Conformity and Obedience Flashcards
What is the definition of social influence?
The change of attitudes, beliefs, opinions, values and behaviour as a result of being exposed to other individuals’ attitudes, beliefs, opinions, values and behaviour
What are (social) norms?
Belief systems about how (not) to behave, that guide behaviour but without the force of laws, and reflect group members’ shared expectations about typical or desirable activities.
What are the two types of social influence? (Deutschland and Gerard, 1955)
Normative Social Influence and Informational Social Influence
What does normative social influence involve?
Going along with something because you want social approval or belonging. You want to fit in/conform.
And to avoid disapproval/rejection.
(E.g clothing choices)
What does informational social influence involve?
Going along with others because their ideas and behaviour make sense. They may have more accurate information/they know more than you do.
The evidence in our social environment changes our mind. (E.g deciding which side of the road to drive on)
What is the definition of compliance?
A response whereby the target of an influence acquiesces to a request from the influence source (refers to the change in behaviour to match a norm but without change of beliefs on a private level).
Go along with.
What are the three main techniques to induce compliance?
1) Door-in-the-face technique
2) Foot-in-the-door technique
3) Low-bailing
What is the door-in-the-face technique?
Requester starts with an EXTREME request that is almost always refused. (E.g. can you lend me £100?)
Then they retreat to a more moderate request; which they had in mind all along. (E.g. can you lend me £10?)
Target is more likely to agree because they refused initial request, feels bad etc.
What is the foot-in-the-door technique?
Requester first asks for a small favour that is almost certain to be granted.
They then follow up with a larger, related favour, the one they had in mind originally.
What is the low-balling technique?
Compliance to an initial attempt is then followed by a more costly and less beneficial version of the same request.
The target feels obligation to the requester because they already obliged.
(E.g. target agrees to £200 then requester later says this is excluding taxes).
What does majority influence involve? Give the definition.
Conformity.
Social influence resulting from exposure to the opinions of a majority, or the majority of one’s group.
What are the 2 types of conformity?
1) Compliance
2) Internalisation
What is compliance?
Superficial and public level of compliance.
You change your behaviour not your personal views.
What is internalisation?
Deep and private form of conformity. Change in behaviour AND personal views.
