Social (Test 3 Outline)

Social Influence/Persuasion

Types of Social Influence

  • Conformity: Changing behavior to align with others without direct requests.

    • Example: Peer pressure.

  • Compliance: Changing behavior in response to a direct request.

  • Obedience: A subset of compliance where requests come from an authority figure.

Key Studies and Theories

Solomon Asch (1956)

  • Conducted experiments where participants initially provide correct answers before eventually conforming to incorrect group responses.

  • Sources of Influence:

    • Normative Influence: Joining the group to gain approval.

    • Informational Influence: Conforming because one genuinely believes the group is correct.

Schachter (1961) - Rejection of Dissenters

  • Procedure:

    • Groups engaged in discussions with one confederate who disagreed with the majority.

    • Possible group reactions to dissenters:

    • Argue: Attempt to convince the dissenter.

    • Ignore: Overlook the dissenter.

    • Punish: Expel the dissenter or make them uncomfortable.

  • Normative Influence: People conform to avoid punishment or exclusion.

    • Descriptive Norms: Behaviors typical within the group.

    • Injunctive Norms: Behaviors that are approved by the group.

Factors Influencing Conformity

  • Group Size: Larger groups increase pressure to conform.

  • Moscovici’s Theory: Size of majority impacts influence; style of dissenters affects minority influence.

  • Unanimity: Group pressure increases when all members share the same opinion.

  • Immediacy: Closer physical proximity to the group increases normative influence.

  • Social Strength: Importance of the group to the individual affects likelihood of conformity.

    • Bond & Smith (1996): Found collectivist cultures exhibit higher conformity than individualistic cultures.

  • Informational Influence (Social Validation):

    • Sherif (1935): Demonstrated through the autokinetic effect, where individuals' judgments about the movement of a steady light converged over time when in groups, illustrating informational conformity.

    • Ambiguity: Greater uncertainty increases susceptibility to informational influence.

    • Crisis Situations: Increase reliance on others for guidance.

    • Experts: Individuals tend to comply more with those perceived as experts.

Other Elements of Conformity

  • Social Contagion: Spread of behaviors or emotions through groups.

    • Examples:

    • Tanganyikan Laughing Epidemic (1962): Students unable to stop laughing led to a shutdown of the school.

    • Dancing Plague of 1518: People dancing uncontrollably in France, resulting in deaths from exhaustion.

    • Warren County High School Incident: Faced mass panic after suspected gasoline exposure, leading to numerous hospital visits.

Milgram’s Study

  • Psychiatrist Survey: Predicted only 1 in 1000 would obey authority blindly, yet results showed over two-thirds did obey.

  • Controversy: Raised questions about the definition and understanding of obedience.

Principles of Compliance

Commitment and Consistency

  • Individuals strive to be consistent in their commitments.

    • Foot in the Door Technique: Start with a small request, gradually increase to a larger request.

    • Freedman & Fraser (1966): Participants who were first asked to place a small sign in their window were later more likely to agree to a larger, more intrusive sign.

  • Low-Ball Technique: Offers that seem attractive initially but come with hidden costs.

  • Bait-and-Switch Technique: Attractively advertised offers that are switched for less favorable options.

  • Labeling Technique: Assigning a label to individuals to encourage behavior consistent with that label.

  • Obligation: Feeling of obligation to fulfill requests based on past agreements.

Reciprocation

  • Door in the Face Technique: Start with a large request that is likely to be declined, followed by a smaller, more reasonable request.

  • Requirements:

    • The requests must come from the same person and be conceivable.

Scarcity

  • The perception that something is rare increases its value.

    • Limited Number: Conveys potential loss for the individual if they do not act.

    • Fast-Approaching Deadline: The urgency encourages immediate compliance.

Attention Techniques

  • Pique Technique: Capturing someone’s attention effectively.

  • Disrupt and Reframe: Disrupting expectations can lead to reevaluation of requests.

    • Research by David & Knowles (1999): Demonstrated that using unexpected terms increases compliance.

Friendship and Liking

  • Requests from people we like are more likely to be accepted.

    • Similarity and Ingratiation: Finding common ground or complimenting others can enhance the likelihood of compliance.

Persuasion Techniques

  • Definition: An attempt to change someone’s private attitudes.

Key Factors in Persuasion

  • Source Credibility: Trustworthiness and expertise of the messenger.

    • Hovland & Weiss (1951): Studied propaganda effects during wartime, revealing that perceived source credibility impacted short-term but not persistent beliefs.

  • Sleeper Effect: Low-credibility sources can still be persuasive over time if the message is compelling.

  • Trustworthiness: Essential for effective communication; credibility is diminished if the source is deceitful.

Source Likability

  • Similarity: Individuals are more inclined toward those they perceive as similar to themselves.

  • Attractiveness: Attractive speakers often convey favorable impressions leading to higher persuasiveness.

The What, Whom and How of Persuasion

  • Personal Importance: Messages that are personal resonate more.

  • Humor: Engaged audiences are more likely to remember humorous messages, enhancing persuasion.

  • Fear: Moderate fear appeals are effective; overloading on fear can lead to avoidance.

    • Leventhal, Watts, & Pagano (1967): Showed the effectiveness of combining fear-inducing messages with actionable guidance.

Message Presentation

  • One-sided messages may be effective only on uninformed receivers.

  • Primacy vs Recency Effects: First heard arguments (primacy) usually have more impact than the latest heard (recency) unless the options are introduced with ample time between them.

Receptivity and Yielding

  • Receptivity: The ability to receive and understand a message.

  • Yielding: Willingness to accept or act upon the message.

  • Emotional State: Positive moods enhance receptiveness.

  • Intelligence and Need for Cognition: Moderate intelligence by motivation is predisposed to persuasion, while high and low intelligence levels are less malleable.

Other Factors Influencing Persuasion

  • Self-Presentation: Concern about social image increases receptivity to social influence.

  • Individualism vs Collectivism: Varies in persuasion effectiveness based on cultural values.

  • Ego Depletion: Individuals are more susceptible to influence when mental resources are drained.

    • Study by Wheeler et al. (2007) illustrated ego depletion in cognitive tasks.

Active vs Passive Persuasion

  • Active persuasion requires effort from the persuader, while passive strategies lead to easier acceptance for less entrenched beliefs.

  • Repetition with Variation: Effective if paired with neutral or positive engagement to combat advertisement fatigue.

  • Subliminal Advertising: Shows efficacy when clients are predisposed to respond positively.

  • Elaboration Likelihood Model:

    • Central Route: Focus on strength of arguments leads to lasting change but requires effort.

    • Peripheral Route: Short-term persuasion through superficial cues or attributes.

Resistance to Persuasion

  • Attitude Inoculation: Exposing individuals to weak counterarguments to strengthen their own beliefs.

  • Forewarning: Alerting individuals to potential influence tactics can bolster resistance.

Groups

Definition and Characteristics

  • Groups consist of at least two individuals, interaction is not mandatory.

  • Dynamical Systems: Groups function as changing systems influenced by multiple variables.

  • Cohesiveness: Strengthened by similarity among members.

  • Interdependence: Members rely on one another for various needs.

  • Outgroup Presence: Facilitates identity and cohesion within groups.

Roles within Groups

Role Definition

  • Expected behaviors associated with specific positions in groups.

Types of Roles

  • Instrumental Roles: Task-oriented responsibilities that contribute to group goals.

  • Expressive Roles: Focus on interpersonal relationships and morale reinforcement within the group.

Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment (1971)

  • Highlights the tension between internal validity (accuracy) and external validity (realism).

  • Controversy: Zimbardo’s influences in guiding behaviors led to scrutiny over experimenter bias.

Group Effects

Deindividuation

  • Loss of self-awareness leading to alignment with group behavior, often at odds with personal ethics.

    • Arousal and Anonymity: High arousal levels decrease individuality; anonymity facilitates conformity to group norms.

Decreased Responsibility

  • Shared responsibility within a group diminishes individual accountability.

Transactive Memory

  • Utilizing group members for collective information retention.

Common Knowledge Effect

  • Groups often align with popular, widely accepted knowledge while neglecting unique inputs.

Group Polarization

  • Group consensus leads individuals to adopt more extreme positions than they would alone.

Social Facilitation Theory (Zajonc, 1965)

  • Performance can improve under group scrutiny, relying on dominant responses.

    • Evaluation Apprehension: Social evaluation enhances arousal, especially during performed tasks.

Commons Dilemma

  • Efficient resource use can diminish due to individual selfish behaviors in commonly shared contexts.

    • Self-interest vs. Others: Individuals prioritize immediate resource acquisition, neglecting future consequences.

Social Loafing (Ringlemann, 1913)

  • Individuals exert less effort in groups, under the assumption their lack of effort will go unnoticed.

  • Latané et al. (1979): Experiment measuring sound levels showed diminished effort as group sizes increased.

    • Cultural Differences: Individualist cultures tend to show more social loafing than collectivist cultures.

    • Task and Group Importance: Increased effort occurs in essential or challenging tasks linked to significant groups.

Groupthink

  • Tendency to prioritize group harmony over critical analysis and independent thought.

  • Influencing Factors:

    • Group similarity and leadership roles facilitate groupthink.

    • Ideologically isolated groups are more susceptible.

    • Self-esteem levels of group members can enhance conformity pressures.

  • Pressure to Conform: Stronger societal pressure increases likelihood of groupthink.

  • Belief in Decision: Groups exhibiting strong belief in their collective decisions enhance groupthink.

Minority Opinions

  • Persistence enhances the minority’s influence in group dynamics.

  • Compromise increases the effectiveness of minority perspectives.

  • Support from others amplifies the voice of dissent.

Benefits of Social Groups

  • Social Support: Essential for mental and physical health, fostering functioning individuals.

  • Improved Outcomes: Group collaboration often yields superior results compared to solitary efforts.

  • Feelings of Safety: Emotional and psychological security is often reinforced through group affiliation.

Attraction

Terminology

  • Attraction: Desire to maintain or pursue relationships.

  • Acceptance: Inclusion in someone’s personal circle.

  • Rejection: Exclusion from personal circles.

Reasons for Attraction

  • Similarity: Preference for individuals resembling ourselves.

    • Matching Hypothesis: Attraction often correlates with levels of mutual appeal.

    • Self-Evaluation Maintenance: We seek similarities that don’t threaten self-esteem.

  • Reinforcement-Affect Model: Individuals who positively influence our feelings are more desirable.

  • Social Exchange Theory: Relationships are assessed based on their perceived costs and benefits.

  • Reciprocity: Knowing someone is attracted increases their desirability.

  • Mimicry: Observed imitating behaviors can enhance likability.

Proximity

  • Physical proximity enhances likelihood of attraction.

    • Festinger et al. (1950): Studied friendship patterns based on proximity in living arrangements.

    • Moreland & Beach (1992): Attended classes influenced attractiveness ratings based on frequency of attendance.

Self-Disclosure

  • Sharing personal experiences boosts mutual attraction.

Physical Attraction

  • Symmetry: Symmetrical features correlate with attractiveness.

    • Gangestad & Thornhill (1997): Showed body symmetry improved attractiveness ratings among women.

    • Aesthetic standards differ by gender.

  • Halo Effect: Attractive individuals are assumed to possess other positive traits.

Social Skills

  • Social Adaptability: Ability to navigate various social environments increases attractiveness.

Evolutionary Determinants

  • Gender influences attraction-related preferences; women prioritize stability, while men focus on reproductive viability.

  • Economic power dynamics affect attraction preferences between genders.

Sexual Orientation Theories

  • Behavior: Observable attraction behaviors.

  • Attraction: More innate feelings of attraction toward same-sex individuals.

  • Identity: How individuals self-identify their sexual orientation.

Rejection

  • Ostracism: Mental effects linked to social exclusion.

  • Health Risks: Rejection amplifies vulnerability to various risks, including mental health issues.

  • Behavioral Changes: Rejection often leads to impulsivity and aggression.

Loneliness

  • Definition: The state of wanting social connection but lacking it.

  • Causes: Associated with transitional periods or emotional distress.

  • Health Implications: Linked to poorer recovery from injuries and slower healing times.

Relationship Dynamics

Need to Belong

  • The fundamental human need for social connection.

    • Regular Contact: Consistent engagement with social networks strengthens belonging.

    • Stable Relationships: Preferentially tend toward positive or neutral associations.

Types of Love

  • Passionate Love: Intense emotional connection during the initial phase.

  • Companionate Love: Long-term love that develops through companionship and mutual support.

Sternberg’s Triangle of Love

  • Components:

    • Passion: Physical attraction and arousal.

    • Intimacy: Emotional closeness and understanding.

    • Commitment: Decisions to maintain the relationship despite challenges.

Types of Relationships

  • Communal Relationships: Focus on shared resources and mutual benefit without keeping record of contributions.

  • Exchange Relationships: Based on reciprocity and fairness, where exchanges are closely monitored.

Attachment Theory (John Bowlby)

  • Attachment Styles:

    • Secure: Positive view of self and others; balanced approach to relationships.

    • Anxious/Ambivalent: High anxiety regarding relationships coupled with a strong desire for closeness.

    • Avoidant: Preference for emotional distance due to fears of rejection.

Relationship Satisfaction

  • Equal or Decrease: Generally stable satisfaction levels or decline over time.

  • Investment Model (Rusbult, 1983): Evaluates relationship satisfaction based on three criteria:

    • Satisfaction: General contentment in the relationship.

    • Quality of Alternatives: Assessment of available alternatives; affects decisions to stay or leave.

    • Sunk Costs: Emotional and material investments impact the choice to remain in a relationship.

  • Equity Theory: Satisfaction stems from equitable input-output ratio in relationships.

Relationship Dissolution

  • Rusbult’s (1987) Model: Stages leading to dissolution based on harm/damage vs. support/effort:

    • Actively Harm: Destroying relationship intentionally.

    • Passively Harm: Neglecting duties leading to relationship decline.

    • Actively Help: Engaging actively to save the relationship.

    • Passively Loyal: Remaining committed without effort.

Divorce Factors

  • Cultural Impact: Individualistic societies show higher divorce rates compared to collectivist norms.

  • Age and Duration of Relationship: Younger marriages are more prone to divorce; longer dating periods pre-marriage correlate with more stable outcomes.

  • Economic Stability: Financial independence reduces likelihood of divorce.

  • Environmental Influences: Urban settings generally foster higher divorce rates due to alternative relationship opportunities.

  • Religiosity: Religious adherence often correlates with reduced divorce rates.

Sexuality

  • Social Constructionist Theory: Sexuality shaped by cultural influences.

  • Evolutionary Theory: Explains non-heterosexual orientations through related advantages.

  • Sex Drive and Gender Differences: Varies significantly between genders with related patterns.

Family and Friendship Influences

  • Familial Relationships: Early family dynamics shape future interpersonal skills.

  • Friendship Characteristics:

    • Mutual trust, equality, and enjoyment during interactions are hallmarks of healthy friendships.

    • Casual Cruelty: Engaging friends with playful challenges can strengthen bonds around fears and social understanding.