ch. 14 social psychology Flashcards
social influence
when the presence of others influences our behaviors
conformity
tendency to alter behavior as a result of group pressure ex: being too close to someone in the elevator
why do we conform
two reasons - informational influence
-normative influence
informational influence
others might know better.
normative influence
we want to fit in.
Asch experiments
tested whether people conform and why, subjects seated in a group of 6-8 people
what did the asch experiment ask them to perform
asked them to perform a simple visual perception task, but you are the only subject, the rest are actors (confederates)
what are the actors (confederates) instructed to do
confederates are instructed to give the wrong answer, the actual subject is seated second to last
the results of the asch experiment
75% of subjects confirmed at least once, some on all and some only 1 or 2 trials
on average how much did the subjects conform
the subjects confirmed about 40% of the time
what happened in another version?
subjects were asked to write down their answers instead of say them
what happened with the written answers
much less conformity in written answers
why did subjects conform?
suggest normative influence is responsible
what are some factors that influence conformity
unanimity, group size, differences in wrong answers
unanimity
if another person gave the correct answer, conformity dropped
differences in wrong answers
if others differed from the majority, conformity dropped
group size
a larger group resulted in greater conformity up to 5-6 people
Kitty Genovese
famous because she was attacked in the middle of her apartment complex, neighbors watching did nothing
Bystander nonintervention
the presence of others makes us less likely to act in emergencies
why is there bystander nonintervention?
two reasons-pluralistic ignorance and diffusion of responsibility
pluralistic ignorance
error of assuming no one in a group perceives things as we do
social referencing
looks to others for cues. we tend to act in accordance with others.
diffusion of responsibility
the presence of others makes each person feel less personally responsible
