Social Influence: Conformity, Obedience, and Compliance
Introduction to Social Influence
- Social influence generally refers to the way people's behaviors are affected by the real or imagined pressure of other people.
- It encompasses both active persuasion (e.g., selling, convincing of an attitude or value) and subtle, even unconscious, adaptations to a situation.
- Examples include instinctively looking up when others do on a street, or turning to face the same direction as others in an elevator.
- Pressure can be real (e.g., coercive threats) or subtle/unconscious.
- Three main areas of social influence will be covered: Conformity, Obedience, and Compliance.
- Definition: A change in behavior due to the real or imagined influence of other people.
- Example: Adjusting body language, tone of voice, and conversation level in a formal room because others are doing so, without anyone explicitly asking.
- Reasons for Conformity:
- We believe other people are a source of correct information.
- We want to fit in and be accepted.
- Informational Social Influence
- Goal: To be right and make good decisions.
- Likely to occur: When people feel uncertain in a given situation and don't know how to behave.
- Example (Autokinetic Effect Experiment):
- Optical Illusion: The autokinetic effect is the perceived movement of a stationary light in a dark room, due to eye saccades or the brain becoming