Chapter 8: social influence

Question 1

Deifne social influence

Answer 1

Social influence is the many ways people affect on another including, attitudes, beleifs, feelings and behaviors resulting from the comments, actions or even the mere presence of others.

Question 2

What is conformity?

Answer 2

Conformity: changing ones behaviours/beleifs closely to align with that of other people in response to explicit/implicit pressure (real or imagined)

Question 3

what is obidence?

Answer 3

Obedience: in an unequal power relationship, submitting to the demands of the person of conformity

Question 4

What is compliance?

Answer 4

Compliance: things to keep in mind to get what you ask for = appealing to prevailing norms, understanding others moods, aversion to inconsistency

Question 5

What is infomational infleunce?

Answer 5

Informational social influence: influence of other people that result from taking their comment as a source of info about what is correct

Question 6

What is normative social influence?

Answer 6

Normative social influence: the influence of the other people that comes from the desire to avoid their disapproval and other social sanctions, much conformity is observed

Question 7

How does Sherif’s autokinetic effect study demonstrate informational social influence?

Answer 7

The autokinetic effect is a visual illusion where a stationary point of light in a dark room appears to move due to the lack of reference points, participants are asked to estimate how much the light moved, even though it was stationary
This study shows informational social influence by showing that individuals look at others for information in uncertain situations and adjust their beliefs accordingly, often leading to lasting changes in their perceptions.

Question 8

What is Asch’s line-judgment experiment and its implications for conformity?

Answer 8

Asch’s line judgement experiment has a number of confederates and one participant, in a line the confederates are asked an obvious question as to which line is the longest. The confederates are told to all give the same wrong answer, and see when it is the participants turn if they will conform.

Question 9

What is automatic mimicry and its social benefits?

Answer 9

Automatic mimicry is usually unconscious response where one copies the observations of those around them. It links people to feel more connected and bond better.

Question 10

7. How does culture (independent vs. interdependent) influence conformity rates?

Answer 10

People from interdependent cultures care more about relationships and fitting in, therefore are more leikely to be suscipable to informational social influence and nomritive social influence

Question 11

What factors influence conformity pressure and why?

Answer 11

Group size: more people means conformity pressure is higher until it reaches 3-4 people Unanimity creates the impression that the group is correct due to the confidence
Confimity is higher based on how difficult the task is (informational social influence and not wanting to be wrong)
Status of the group members: if they are of authority or knowledge or socially important is deemed important
How cohesive the group members are: the stronger the group, the more the individuals feel like they belong, they fear rejection if they don’t conform
Private vs public reponses: confomrity is higher when made publicly to ensure no social rejection or embarressement if wrong
Personal characteristics: the more confidence or expertise someone has makes them less likely to conform as they trust their own judgement
Presence of an ally: having even on ally reduces conformity and they have someone on their side and wont be isolated or resistsed from the group
Perceived consequences of non conformity: what will happen if they don’t conform to the group

Question 12

What are group norms, and how can they affect people’s compliance behaviours?

Answer 12

Group norms: informal rules, expectations or standards of behaviours that are acceptable and followed by members of a group, help regulate behaviour in group settings by establishing what is considered appropriate/inappropriate conduct. This is important when compliant with others, to ensure that you can read a situation and understand what is considered okay to ask for and what is not appropriate.

Question 13

What is pluralist ignorance? Why does it affect people’s norm-based compliance?

Answer 13

Plustristic ignorance: misperception of a group that results from observing people who are acting at variance with their private beliefs, which serves to reinforce the inaccurate group norm. Individuals privacy reject a norm.beleif they assume that most others accept leading them to conform outwardly to the perceived norm, not wanting to deviate from what thy think others believe.
Pluristic ignorance affects norm based compliance as we often misinterprent social norms, fear social repercussions, reinforce false norms, and lack communication

Question 14

Describe and contrast the foot-in-the-door and the door-in-the-face techniques and explain why they are both effective.

Answer 14

Foot in door technique: compliance approach that involves making an initial small reuqnest with which nearly everyone complies to followed by a larger request involving the real behaviour of interest. This behaviour is affective as it is consistent and feeling supportive helping their self image
Door in face technique: making a large request that is or will be refused, later followed by a smaller request to get what they actually wanted. This technique is effective as the requester reduces their demand making the smaller request seem more reasonable in contrast

Question 15

What are the findings on emotion/mood and compliance?

Answer 15

Positive: will view requests for favors as less threating, mood maintenance: want to show positive mood so agree
Guilt: may feel more obligated to help
Negative self relief state hypthosis: idea that people engage to a request to relive their negative feelings and feel better about themselves

Question 16

Regarding obedience in the context of Milgram’s experiment(s), describe the relevance of release from responsibility and step-by-step involvement. Reference some real-world examples where these findings apply.

Answer 16

As shown in the Migram experiment, people are more likely to comply if an authority figure is of control or blame for a situation. When having the realease of responsibility individuals do not have to take accountability of their moral guilt. An example of this could be when empolyees are involved in unethical practices and may justy their actions because they were instructed to do so. A step by step involvement is when gradual actions occur, the action is originally small but later becomes extreme. For example a genocide such as the holocaust – originally individuals had minor tasks such as recording names and later having to do direct forms of violdence.