Conformity, Compliance, & Obedience

Question 1

What is social influence?

Answer 1

The ways in which people are affected by the real or imagined presence of others

Question 2

What is conformity?

Answer 2

The tendency to change our perceptions, opinions, and behavior in ways that are consistent with group norms

Question 3

What are norms?

Answer 3

Explicit or implicit “rules” of conduct in a given context

Question 4

What is informational influence?

Answer 4

Influence due to the belief that others are behaving correctly
- occurs in the presence of ambiguity
- does not involve arousal or discomfort

Question 5

What does informational influence lead to?

Answer 5

Private conformity

Question 6

What is private conformity?

Answer 6

We truly accept the position taken by others

Question 7

What is normative influence?

Answer 7

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

Question 8

What does normative influence lead to?

Answer 8

Public conformity

Question 9

What is public conformity?

Answer 9

Superficial change in overt behavior, without change in true behavior, produced by real or imagined group pressure

Question 10

What is compliance?

Answer 10

The tendency to change our behavior in response to direct requests from other people

Question 11

What is foor-in-the-door technique?

Answer 11

1. Get the person to agree with an initial trivial request
2. Then ask for a bigger one
   People will feel pressure to be consistent with past behaviors

Question 12

What is Low-Balling technique?

Answer 12

Secure agreement with request, then increase request with hidden costs

Question 13

What is the door-in-the-face technique?

Answer 13

1. Ask for large (possibly huge) request
2. When refused, then ask for smaller request (which is what you truly wanted)

Question 14

What does the door-in-the-face technique create?

Answer 14

Perceptual contrast - request seems smaller
Reciprocal concessions - other person compromised so you should to

Question 15

What is that’s not all!!! technique?

Answer 15

Solicitor makes an unreasonable offer, then makes a better offer before you have a chance to refuse the first one

Question 16

What is obedience?

Answer 16

When behavior is influenced due to the direct commands of an authority figure
- most extreme form of yielding to social influence

Question 17

What was the Milgram Paradigm?

Answer 17

-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

Question 18

What were the basic results of milgram’s experiment?

Answer 18

Everyone went until at least 300 volts
About 65% of participants continued to the end (450 volts)

Question 19

What happened when gender had no effect?

Answer 19

A replication with female subjects also found that 65% of them used the full range of shock

Question 20

What happened when the experiment was in an office building (not a laboratory)?

Answer 20

47% had full obedience (participants are in a familiar context)

Question 21

What happened when the victim was in the same room?

Answer 21

40% displayed full obedience (learner is humanized)

Question 22

What happened when the participants had to touch the “learner”?

Answer 22

30% displayed full obedience (learner is humanized)

Question 23

What happened when the experimenter was far away?

Answer 23

20% displayed full obedience (authority is not as imposing)

Question 24

What happened when the experimental was an ordinary person?

Answer 24

19% displayed full obedience (authority is not as imposing, white lab coats, uniforms, titles, help increase obedience)

Question 25

What happened when two confederated rebelled?

Answer 25

10% displayed full obedience (role models for defiance - norms are changed)

Question 26

Why did people follow the orders?

Answer 26

Socialization of obedience
Gradual escalation (similar to foot-in-the-door technique; 15 volt increments)