Influence of Others Flashcards
Social Facilitation - Triplett’s Hypothesis
The increased performance that occurs in the presence of co-actors or an audience
Complications of Triplett’s Hypothesis
in some cases, the presence of others can hinder performance in certain tasks
Zajonc’s Solution
the presence of others increases arousal to improve performance on simple tasks and decrease performance on complex tasks
Bandura’s Social Learning Theory
you can learn certain behaviours by modelling and imitating the behaviour of others without the requirement of explicit reinforcement to devlop
Bobo Doll Experiment
adult would model aggressive or passive behaviour, where the model of aggressive behaviour lead to aggressive behaviour in the child (and same for passive behaviour)
Muzafer Sherif’s AutoKinetic Effect
red dot is mistaken for movement - after several days of testing, responses will gradually converge with the others, despite different starting points.
Asch’s Line Test
confederates agree on clearly incorrect answers, but after a while subjects would conform and say the same answer as everyone else
Normative Function
the role of others in setting standards for our conduct based on a fear of rejection
Comparative Function
the role of others in providing information about an ambiguous situation
Risky Shift
Group decision making strengthens the original inclinations of the individual group members. (move towards the closer extreme)
Groupthink
a group decision environment that occurs when a group cohesiveness becomes so strong that it overrides realistic appraisals of reality and alternative opinions
Ways groupthink can be prevented
be impartial critical evaluation devils advocate subdivide the group provide a second chance
Kitty Genovese
an example of the bystander effect
Bystander Effect
the presence of others reduces helping behaviour
Questions required to respond
Is it an emergency?
Is my response required?
Collective Ignorance
When each individual in a group see nobody responding in a given situation, they conclude that the situation is not an emergency (trying not to overreact when other people are around - everyone else is doing the same thing)
Diffusion of Responsibility
In deciding whether we have to act, we determine that someone else in the group is more qualified
How to ensure that help is recieved
single out someone in the crowd to help out
seeing someone else help would increase helpful behaviour
Social Loafing
individuals are less motivated when working in a group than alone - tendency to take a free ride in a group
Milgram’s Experiment
Subject increasingly shocks the learner answers a wrong question and reaches a point where the learner sounds to be in serious pain and desperate to quit. Subject is influenced by authority to keep going despite cries of pain
65% obeyed! - most people would say that they wouldn’t continue but actual data says differently
Implications of Milgram’s Experiment
there is a strong tendency of obedience towards authority, and you aren’t an accurate judge on how you would behave in a given situation
Factors that affect Milgram’s Experiment
Increase in Prestige of faculty - increased obedience
Professional to Grad student - lowered obedience
Decrease in Proximity of teacher to experimenter - lowered obedience
Increased Distance between subject and learner - decreased obedience
Holfing et al. Study
Doctor asked nurse to administer a drug which by doing so would violate several rules
Tendency to obey can be irresistible under a variety of circumstances and you can never know how you are going to act placed in a given situation
Cognitive Dissonance
Your attitudes aren’t always consistent with your behaiour
Festinger and Carlsmith Experiment
Lying to next subject about experience for $1 or $20 - $1 rated more positively, $20 said they did it for the money, while $1 had less justification and changed their attitude to match their behaviour
Overjustification Effect
external incentive in money or prizes decreases a person’s motivation to perform and cognitive dissonance
Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment
Subjects assigned to be guards and prisoners, where prisoners agreed to have suspended civil liberties and guards were told to maintain degree of order.
Was cut short because guards showed sadistic, dehumanizing behaviour (despite previous psychological stability screening) and prisoners experienced depression and anxiety and believed they wouldn’t get out.
Reveals power of circumstance and assigned roles on behaviour (deindividuation)
Deindividuation
in a group setting, (anonymity leads to) the loss of a sense of personal responsibility and restraint
Persuasive Communicator
Similarity to communicator - Lifestyle Choice
Credibility of communicator - Objective Fact
Physical Attractiveness
Concise speech, speech speed, eye contact
Persuasive Message
One sided if audience is initially in agreement
Two-sided if audience is initially in disagreement
Central Appeal
well reasoned, factual, two-sided arguments are more effective for intelligent audiences
Peripheral Appeal
well presented, easy to understand messages are more effective for unintelligent audiences
Foot in the Door Effect
a gradual escalation of demands increases obedience - a request that seems outrageous in isolation seems more reasonable in increasing magnitude
Low Ball Technique
an escalation of the term of an agreement after someone has already agreed - announcing additional costs after low cost is found attractive
Involves cognitive dissonance
