Milgram’s obedience experiments teach us about the power of social influence.
  • LT 4.3-3: Explain what social influence studies teach us about ourselves and the power we have as individuals.

Social Contagion and Conformity (LT 4.3-1)

  • Norms:

    • Definition: Understand societal rules for accepted and expected behavior.
    • Examples: Behavioral norms in various institutions.
  • Conformity:

    • Definition: Adjusting behavior or thinking to align with group standards.
    • Importance: A key mechanism of social influence.
  • Types of Social Influence:

    1. Normative social influence:
    • Motivation: Desire for approval or to avoid disapproval.
    • Example: Peer pressure leading to a person dressing similarly to peers.
    1. Informational social influence:
    • Motivation: Acceptance of others' opinions about reality.
    • Example: Conforming to a group's answer during a quiz due to belief in their correctness.
  • Experiment Insights:

    • Conducted by Solomon Asch: Showed high rates of conformity under certain conditions.
    • Factors affecting conformity:
    • Feeling of incompetence.
    • Group size (three or more).
    • Anonymity.
    • Participants reported differing reasons for conformity: normative versus informational influence.
    • Cultural differences: Individualistic cultures show lower conformity rates compared to collectivist cultures.
  • Impacts of Social Contagion:

    • Can lead to increased prosocial (helpful) and antisocial (harmful) behaviors.
    • Chameleon effect: Mimicking behaviors (e.g., yawning, facial expressions) to empathize with others.
    • Increased rates of tragic events like suicides following similar incidents.

Milgram’s Obedience Experiments (LT 4.3-2)

  • Obedience:

    • Definition: Compliance with an order or command.
  • Objectives of Milgram's Study:

    • Investigate obedience to authority, even in morally questionable situations.
  • Methodology:

    • Participants ("teachers") requested to administer shocks to a "learner" for incorrect answers.
    • No actual shocks, but participants believed they were inflicting pain.
    • Effects of commands from authority figure: over 60% complied fully to the highest voltage.
  • Findings on Obedience:

    • Higher rates of compliance under conditions of authority proximity and legitimacy.
    • Lack of depersonalization and absence of dissenting voices increased obedience.
    • Ethical implications of emotional harm in studies highlight the necessity for debriefing.

The Power of Situations and Individual Influence (LT 4.3-3)

  • Key Insights:

    • Human behavior is heavily shaped by situational dynamics, not solely individual traits.
    • “Evil” actions can stem from situational pressures rather than inherent personality flaws.
    • Contrarily, good situations can invoke heroism in ordinary individuals.
  • Social Control:

    • Interaction between social forces and personal controls.
    • Minority influence: A small group pushing back against norms or commands can lead to change.
  • Reflection and Application:

    • Discuss personal experiences of conformity and the ramifications of obedience and defiance.
    • Explore scenarios when obedience was beneficial versus when it might have been detrimental.

Review Questions

  • Differentiate between conformity and obedience.
  • Identify situations that researchers found most likely to promote obedience.

Apply the Concepts

  • Reflection on personal experiences related to obedience and its outcomes.