Conformity, Compliance, & Obedience Flashcards
Exam 2
What is social influence?
The ways in which people are affected by the real or imagined presence of others
What is conformity?
The tendency to change our perceptions, opinions, and behavior in ways that are consistent with group norms
What are norms?
Explicit or implicit “rules” of conduct in a given context
What is informational influence?
Influence due to the belief that others are behaving correctly
- occurs in the presence of ambiguity
- does not involve arousal or discomfort
What does informational influence lead to?
Private conformity
What is private conformity?
We truly accept the position taken by others
What is normative influence?
Influence due to the fears of negative social consequences of appearing deviant
- you think other people are wrong and the tasks is unambiguous
- involves arousal and discomfort
What does normative influence lead to?
Public conformity
What is public conformity?
Superficial change in overt behavior, without change in true behavior, produced by real or imagined group pressure
What is compliance?
The tendency to change our behavior in response to direct requests from other people
What is foor-in-the-door technique?
- Get the person to agree with an initial trivial request
- Then ask for a bigger one
People will feel pressure to be consistent with past behaviors
What is Low-Balling technique?
Secure agreement with request, then increase request with hidden costs
What is the door-in-the-face technique?
- Ask for large (possibly huge) request
- When refused, then ask for smaller request (which is what you truly wanted)
What does the door-in-the-face technique create?
Perceptual contrast - request seems smaller
Reciprocal concessions - other person compromised so you should to
What is that’s not all!!! technique?
Solicitor makes an unreasonable offer, then makes a better offer before you have a chance to refuse the first one
What is obedience?
When behavior is influenced due to the direct commands of an authority figure
- most extreme form of yielding to social influence
What was the Milgram Paradigm?
-Participants are instructed to shock a person every time they get an answer wrong and the shock increases
-They can’t see the other person, but can hear them complaining/screaming
- Told by experimenter they must continue no matter what happens
What were the basic results of milgram’s experiment?
Everyone went until at least 300 volts
About 65% of participants continued to the end (450 volts)
What happened when gender had no effect?
A replication with female subjects also found that 65% of them used the full range of shock
What happened when the experiment was in an office building (not a laboratory)?
47% had full obedience (participants are in a familiar context)
What happened when the victim was in the same room?
40% displayed full obedience (learner is humanized)
What happened when the participants had to touch the “learner”?
30% displayed full obedience (learner is humanized)
What happened when the experimenter was far away?
20% displayed full obedience (authority is not as imposing)
What happened when the experimental was an ordinary person?
19% displayed full obedience (authority is not as imposing, white lab coats, uniforms, titles, help increase obedience)
What happened when two confederated rebelled?
10% displayed full obedience (role models for defiance - norms are changed)
Why did people follow the orders?
Socialization of obedience
Gradual escalation (similar to foot-in-the-door technique; 15 volt increments)
