Majority Influence

Question 1

What are the factors that affect Majority Influence?

Answer 1

1) Situational factors - depend on the situation.
2) Dispositional factors - the person is pre-disposed to behave this way due to factors the person brings to the situation.

Question 2

What do Situational Factors include?

Answer 2

1) Ambiguity of the situation - people are more likely to conform in cases where there is no obvious answer; when the situation is ambiguous

2) Unanimity of the group - people are more likely to conform when the opinion of the majority is consistent and unanimous

3) Group size - The larger the size of the majority, the more influential it is likely to be

4) Social support - if the minority has some support it is less likely to conform to the majority

5) Social role - there is considerable pressure to conform to social roles

Question 3

What to Dispositional Factors include?

Answer 3

1) Gender - women have been found to be generally more compliant. This may be explained by differences in sex roles and/or gender biased research

2) Culture - significant variations have been found in different cultures. One explanation for this is the emphasis on individual’s responsibility and well-being vs priority of group’s needs and values in individualistic and collectivist societies

3) Personality - research has found personality to play a part in conformity; people with low self esteem tend to conform more because they fear rejection from a group