Lecture 8: Chapter 9: Norms and Conformity

Question 1

What are social norms?

Answer 1

Implicit or explicit rules that govern behaviors, values and beliefs of group members

Question 2

What is the difference between implicit and explicit norms? Give an example of each

Answer 2

Implicit = rules that aren’t told, but everyone knows and does
–> Standing in a cue, clapping after a concert

Explicit = rules that are publicly told
–> Laws, syllabus

Question 3

Which 2 motivational principles are connected to why groups seek to reach agreement and why people accept influence from others?

Answer 3

Mastery: see things the right way, hold correct opinions, do the right thing

Connectedness: being liked and valued, achieving connection that promotes a sense of me/mine

Question 4

What is the difference between face-to-face groups and social category groups?

Answer 4

Face to face: formed because they share a common goal (sports team, lab groups)

Social category: formed because they share socially relevant features (age, gender, interest etc.)

Question 5

What is the similarity and the difference between social norms and social attitudes?

Answer 5

Similar: both are mental representations of appropriate ways of thinking/acting

Difference: attitudes represent individual’s pos/neg evaluation, norms reflect shared group evaluations of what is true or false

Question 6

What are the 2 types of social norms?

Answer 6

Injunctive and descriptive social norms

Question 7

What’s the difference between injunctive and descriptive social norms? Give an example of each

Answer 7

Injunctive = mental representations on how people are supposed to behave
–> Explicit or implicit
–> Parents should love their kids

Descriptive = mental representations on how people actually behave
–> Implicit
–> Parents love their kids

Question 8

How did Sherif’s research demonstrated a group’s power to affect its members belief? Give 1 point of critique on the study

Answer 8

In a totally dark room, participants focused on a single point of light. The light disappeared and then appeared and the participant had to indicate how far the light moved, which was impossible, because there is no reference point

When participants were placed in groups, their responses converged and later became nearly identical

They came to a collective agreement, so they established a social norm

Critique = participants could only rely on others, because they weren’t told if they were right or wrong and the light movement couldn’t be measured. Social influence was forced

Question 9

What was Asch’s line judgement task?

Answer 9

7 confederates and 1 participant seated around the table. They had to indicate which comparison line corresponded with the length of a given line.

Every confederate said the wrong line and created a strong descriptive norm, so there was public conformity, but no private conformity (he still knew it was wrong)

Question 10

What is conformity? And what is the difference between public and private conformity?

Answer 10

Conformity = convergence of individuals’ thoughts, feelings or behavior toward a social norm

Public = overt behavior consistent with social norms that aren’t privately accepted

Private = private acceptance of social norms

Question 11

Why do people do public conformity? Why can it be an issue?

Answer 11

They fear ridicule, rejection, incarceration or worse

It’s an issue when people infer injunctive norms and beliefs from observing others, leading to pluralistic ignorance

Question 12

What is pluralistic ignorance?

Answer 12

Everyone publicly complies without private acceptance, but then THINKS everyone else privately accepts the norm

Question 13

What are the 2 perspectives in explaining origins of social norms?

Answer 13

• Societal-value perspective = belonging
• Functional perspective = mastery

Question 14

What is the false consensus effect? When does this effect become stronger?

Answer 14

The tendency to overestimate the extent to which others agree with their views of the world. We usually expect others to see the world the way we do

Stronger if the connection to others is more important

Question 15

The key reason people conform to norms is that we expect everyone to see the world the same way –> Expecting consensus. What are the two parts of this expectation?

Answer 15

1. We expect others to see the world the way we do –> false consensus effect
2. We expect to see the world the same way others do

Question 16

When are we vulnerable to social influence concerning expecting consensus?

Answer 16

If we disagree, it leaves us uncertain, uncomfortable and vulnerable to social influence until a new consensus is formed

Question 17

When does informational influence occur and what need does it satisfy? Give an example of it

Answer 17

It occurs when people privately conform, because they believe a group’s norms reflect reality.

This satisfies our need for mastery

E.g. When people question if money in the bank is safe, they make mass withdrawals and the system collapses. So conformity to those norms helps to create the reality that the norm is seen as reflecting

Question 18

What is the influence of the size of a group on consensus in Asch’s line study?

Answer 18

The percentage of conforming responses rises when there are 1, 2 or 3 confederates. At 3 confederates, consensus was established. Adding more people than 3 didn’t make much difference

So unanimous group of 15 didn’t cause more conformity than unanimous group of 3

Question 19

What is normative influence? What need does it satisfy?

Answer 19

A group has normative influence when members privately conform to norms to attain a positive and valued social identity and to win respect from other group members

It satisfies needs for connectedness

Question 20

What’s the difference between normative and informational influence?

Answer 20

Informational: you conform because you think the group’s norm reflects reality

Normative: you conform, because you want to achieve connectedness

Question 21

What is a reference group?

Answer 21

A group of people you believe are an appropriate source of information for a particular judgment.

They share attributes relevant for making that judgment

Question 22

How do you determine which reference group you turn to?

What’s the difference in reference group for a physical judgment compared to a value-laden/opinion-based judgment?

Answer 22

It depends on the kind of judgment you are making

Physical: most people can serve as reference group (if visual task, you more likely agree with someone who has good eyesight)

Value-laden/opinion-based: we agree more with people who share similar values, attitudes and relationships

Question 23

Which type of culture shows more conformity if sources of influence are other in-group members?

Answer 23

Collectivist cultures

Question 24

Why are persuasive appeals from in-group members processed more systematically than appeals from out-group members?

Answer 24

Information from appeals from in-group is usually important to group memberships

Persuasion heuristic: if my group thinks it, it must be right

Question 25

What is the functional perspective of social norms? (Mastery)

Answer 25

Norms aren’t arbitrary but confer survival advantage

Question 26

What are 4 aspects of the societal value perspective on social norms? (connectedness)

Answer 26

• Group cohesion/belonging
• Norms are culturally relativistic/arbitrary
• Arbitrary norms are established and internalized
• Sanctions are established to reinforce norms

Question 27

What is the integrative perspective on social norms? Give an example

Answer 27

Combination of the functional and societal value perspectives

Norms emerge due to fundamental challenges of survival and persist after

E.g. relationship status signals (ring), greetings (normal in culture + show you’re no danger)

Question 28

With which type of norms are mastery concerns of conformity associated? And connectedness?

Answer 28

Mastery: descriptive norms
Connectedness: injunctive norms

Question 29

Which 3 motives are important for private conformity with in-groups?

Answer 29

Mastery - connectedness - me and mine motives

Some circumstances can make one motive more important than the other to conform to norms

Question 30

Study figure 9.4 in book: Motives behind private conformaty, p.325

Answer 30

<3

Question 31

When do groups compromise to middle-of the-road? Why doesn’t it occur very often?

Answer 31

It only happens when a group’s view is evenly split (half supporting, half opposing) –> looking for compromise

Often groups lean one way or the other, so the communication focuses and accentuates that view

Question 32

What is group polarization?

Answer 32

Tendency for group decisions to be more extreme than those made by individuals

When a majority of group members initially favor one side of the issue, communication and interaction moves the group to an even more extreme position

Question 33

What were Stoner’s findings on group polarization and risk?

Answer 33

When people work together in groups, they opt for more risky actions than when they make decisions alone.

This effect has nothing to do with the risk itself, but it matters what most people in the group prefer (risk or caution)

Question 34

What explains the formation of polarized group norms?

Answer 34

How information is processed (superficial or systematic) and what motives people have in mind as they process

Both superficial and systematic processing most likely lead to more extreme group norms

Question 35

On what does the direction of group polarization depend?

Answer 35

Depends on one’s initial inclination. Group discussion then shifts initial inclination

Question 36

In which type of group is group polarization most likely to be more extreme?

Answer 36

In homogenous groups (where people are more similar)

Question 37

Which 3 things are cues for what a group thinks? How does this relate to superficial processing of group norms?

Answer 37

1. Group interactions, where views are directly voiced
2. Guess group norm from who the members of the group are
3. People reveal preferences by the kinds of questions they ask or body language

People can use the group position alone as a guide to what their own position should be to reach consensus

It’s superficial, because it’s a shortcut to the position that people believe to be correct/appropriate without having to do a lot figuring out the right answer

Question 38

Why do happy people often conform more than sad people?

Answer 38

Consensus provides a quick and easy guide to appropriate decisions. Happy people often avoid systematic thinking

Question 39

How does superficial reliance on consensus as a heuristic lead to extreme positions? Explain the 2 processes

Answer 39

1. Using consensus heuristic = When undecided members adopt the majority consensus, the group’s average moves towards the extreme
2. Representing group ideal = People want to be the best possible members of their group –> they think as themselves as superior –> they get negative feedback from others –> social comparison leads to thinking they’re not so superior –> speedy adoption of extreme positions so we are again above average on important dimensions. If this happens in the entire group, the norm grows more extreme

Question 40

Which 4 aspects give a great persuasive edge to a group’s position in systematic processing that moves the norm towards polarization?

Answer 40

1. Majority arguments are more numerous (more people support it)
2. Majority arguments are discussed more/longer (if people think others share their views, they’re more likely to express them)
3. Majority arguments seem more compelling (if multiple people make the same argument, it has extra impact)
4. Majority arguments are presented more compellingly (views are expressed faster and are more prominent)

Question 41

What is evidence on the fact that majority arguments are discussed more?

Answer 41

When researchers placed people in a group discussion and were asked to discuss all the facts available to them, the discussion resulted in an even more intense focus on shared information and not their individual unshared information

Group members believe that the info on which they all agree is the info most relevant to the issue under discussion. This strengthens the majority’s case

Question 42

Why do majority arguments seem more compelling? Give 3 reasons

Answer 42

1. If we hear something over and over again, there is an advantage of familiarity
2. If different people say the same thing, it’s more persuasive than when one person repeats multiple times
3. If most people agree to the majority, it must me a strong argument and the minority must make weak arguments

Question 43

Why are majority arguments presented in a more compelling way?

Answer 43

1. Most people first provide info they believe that are shared and familiar –> info told at the beginning has more impact than later info
2. Majority views are expressed faster, minority views often hesitate. If the differences between the groups are very large, the difference in speed of expression grows
3. People surrounded by others who share their views, are often more confident

Question 44

Study figure 9.6 in the book p332

Answer 44

KEEP GOING YOU’RE DOING GREAT <3

Question 45

What is stealth marketing? Give an example

Answer 45

A marketing tactic that create an apparent consensus or descriptive norm where an individual gives consensus without consideration

(Everyone uses this, the coolest people have this)

E.g. influencers promote certain products, use of biased polls in politics where only supporters were sampled

Question 46

On what assumption does the idea that consensus provides reality insurance rely?

Answer 46

We think we can trust consensus, because multiple individuals considered the evidence independently and from different perspectives and came to the same conclusion

Question 47

What is the contradiction in trusting a consensus?

Answer 47

We trust a consensus when independent separate individuals endorse it (integration of multiple perspectives)

But: we really agree most with people who share our characteristics.

So we demand group members to be different/independent and similar in accord

Question 48

What makes in-group consensus more persuasive than out-group consensus?

Answer 48

In group has:
- Similarity: we are like other members
- Difference: people are different in many other ways, so they can give different perspectives

Out group seems homogenous to ingroup and you suspect contamination. This results in little persuasive impact

Question 49

What is the biggest threat to the ideal of consensus formation and why?

Answer 49

Public conformity

People desire to avoid negative consequences, so they go along to get along. Their public conformity destroyed the reliability of the consensus

Question 50

Give an example of pluralistic ignorance at school

Answer 50

Being afraid to ask a question because of the silence of your classmates, which led you to believe that everyone but you understood the teacher

Question 51

What is the Dynamic Social Impact Theory (DSIT)? What does it lead to? What is an important pre-requisite in order for it to work?

Answer 51

Individuals influence each other primarily through interactions, leading to clusters of like-minded people

It leads to clustering

Pre requisite = attitude must be able to change and can happen quickly

Question 52

When is clustering in groups especially strong and why? Give 2 reasons

Answer 52

Strong for more important issues

Because:
- You talk more about important issues
- Motivated to be better than average in important attitudes

Question 53

What are 2 important aspects of normative influence?

Answer 53

• Failure to comply = ridicule/punishment/exclusion
• Can be with groups consisting of people we don’t know

Question 54

What is a consequence of fear of repercussion (normative influence)? What is the difference with the consequence of informational influence?

Answer 54

Battle between public compliance vs. private acceptance

Informational: public compliance AND private acceptance

Question 55

Give 3 situations where you’re more likely to conform due to informational social influence?

Answer 55

• Ambiguous situations
• Crisis situation
• Experts present

Question 56

What is groupthink?

Answer 56

Faulty decisions groups make because consensus is prioritized over correctness

Question 57

When is groupthink most likely to occur?

Answer 57

1. In a highly cohesive group
2. When there are social pressures to reach consensus
3. When consensus is more important than critical scrutiny of important issues

Question 58

Describe Irving Janis’ model of groupthink. Name the 4 phases

Answer 58

1. Antecedent conditions:
2. Motivation
3. Groupthink
4. Defective decision-making

Question 59

What are 5 antecedent conditions in Janis’ model of groupthink?

Answer 59

1. High cohesiveness
2. Insulation of group
3. No procedures to search/appraise info
4. Directive leadership
5. High stress

Question 60

Explain the motivation part in Janis’ model of groupthink

Answer 60

Tendency for concurrence seeking

Question 61

What are 4 aspects of the groupthink stage in Janis’ model of groupthink?

Answer 61

1. Stereotyping outgroups
2. Direct pressure on dissenters
3. Self-censorship: suppressing own concerns when in doubt, expressing them when confident
4. Illusion of unanimity

Question 62

What are 3 aspects of defective decision-making in Janis’ model of groupthink?

Answer 62

1. Tunnel vision
2. Failure to reappraise alternatives
3. Selective processing of information

Question 63

What are 5 ways to prevent groupthink?

Answer 63

1. Leader doesn’t express own opinion at beginning
2. Not isolating group from external input
3. Assign group members to play devil’s advocate
4. Create subgroup that meet before the meeting to come up with different recommendations
5. Seek anonymous opinions, vote anonymously

Question 64

What can you test with Asch’s line judgement task?

Answer 64

Test conformity to group norms

Question 65

What does expecting consensus mean? What is it called if this doesn’t happen?

Answer 65

we expect to agree with others on the way we see reality, especially those in our social group

Opposite is false consensus. We falsely assume that others agree with us

Question 66

What are the 3 forms of conformity? Give an example of each

Answer 66

1. Forced conformity: e.g. school uniforms
2. Voluntary conformity: you choose to be part of that group, e.g. join a music club
3. Functional conformity: conform because of convenience, e.g. Queues

Question 67

There are many ways in which consensus can go wrong. Name 3 and provide each with some evidence.

Answer 67

1. Consensus without consideration:
   –> when students listened to a speech, they were more likely to support them if they heard applause then when they heard jeering
2. Contamination: occurs when consensus was based on a shared bias that exists in the group.
   –> when participants have to match arguments to photos that they have been previously presented with, they are better at doing so for ingroup members. So this shows that they see ingroup members as independent individuals
3. Public conformity: can lead to pluralistic ignorance if everyone is publicly conforming to a perceived consensus that nobody believes in

Question 68

Why does groupthink happen?

Answer 68

1. People don’t consider all information (people with different opinions often don’t voice them or don’t get attention)
2. Group members have shared biases
3. People publicly conform (out of fear of being excluded)

Question 69

How can minority views sway the majority views? Name 4 ways

Answer 69

1. Offer alternative consensus
2. Remain consistent
3. Strike the right balance between similarity to and difference from the majority
4. Promote systematic processing

Question 70

How can a minority create an alternative consensus that convinces the majority?

Answer 70

The minority must have an own consensus rather than just different opinions. It usually must be supported by more than 1 person

Question 71

What is the evidence on the fact that remaining consistent as a minority helps to convince the majority?

Answer 71

When participants were shown a series of blue slides, they were more convinced by the confederates’ opinion that they were green when the confederate remained consistent across all the slides

Question 72

How can having the right balance between similarities and differences help the minority to convince the majority? How do you need to do that?

Answer 72

The minority must voice its own view while at the same time not appearing extremely different from the majoirty

This could be done through first agreeing with majority on some issues before disagreeing on other issues

Question 73

How can promoting systematic processing help the minority to convince the majority?

Answer 73

It makes it more likely that the majority will also consider alternative information

Question 74

How do minorities use consensus to influence others? Name 3 strategies and their results

Answer 74

1. Consistently advocate alternative
   –> Power of consensus
2. Represent diversity
   –> Convergence of diverse, independent views
3. Produce systematic processing
   –> Private acceptance

Study fig 9.10 p 346 or summary p.69

Question 75

Are there any differences between processes in majority vs. minority groups?

Answer 75

Both groups can:
- Satisfy concerns about mastery (disagreement between maj/min can create concerns about validity of maj. position) and connectedness (being part of minority is also attractive, bc. independent mind and stuff)

-Encourage heuristic/systematic processing of evidence and elicit public compliance or private acceptance (majorities can often reward, minorities can often punish)

Question 76

What is the difference between tight and loose cultures?

Answer 76

Tight: strong expectations of adherence to social norms and little tolerance for deviance (Japan)

Loose: fewer expectations for conformity and may encourage new forms of behavior (Netherlands)

Question 77

Why do some groups/cultures become tight? Give an example

Answer 77

When there is a history of threats in the environment, it produces higher tightness

Threats such as:
- Extreme climate
- Natural disasters
- Less natural resources
- Poverty
- History of diseases

So the south of USA is more tight (more hurricanes, extreme heat and drought) than the west-coast

Question 78

What are 2 characteristics of teams in tight cultures? Explain with the example of climbing Mount Everest

Answer 78

1. More teamwork –> more people summit and reach the top
2. More groupthink –> more deaths

Question 79

Where were more covid cases, in loose or tight cultures?

Answer 79

Loose cultures had more cases of covid. Tight groups cooperate faster under threat