Chapter 6 (BAL) Flashcards
A change in behavior or belief as the result of real or imagined group pressure.
Conformity
2 varieties of conformity
Acceptance
Compliance
Conformity that involves both acting and believing in accord with social
pressure.
Acceptance
Conformity that involves publicly acting with an implied or explicit request
while privately disagreeing.
Compliance
A type of compliance involving acting in accord with a direct order or
command.
Obedience
Self (auto) motion (kinetic); apparent movement of a
stationary point of light in the dark.
Autokinetic Phenomenon
An inclination to readily and uncritically adopt the ideas, beliefs,
attitudes, or actions of others.
Suggestibility
Our natural mimicry of other’s postures and language generally
elicits liking-except echoing others negative expressions, such as ange
Chameleon Effect
Suggestibility to problems that spreads throughout a large group of
people
Mass Hysteria
Four Factors determined obedience according to Milgram
The Victim’s Emotional Distance
The Authority’s closeness and legitimacy
Whether or not the authority was part of a respected institution
The liberating Effect of a disobedient fellow participant
When the victim was remote and the “teachers” heard no complaints, nearly all obeyed calmly
to the end
The Victim’s Emotional Distance
The physical presence of the experimenter also affected obedience; when the one making the command is physically close, compliance increases; the authority, however, must be perceived as legitimate.
The Authority’s closeness and legitimacy
In everyday life, too, authorities backed by institutions wield social power; powerful institutions command respect
Whether or not the authority was part of a respected institution
These classic experiments give us a negative view of conformity. But conformity can also be
constructive; the occasional liberating effect of conformity.
The liberating Effect of a disobedient fellow participant
6 factors that predict conformity
Group size
Unanimity
Cohesion
Status
Public response
Prior commitment
People will usually voice their own convictions if just one other person has also differed
from the majority.
Unanimity
When someone giving correct answers punctures the group’s unanimity, individuals
conform only one-fourth as often.
The Effect of Unanimity on Conformity
A “we feeling”; the extent to which members of a group are bound
together, such as by attraction to one another
Cohesiveness
The level of respect and honour associated with a person’s position in society
Status
People also conform most when their responses are public (in the presence of the
group).
Public response
A prior commitment to a certain behaviour or belief increases the likelihood that a
person will stick with that commitment rather than conform.
Prior commitment
Results from a person’s desire for acceptance; tendency to conform more when responding publicly reflects
normative influence.
Normative Influence
Results from others’ providing evidence about reality; tendency to conform more on difficult decision-making tasks reflects
informational influence
Informational Influence
People who seek to please others and are comfortable following social rules (those high
in agreeableness and conscientiousness) are the most likely to conform.
Personality
People who value getting along with others
Agreeableness
People who follow social norms for neatness and punctuality
Conscientiousness
A personality trait connected to creativity and
socially progressive thinking—are less likely to conform
Openness to experience
Role playing can also be a positive force.
Role reversal
A motive to protect or restore one’s sense of freedom. Reactance arises when
someone threatens our freedom of action.
Resistance
We act in ways that preserve our sense of uniqueness and individuality; in a group, we
are most conscious of how we differ from the others
Asserting Uniqueness
The specific domain of self-concept present at one’s
mind, in a particular moment
Spontaneous self-concept
The recognition of a creature by itself as a ‘self,’ [cannot]
exist except in contrast with an ‘other,’ a something which is not the self
Self-consciousnes
