Social Psychology Professor Spikes TOPIC Conformity Compliance and Obedience Chapter 7 I CONFORMITY Change in behavior or belief as a result of real or imagined group pressure Example 1 Why given the diversity of individuals in large groups is their behavior uniform a Is social pressure more powerful than individual differences i In our society YES it appears to be more powerful in many situations 2 Is conformity at times inconsequential a YES b If you re working and have to wear a uniform whatever 3 Is conformity good or bad a b c It can be both In work settings it makes things run more smoothly if everyone is sort of wearing the same type of outfit nice professional If you re in line somewhere DON T cut wait your turn 4 Does conformity always carry a negative value judgment a Most of the time YES in Western cultures i ii It s a sign of weakness If someone says you re so conforming you re offended by that b However in Japan conformity is a sign of tolerance self control maturity i Many collectivist cultures value conformity 5 The Early Classics a Muzafer Sherif 1936 subjects lead to believe they were participating in a study on a Appeared that a dot of light was traveling across the screen and were asked b The light wasn t actually moving c Did this individually and then as a group came to a consensus as a group on visual perception to calculate the speed one speed study on visual discrimination b Solomon Asch 1955 subjects lead to believe that they were participating in a a The study really revolved around how people s beliefs can affect the beliefs of others In a nutshell b there was only one real subject in his study for each trial i ii The rest were confederates iii Shown lines of different lengths iv Say there were 3 lines on a cue card one line 5 in tall one 8 in tall one 12 in tall one v Then given another one that was in tall vi Then asked which one of the first lines is the same height as the in vii Confederates would say that an 8 in line was the same as a in line and the subject would usually agree viii The subject was always last to answer and would agree about 70 of the time even if the answer was so obviously wrong 6 Why Do People Conform 1 Informational Influence Influence that produces conformity when a person believes others are correct in their judgments 2 Normative Influence negative social consequences of appearing deviant Influence that produces conformity when a person fears the Can operate jointly but can also operate separately in situations Types of Conformity A comparison of Sherif and Asch s studies suggests different kinds of conformity for different reasons Sherif used an ambiguous task so others provided a source of information and influenced the participants true opinions Asch used a task that required simple judgments of a clear stimulus so most participants exhibited occasional public conformity in response to normative pressure but privately did not accept the group judgments Experimental Task Primary Effect of Group Depth of Conformity Produced Sherif s ambiguous Informational influence Private acceptance autokinetic effect Asch s simple line Normative influence Public conformity judgments private acceptance same as private conformity when the conformity penetrates beneath the surface called true acceptance or conversion others cause us to change our overt behavior as well as our mind public conformity we are truly persuaded that others are correct pretending to agree when privately disagreeing a superficial change in behavior politician s approach 3 Specific Other reasons for conformity a Group size b Age of the people that you conform to c d Could depend on the power or status of the audience e Many times people conform even when they don t believe what the other If you re a minority within a given context person is saying II COMPLIANCE Changes in behavior that are elicited by direct requests Sequential Request Strategies Various compliance techniques are based on a sequence of two related requests The first request sets the trap Click The second captures the prey Snap Research has shown that the four sequential request strategies as follows are very effective 1 Foot in the door technique A two stage compliance technique in which the influencer sets the stage for the real request by first getting a person to comply with a much smaller request a EX friend who is moving asks you to help them pack up one room so you agree b You ll be more likely to later help them pack the rest up and help move it especially while you re there 2 Low balling A two step compliance technique in which the influencer secures agreement with a request but then increases the size of that request by revealing hidden costs a EX car salesman tells you that 30 000 will get you that car b That s 5 000 below what you were expecting BUT c He says in the same breath you can t go without extra amenities speakers sunroof etc those are gonna cost extra d He got you because the car seems less expensive at first but he revealed the hidden cost later 3 Door in the face technique A two step compliance technique in which the influencer prefaces the real request with one that is so large that it is rejected a EX fall and twist your ankle and you file a lawsuit b Lawyer says we re gonna ask 100 000 for the lawsuit even though it s a small c Asking for 100 000 but only are gonna get 50 000 which is still so much more injury than necessary 4 That s not all technique A two step compliance technique in which the influencer begins with an inflated request then decreases its apparent size by offering a discount or bonus a EX car salesman there s a car that s worth 30 000 but the sticker price reads b The salesman says it s 35 000 but since you re a recent college graduate I ll 35 000 discount it by 5 000 Difference between 3 and 4 3 is a forced or strategized negotiation 4 you re securing something by offering a concrete incentive III OBEDIENCE Acting in accord with a direct order Behavior change produced by the commands of authority video from a few weeks ago about that girl who worked at McDonald s who was forced to strip down naked and perform activities for her boss and her boss s wife o conformed to authority figure o coworkers conformed as well b c none of them stopped it o obeyed her boss s orders Stanley Milgram s Research Forces of Destructive Obedience subjects were paid to participate in a study that was supposedly about learning and learning techniques when they arrived to