Conformity and Obedience Lecture Notes

Learning Objectives

  • Define conformity and explain its occurrence.
  • Differentiate between informational and normative social influence as motivations to conform.
  • Describe how knowledge of social influence can be harnessed to influence others.
  • Summarize classic studies demonstrating obedience to authority.

Conformity and the Ice Bucket Challenge

  • The Ice Bucket Challenge raised $1.5 million for ALS awareness.
  • Participation can be seen as an example of both direct (persuasion) and indirect (social norms) conformity.

Conformity in American Culture

  • American culture values rugged individualism, posing the question: Do Americans conform?
  • Exploration of whether decisions are purely personal or influenced by others’ behavior.

The My Lai Massacre and Conformity

  • In 1968, American soldiers killed 450-500 Vietnamese civilians under an order they conformed to.
  • Demonstrates how social pressures can lead individuals to commit immoral acts.

Definition of Conformity

  • Conformity: changing behavior due to real or imagined influence of others.
  • Reasons for conformity:
    • Confusion in unusual situations.
    • Fear of ridicule or rejection.

Social Pressure and Risky Behavior

  • Social pressure can drive individuals to conform, even to detrimental behavior (e.g., eating toxic laundry detergent pods).

Informational Social Influence

  • People often rely on others' behavior in confusing or ambiguous situations to make decisions (Kelley, 1955).
  • Influences lead to conformity by validating that others may be correct in their judgments.

The Autokinetic Effect Study

  • Individuals estimate movement of a stationary point of light in a dark room, demonstrating variability based on group interaction.

Practical Application of Informational Influence

  • Nolan et al. (2008) study showed that emphasizing public compliance to conserve electricity influenced behavior more than factual messages.

Acceptance Types

  • Private Acceptance: genuine belief in others' behavior.
  • Public Compliance: conforming to behavior without believing in it.

Importance of Accuracy in Judgment

  • Increased importance of being accurate decreases conformity rates, shown in eyewitness identification studies.

Informational Conformity Backfire

  • In crisis situations, reliance on potentially incorrect social influences can lead to panic.
  • Example: Welles' 'War of the Worlds' broadcast illustrating rapid spread of fear.

Normative Social Influence

  • Need for acceptance can lead to dangerous behaviors.
  • Humans are social beings; social norms dictate behavior (e.g., dress codes, risky challenges).

Asch's Study on Normative Influence

  • Examined conformity in non-ambiguous situations, where participants were pressured to give incorrect answers by a group.
  • Found that 75% conformed at least once; clear demonstration of normative pressure.

Consequences of Non-Conformity

  • Individuals resisting conformity often face social rejection and disapproval.
  • Schacter's study identified statuses of group members: mode, slider, deviate; deviate faced social isolation.

Influencing Factors of Normative Social Influence

  • Latane's Social Impact Theory identifies strength, immediacy, and number as key factors.
  • High importance and immediacy increase conformity.

Group Size Effects

  • Conformity increases up to 4-5 members in a dissenting group, then plateaus.

Cultural Differences in Conformity

  • Collectivist cultures show higher conformity, emphasizing group harmony.
  • Example: synchronized drummers at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Minority Influence

  • Influence of a minority to change group attitudes; requires strong arguments and consistency.

Social Norms for Positive Behavior

  • Social norms can be applied to promote positive behaviors.
  • Example: Using social proof messaging around voting increased turnout.

Descriptive vs. Injunctive Norms

  • Distinction between perceptions of socially approved behaviors (injunctive) and actual behaviors (descriptive).

Boomerang Effect in Norm Communication

  • Risks when using descriptive norms; misalignment with existing behavior can worsen the situation (e.g., binge drinking messages).

Social Influence Tactics

  • Compliance techniques such as foot-in-the-door (small request leading to larger request) and door-in-the-face (large request followed by smaller request) are effective.

Obedience to Authority

  • Authority can strongly influence behavior; Milgram's experiments highlighted people's willingness to harm others when directed by authority.
  • Factors that increase obedience include legitimate authority presence and social pressure.

Replication of Milgram's Study

  • Burger (2009) replicated Milgram's study with ethical modifications; findings suggested high levels of obedience remain prevalent.

Strategies for Resisting Obedience

  • Knowledge about social influence and having allies can help individuals resist wrongful commands from authority figures.