chap 7 conformity Flashcards
define conformity
change in behav due to influence of others
reasons for conforming?
1 informational social influence (isi)
2 normative social influence (nsi)
whats isi
need for info from others during ambiguous sit bc believ their interpretation is more correct
whats nsi
need to be accepted/liked
exp eg of isi
autokinetic effect: basic perception can be influenced by judgement of others, more ppl around, the more their opinions converge
isi can be either…
private compliance
or
public compliance
private compliance is when…
conform out of genuine belief they’re right - usually unaware of risk / conseq
public compliance is when…
conform outwardly/publicly w/out changing inner beliefs - dont wanna be rejected for being diff / social disapproval
isi inducing factors
ambiguous/confusing sit or crisis - natural to look at others on how they'll respond despite them not being rational either or others viewed as EXPERTS
cons of isi
other is misinformed
how to resists isi
a. rational problem solving - check other srcs
b. evaluate significance of their interpretation vs yours
c. sensible? against common sense + morals?
define nsi
conform to be liked / accepted,
avoid being rejected
nsi types
can be public compliance or private
nsi a result of compliance w
social norms
social norms are…
implicit or explicit rules of group for acceptable behav, values, beliefs
conformity + social approval: ash line - what happened and what type of compliance occured?
when sit unambiguous - no conformity ie majority pple answer ur same answer
but if not then u may change ur answer to fit theirs to not apear wrong- public compliance w/out private acceptance
predict liklihood of nsi: social impact theory
1 strength of relationship bw group members - r they important to YOU
2 immediacy - how close group is during influencing attempt
3 more # pple in ur side group to agree w u will decr conformity
group size in influencing conformity
4-5 majority against u usually peak conformity ie adding anymore doesnt incr conformity.
nsi: collectivist culture
conformity higher in collective bc emph on strengthening relationships - emph on social norms
collectivist vs individualist food accumulation strategies
collective : growing agriculture, interdependent farming
indiv : fishing, hunting need more adventurous independent pple
nsi pros
charity
pro-env behav ie compare u to ur neighbors - majority of ur neighbors conserve nrg mor efective than just objective protect the env statement
nsi cons
follow misguided behav
eg student substance abuse - attitude on social norms is strongest predictor of whether they used drugs in past month
how does social group assimilate
tries to convince nonconformist to agree w group otherwise ignored or rejected
resist nsi by
1 be aware of social norms
2 ally
3 prosocial group conforming behav credits to use when u deviate from norm w/out harsh punishment
where can isi and nsi be seen
body img
workplace
neg addictive behav like eating disorders
what’s minority influence?
minority/few influence majority/many
suffragette movement is an eg of what
voting rights for women - minority influence
how can minority influence majority?
present views confidently, consistently, resists social pressures
in what way can minority resonate w majority
introd new unexpected info -ISI!! causes majority to examine carefully & realizze its MERIT - private compliance
can minority use nsi?
no bc majority doesnt care bout how minority views them
how does majority influence?
NSI - more of a public compliance
what’s compliance
change in behav in response to a request
compliance techniques
door to door
foot in door
lowballing
what’s door to door technique
ask large request likely to be rejected to make following smaller request more salient
which norm does door to door invoke?
reciprocity norm - positive help from other obliges u to do same in return -
in this case, lowering size of request seems like doing u a favor lol
door to door lasting?
short lived bc ppl learn ur patterns in subsequent requests
whats foot in door technique
make one agree to small request to make more likely to agree to 2nd larger
what does foot in door invoke
self perception - makes victim seem generous in 1st request to affect future behav & attitude
foot in door lasting?
yes
what’s lowballing
get victim to buy at low cost then incr price
- will tend to still buy at new higher price
why does lowballing work?
1 decision feels irrevocable
2 cancelling induces feelings of disappointment - bc used to get excited over this purchase
3 price only slightly higher than others (exception +convenience)
define obedience
conformity in resp to authority
eg of social pressures of obedience
can lead to immoral actions - holocast, genocide- shows that ordinary pple subjected under xtreme pressures can do horrible things
what does milgram’s exp demonstrate?
NSI made refusal to stop shocks difficult
what affects conformity in milgram’s exp?
the more confederates who quit early - ezier it is for u to disobey too
fitting context of nsi w milgrams exp
situation = ambguous > look to expert ie experimenter for guidance, but when experimenter left, obediene dropped
what pushed ppts to continue shocks ?
1 conforming to initial wrong norm makes it difficult to switch - was a light shock at first then got worse - continued despite being inapplicable to current sit
2 self justification to reduce dissonance
overall, why do pple obey?
bc of social situ, not be innate agressiveness/ inhumane
