6. SOCIAL INFLUENCE Flashcards
Define social influence
process whereby attitudes and behaviour are influenced by the real or implied presence of other people
define norms
attitudinal and behavioural uniformalities that define group membership and differentiate between groups
what are references significant for?
psychologically significant for out behaviour/attitudes
what does it mean to be a part of a membership groups
we belong to due to some objective external criterion
what are the three types of social influence?
compliance
obedience
conformity
define compliance
superficial, public, and transitory change in behaviour and expressed attitudes in response to requests, coercion, or group influence
what is power?
the capacity to influence others while resisting their attempts to influence
what is the basis of compliance?
powers
what are strategies of compliance?
ingratiation, reciprocity, multiple requests
what are sources of power that people can access to persuade others
reward power coercive power informational power expert power legitimate power referent power
reward power
the ability to give or promise rewards for compliance
coercive power
the ability to give or threaten punishment for non-compliance
informational
the target’s belief that the influencer has more information than oneself
expert power
the target’s belief that the influencer has generally greater expertise and knowledge than oneself
legitimate power
the target’s belief that the influencer is authorised by a recognised power structure to command and make decisions
referent power
Referent power refers to the ability of a leader to influence a follower because of the follower’s loyalty, respect, friendship, admiration, affection, or a desire to gain approval.
what did Milgram theoretically base his studies on?
Asch’s (1951) conformity study
response to WWII behaviour (Holocaust)
what was the method of Milgram’s study?
males recruited from advertisement
became ‘teacher’ -> administered shocks
instructed to continue shocks even if learner in pain
how big were shocks were Milgram’s participants to provide?
between 15 - 450 volts
what is the question of interest of Milgram’s experiment?
would participant obey instructions even if causing obvious harm to others?
what were the results of Milgram’s experiment?
majority obeyed. 65% of people were obedient right to the very end, going beyond danger: Severe shock into a zone labelled XXX
what did experts on human behaviour predict about Milgram’s experiment
very few normal, psychologically balanced people would obey orders to administer more than a ‘strong’ shock to the ‘incompetent’ learner
what are factors influencing obedience?
sex difference some cultures commitment to course of action Immediacy - of victim or of authority figure group pressure legitimacy of authority ficture
define conformity
deep-seated, private and enduring change in behaviour and attitudes due to group pressure
what is obedience on comparison to compliance and obedience?
less direct
what is the theoretical basis of Sherif’s (1936) autokinetic experiment?
from Allport’s (1924) convergence effect
group norms develop from people’s uncertainty about the social world
use of others as ‘frame of reference’
average/middle > fringe
what was the method of Sherif’s (1936) autokinetic experiment?
groups judged a perceptual illusion ‘autokinetic effect’
called out estimates in random order
what was the question of interest of Sherif’s (1936) autokinetic experiment?
would people converge on a group norm?
was were the results of Sherif’s (1936) autokinetic experiment?
norm convergence and norm persistence
In one condition where the individuals started alone - they settled on personal normals
in the other condition individuals started an groups and converged on a group norm
when alone they used their group nrom which was internalised as a personal guide
what was the theoretical basis of Ach’s (1951, 1956) conformity experiment
response to Sherifs study (ambiguous stimuli)
uncertainty not explanation for unambiguous stimuli
what was the method of Ach’s (1951, 1956) conformity experiment
o groups of 7-9 males (1 real participant) called out which of 3 comparison lines the standard line matched; ‘real’ participant responded 2nd last
o in 18 trials, confederates chose correctly one third of time
what wsa the question of interest of Ach’s (1951, 1956) conformity experiment?
would participants conform to others’ clearly wrong responses?
what were the results of Ach’s (1951, 1956) conformity experiment?
o 25% independent throughout
o 50% conformed to wrong majority on 6 or more trials
o 5% conformed to wrong majority on ALL trials
o average conformity rate: 33%
what did Asch conclude in his experiment?
why did people conform to an obviously wrong answer?
- own perceptions inaccurate
- fear of censure
- saw the lines as majority did
what are factors influencing conformite?
privacy of response personality traits - but situationally dependent sex differences cultural differences group size type of judgement unanimity of response
what are the two types of cultural difference?
collectivist and individualist
which cultural difference precedes the other with regard to conformity?
collectivist > individualist
how does privacy of responses affect conformity?
influence weakened when judgements were private and anaymous
how do sex differences affect conformity?
when a task is male-stereotypical, more women conform. When the task is female-stereotypical, more men conform
How does the unanimity of the response affect conformity?
social support on a line judgement task reduced conformity, even when the supporter was patently unable to make accurate judgements because he was visually impaired.
define unanimity
agreement of all people involved
what are social influence processes underlying conformity?
normative and informational influence (Deutch & Gerard, 1955; Kelley, 1952)
informational social influence process
reality check, especially for ambiguous stimuli (true change)
normative social influence process
gain social approval, must have surveillance by group (surface)
what did Deutsh and Gerard (1955) show about social influence processes?
conformity occurred when neither influence was operating
What is reference informational influence?
o criticism of ‘dual-process’ model
o from social identity theory (emphasis on group membership)
o operates via process of self-categorisation
o differences from dual-process approach
o evidence (e.g., Hogg & Turner, 1987)
what is the process of referent informational influence (as proposed by Hogg& Abrams, 1988)
self categorisation –>
discover stereotypic in group norms from those who provide information about such norms –>
Assign cognitive represent ingroup norms –>
Assign cognitive representation of ingroup norms to self (self-stereotyping) –>
In group normative behaviour (conformity)
what is majority influence?
social infleunce whereby numerical or power minorities change the attitude of the majority
who reinterpreted Asch’s line experiment?
Moscovici
What did moscovivi examine?
the ‘genetic model’ of minority influence
what are key aspects of the ‘genetic model’ of minority behaviour?
dependent on behavioural style produces attitude change other explanations (e.g. attribution)
define ingratiation
psychological technique in which an individual attempts to become more attractive or likeable to their target.
define immediacy
Immediacy in communication is the way we signal closeness, willingness to communicate, and positive feelings to another person.
collectivist culture
A collectivist culture is one that’s based on valuing the needs of a group or a community over the individual. Kinship, family, and community are extremely important. People tend to work together to create harmony and group cohesion is extremely valued.
individualistic culture
Individualistic culture is a society which is characterized by individualism, not collectivism.
