Social influence The process by which the actions of an individual or group affect the behavior of others Conformity compliance obedience Social norms Rules for expected or acceptable behavior Scripts rituals customs and traditions Often vary by culture May vary by subculture Conformity Comprehensive definition Behavior or belief that moves toward a group consensus as a result of real or imagined group pressure Simpler definition Yielding to group pressure Informational influence Conforming to others because we think they know more than we do Others are more knowledgeable Judgment is ambiguous Sherif Group consensus norm formation Ambiguous judgment Auto kinetic effect Normative influence Conforming to avoid the negative social consequences of appearing deviant To gain rewards approval avoid punishments ostracism Asch Unambiguous judgment Asch procedure Method Results About 1 3 of the time the average participant conformed to group About 3 4 of participants conformed at least once Some subjects conformed considerably more some none Parametric studies Making changes in design of the experiment to test the extent of the effect Size of majority Unanimity Anonymity Individual differences Not everyone conformed and different people conformed to different degrees Individual difference variables correlate with conformity Age Achievement motivation Need for approval Authoritarianism Culture Compliance Changing behavior in response to direct social pressure How might you get me to offer you an extra credit opportunity Possible compliance techniques Ask Present information Invoke personal benefits Invoke relationship Bargain Invoke norm Make moral appeal Use flattery Criticize Deceive Use threats or force Cialdini Compliance basic principles o liking Friendship o Consistency o Reciprocity Regan 1971 o Scarcity Compliance Tactics o Ingratiation invokes liking o Lowball invokes consistency o That s Not All Principle invokes reciprocity o Playing Hard to Get invokes scarcity o Fast Approaching Deadline invokes scarcity o Foot in the Door invokes consistency o Door in the Face invokes norm of reciprocity reciprocal concessions o Not so free sample Obedience o Changing behavior in response to commands from authority Miligram Experiment o Basic Scenario o Cover Story effects of punishment on learning o Procedure Paired associate task Shock machine o Parametric studies Miligrams Variations o Victim pounds on wall them become silent Remote feedback basic scenario o Victim heard protesting Voice feedback o Victim in same room Proximity o Teacher has to put victims hand on shock plate Touch proximity o Less prestigious location Study done in Bridgeport Connecticut o Remote experimenter Telephone condition o Less authoritative experimenter Younger RA in street clothes has to substitute o Dissenting research assistants o Second experimenter Conflicting instructions o Teacher does not deliver shock himself o Teacher told to select the level of shock control Experimenter legitimizes all levels Important points Ethical issues Power of situation Replications of Milgram Study Hofling et al 1966 Unknown doctor called nurses and asked them to administer 20 milligrams of the drug Astroten to a patient on the ward Nearly all were about to administer the drug before being stopped and debriefed by one of the researchers Eye of the Storm video blue eyes brown eyes Benevolent and hostile sexism Cialdini s compliance tactics what they are and why they work Door in face the reciprocal concessions Foot in door The That s not all technique a compliance approach that involves adding something to an original offer thus creating some pressure to reciprocate Cognitive perspective Conditions for reducing prejudice through contact Construal processes and biased assessments Descriptive and prescriptive norms D norm is the behavior exhibited by most people in a given context Prescriptive norm is the way a person is supposed to behave in a given context also called injunctive dorm Door in the face reciprocal concessions technique Robery Cialdinin social psychology s most innovative contributor to the literature on compliance has explored a novel application of the norm of reciprocity A compliance approach that involves asking someone for a very large favor that he or she will certainly refuse and then following that request with one for a smaller favor which tends to be seen as a concession the target feels compelled to honor Foot in the door a compliance approach that involves making an initial small request with which nearly everyone complies followed by a larger request involving the real behavior of interest Informational social influence the reliance on other people s comments and actions as an indication of what s likely to be correct proper or effective Minimal group paradigm an experimental paradigm in which researchers create groups based in arbitrary and seemingly meaningless criteria and then examine how the members of these minimal groups are inclined to behave toward one another Modern racism Contrasted to old fashioned racism Subtle forms Concealed publicly expressed when safe Difficult to measure Implicit Association Test Muzafer Sherif s informational influence study Sherifs conformity experiment used the auto kinetic illusion to assess group influence Participants estimates tended to become more similar over time Used the setup of the Muller Lyer illusion which had people conform to the length of lines All the people s individual judgements quickly fused into a group norm Normative social influence the influence of other people that comes from the desire to avoid their disapproval and other social sanctions ridicule barbs ostracism Outgroup homogeneity the tendency for people to assume that within group similarity is much stronger for outgroups than for in groups Reactance theory the idea that people reassert their prerogatives sin response to the unpleasant state of arousal they experience when they believe their freedoms are threatened Realistic group conflict theory a theory that group conflict prejudice and discrimination are likely to arise over competition between groups for limited resources Social identity theory The idea that a person s self concept and self esteem derive not only from personal identity and accomplishments but also from the status and accomplishments of the various groups to which that person belongs Stereotype threat the fear of confirming the stereotypes others have about one s