Definition Social Influence: The large number of ways that people impact one another, including changes in attitudes, beliefs, feelings, or behaviors resulting from the comments, actions, and mere presence of othersThree Types of Social Influence:1. Obedience—Do as others command2. Compliance—Do as others want3. Conformity—Do as others doConformityConformity: Changing one’s behavior or beliefs in response to some real (or imagined) pressure from others. – No request is made explicitlyEssentially: Doing what other people are doingTwo processes: Two reasons why we do what other people do(1) Informational Social Influence: because we think they provide useful informationConformity based on the desire to be accurate or correctUse other people as informationInformational social influence more likely when:Situation is ambiguous or difficultso that we feel low in knowledge or competence about the topic.Ex. Autokinetic illusion study: All participant’s judgments about the movement of the light converged over timePeople really believe what they are sayingInformational social influence leads to internalization (private acceptance) of the majority opinion.(2) Normative Social Influence: because we want them tolike usConformity based on the desire to be liked or socially accepted when the situation is unambiguous or clear, but one’s own beliefs conflict with those of the groupEx. Line Judgment study: There was one true participant in group of confederates, who give wrong answers; Overall, participants conformed on a third of the critical trials; A full 75% of participants conformed at least once.People do not really believe what they are sayingNormative social influence leads to public compliance, but not necessarily private acceptance.What factors influence conformity?Group SizeGroup is unanimous (no one disagrees)Expertise and status (Expert opinions carry more weight. We want experts to like us)Gender (women tend to conform slightly more than men) – mostly for face-to-facemen conform more for feminine domains,women conform more for masculine domainsCultureInterdependent/Collectivist cultures are more likely to conformAmbiguity/Difficulty of the testwe become less assertive in new situationsAnonymitywhen nobody else is aware of your judgment, there is no need to fear group disapprovalInterpretation of disagreement (being able to explain the disagreement can help us to avoid conformity)Example: You’re on a jury and everyone else says that the defendant is guilty, except for you. If you know that everyone is related the victim it would make you less likely to conform1) See the group’s opinion as less informative2) The group can understand why your response is differentAutomatic mimicry phenomenonLots of conformity may also be automatic and unconsciousEx. Yawning, laughterExplanations for automatic mimicryIdeomotor actionPrinciple that thinking about an action increases the likelihood of doing that actionPreparation for social interactionPeople who are mimicked engage in more prosocial behavior afterward.Mimicry may build social rapport and lead to more pleasant social interactions.Example: You yawn, I yawn, you laugh, I laugh, we make a deal.Obedience to AuthorityMilgram study results:66 % of participants completed the experiment (450 volts) in the condition where the other person could not be heard except for his pounds on the wall.62.5 % went all of the way (450 volts) in the voice-feedback condition, when they could hear the other person’s voice.Originally it was predicted that less than 1 % of people would follow instructions until the end.Participants of different ages and social classes all obeyed. Same effects found for women and men.Forces Influences Obedience1) Getting closer to the victim – Less ObedienceAs the “learner” became more present (increased feedback and proximity), obedience decreased2) Distancing from the authority – Less ObedienceExperimenter gives orders over telephoneExperimenter has lower statusExperimenter is contradicted by another experimenter3) Release from responsibility – More ObedienceFeeling of responsibility for one’s actions is transferred to other people.In Milgram study, the experimenter stated that he was responsible for everything that happened.4) Step-by-step situation – More ObedienceCan arrive at extreme situations in step-by-step process: a “slippery slope”In Milgram study, each increment is only 15 volts, so each one seems like a small step, but step-by-step it gets to an extreme pointIn Nazi Germany, Hitler was democratically elected and the anti-Jewish laws were introduced in small increments, in a step-by-step progression toward the HolocaustPeople may have never intended to go so far, but each small step helps justify the nextComplianceAttempts to influence behavior often come from people without any special authority or status.Reason-based approaches:Door-in-the-face technique (Norm of reciprocity)Make a large request that is refused, followed by smaller request.When asked to buy a $5 raffle ticket, refuses. Then he is asked to buy a $1 candy bar and agrees (even though he doesn’t like chocolate)Why it works: Norm of ReciprocityWhen someone does something for us, we feel obligated to do something for that person in return.“You compromised with me, so I’ll compromise with you.”College students were asked to accompany a group of juvenile delinquents on a two-hour trip to the zooIf only request: 16% agreedIf preceded by “Would you be willing to serve as a counselor to juvenile delinquents for at least two years?”: 50% agreed (to the zoo request)!Foot-in-the-door techniqueMake a small request that is accepted, followed by a large requestCharities often first ask for very small donations, then later ask for bigger ones.Why it works: need to feel consistentAgreeing to the first request makes it easier to agree with a second request.That’s-not-all techniqueAdding something additional to the offermany “as seen on TV” ads that include special bonusesWhy it works: we feel like we are getting more than expected; the added bonus increases pressure to reciprocate.Emotion-based approaches:Positive and (some) negative moods can increase compliance.Positive moodsMood maintenancePeople want to maintain a positive mood so they agree more easilyFeels good to say yes, e.g., fundraising partyDifferent construals of the requestMore likely to trust someone’s intentions in a positive moodNegative