Conformity, Compliance & Obedience

Question 1

Definition of conformity

Answer 1

A process by which people’s beliefs and behaviors are influenced by others within the group.

Question 2

Informational Influence

Answer 2

When other people become a source of information in ambiguous situations (e.g. food reviews, content creators, product reviews)

Question 3

When does information influence happen?

Answer 3

1. When the situation is ambiguous
2. When you are under time pressure
3. When the task is important
4. When others are subject matter experts.

Question 4

What is normative influence?

Answer 4

When we conform in order to be liked and accepted (need for acceptance). Public conformity/compliance without private acceptance.

e.g. taking risky behaviors to be called cool, social media likes/reaction.

Social rejection is stressful and traumatic, because humans are social creatures afterall.

Question 5

Explain need for acceptance

Answer 5

One way to invite acceptance from others, is to follow the norm.
We follow social norms, which are a set of implicit/values rules for acceptable beliefs, behaviors, values etc. When members of a group do not follow the social norms, they may be punished and ridiculed.

Even in unambiguous situations where our beliefs and values are challenged, the need for acceptance may push us to follow the norm (e.g. Asch’s Line Experiment)

Question 6

what are some conditions for normative influence to kick in?

Answer 6

1. 3 or more people in the group
2. Authority figures (e.g. experts)

However, conformity drops when
1. There is at least 1 confederate that does not agree with the norm
2. When you are allowed to give your answers in private.

Question 7

What are the consequences of resisting normative influence?

Answer 7

1. Group members may try to tease you or talk to you to bring you back to the norm
2. Group members might withdraw from you, rejecting you.

Question 8

What is the difference between compliance and conformity?

Answer 8

Conformity is the process of choosing to do what others are doing without a request.

Compliance is doing what others ask of you to do.

Question 9

what are the 6 principles to illicit compliance?

Answer 9

1. Consistency
2. Liking
3. Scarcity
4. Consensus
5. Authority
6. Reciprocity

Question 10

How can you use the principle of consistency to farm commitment?

Answer 10

Using the Foot-in-the-door technique. First make a small request to get initial compliance, then present a bigger request (target request).

Our desire to maintain consistent in our compliance will lead us to say yes to the bigger request.

Question 11

How does the principle of scarcity ilicit compliance?

Answer 11

Scarcity implies uniqueness and popular demand. By highlighting the benefits, uniqueness and the recipient’s loss for not complying.

Question 12

Explain the principle of reciprocity

Answer 12

Door-in-the-face: offer a big request and expect rejection, then offer a smaller request (target request) to get compliance. e.g. asking for $25 donation first, before going down to $5 (target).

When you regress to a smaller request, you are making a reciprocal concession, which encourages the target person to compromise and obligate to your smaller request.

Question 13

What was Milgram’s motivation to study obedience?

Answer 13

He was curious of Hitler’s success in accomplishing the holocaust and in getting almost all of Germany to obey his regime. To him, most of the participants of the holocaust weren’t inherently evil or psychopathic, but they were just ordinary citizens who were caught in the spiral of complex and powerful social pressures.

Question 14

What were the reasons people obeyed the experimenter in the shock experiments?

Answer 14

1. Expectations of being a good participant
2. Confusing situation for participants.
3. Insistent experimenter
   - But when there was a confederate that refused the order, only 10% gave max shock.
4. Assumption that experimenter is the expert.
   - Wearing lab coat