Social Influence

Question 1

Define social influence

Answer 1

The process in which behaviours and attitudes are influenced by the real or implied prescence of others

Question 2

Types of social influence

Answer 2

1. Compliance
2. Conformity
3. Obedience

Question 3

Compliance

Answer 3

Changing behaviour in response to a request
* Used to reach goals or attain social or personal gains
* Is only a temporary and overt change

Question 4

Factors that influence compliance?

Answer 4

1. Group strength - Social pressure, want to be a part of the group
2. Group size - Increased people present = increased compliance
3. Immediacy - Being in the immediate prescence of a group
4. Similarity - Sharing something in common with the person making request

Question 5

Foot-in-the-door technique

(compliance)

Answer 5

Small request (accepted) followed by the ‘real’ and larger request

Question 6

Freedman and Fraser (1966)

foot-in-the-door technique

Answer 6

Small request: Sign a petition
Large request: Install a large and distracting sign in front lawn (says “Drive Carefully.”
* Sign petition and then install sign (experimental): 55% compliance
* Just install sign (control): 20% comliance

Question 7

Foot-in-the-door technique issues

Answer 7

• The time between the two requests is crucial and can influence results
• The sex of the experimenter has an influence

Question 8

Door-in-the-face technique

Answer 8

Huge request (rejected) followed by a smaller ‘real’ request

Question 9

Cialdini et al. (1975)

(Door-in-the-face technique)

Answer 9

• Students asked to perform as unpaid counsellors for juvenile delinquents for 2 years
• Then asked to chaperone a 2 hour zoo trip instead
  Results: 16.7% agreed without huge request first, 50% with request

Question 10

Low-balling

Answer 10

Get someone to commit to a request and then increase the ‘cost’ of the request

Question 11

Cialdini et al. (1978)

(Low-balling)

Answer 11

• Ask students to participate in an experiment
• After agreeing, reveal that it was taking place at 7am
  Results: Told its at 7am before agreeing (24% compliance), only reveal after (56%)
• When offered the chance to drop out, 95% of the 56% still turned up as promised

Question 12

Joule (1987)

low-ball vs foot-in-the-door

Answer 12

Students were requested to stop smoking for 18 hours for 30 French francs
* Lowball: Originally offered 50 francs
* FITD: First asked to fill in questionnaire and then asked real request
Low-ball more effective as students were already committed whereas was an extra request for FITD

Question 13

Norm of reciprocity

Answer 13

‘Doing a favour’ for a person before asking them to do something for you

Relies on social norm that people will treat others as they are treated

Question 14

Regan (1971)

(Norm of reciprocity)

Answer 14

Raffle tickets study:
* Confederate gave participants free soft drinks
* Asked participants to buy their raffle tickets
* More likely to buy ticket if they were given the drink first

If someone gives you something, you feel like you owe them

Question 15

What is power?

In terms of compliance

Answer 15

The perceived power exhibited by the source of influence.
The capacity to influence other whilst resisting their attempts to influence

Question 16

5 types of power

(French and Raven, 1959)

Answer 16

1. Reward power - ability to reward
2. Coercive power - ability to punish
3. Expert power - Knowledge and information
4. Legitimate power - Position of authority
5. Referent power - being liked by others (charisma, trust)

Question 17

What is Conformity?

Answer 17

Changing attitudes or behaviours in order to fit in with the group majority

Question 18

Characteristics of people who conform more

Answer 18

• Low self-esteem
• High anxiety
• Low IQ
• Authoritarian personality
• High need for social support or approval
• Inferiority complex
• Insecurity within the group
• Low group status

Question 19

Situational factors of conformity

Answer 19

1. Culture - individualistic or collectivistic
2. Group size
3. Group unanimity

Question 20

Asch (1951)

(conformity)

Answer 20

Line experiment
* Extent to which social pressure from a majority group could affect a person to conform
* Lab experiment, line judgment task, naive participant in a room with seven confederates
* Results: Experimental Group: 75% conformed at least once, around 50% conformed in 6 or more trials, 25% never conformed
* Control Group: 99% chose the correct line

Question 21

Normative influence

Answer 21

People conform because they want to fit in and be accepted within the group
* Beliefs don’t change

Question 22

Informational influence

Answer 22

People believe that others are better informed and know better

Question 23

Why did people conform?

(Asch)

Answer 23

• Demand characteristics
• Doubt own judgement - e.g. eyesight
• Majority size and unanimity
• Fear of ridicule
• Fear of standing out
• Task difficulty

Question 24

What is obedience?

Answer 24

Form of social influence where an individual will act in response to an order from an individual (usually an authority figure)
* Hierarchy of power and status

Question 25

Factors influencing obedience

Answer 25

• Social proximity to authority figure or victim
• Legitimacy of power - e.g. uniform
• Location - e.g. Harvard vs old warehouse
• Diffusion of responsibility
• Group pressure
• Persuasion

Question 26

Milgram (1964)

(obedience)

Answer 26

• Electric shocks for incorrect answers ranging from 15 to 450 volts in 15-volt increments
• 65% continued shocks up to 450 volts
• However, 90% disobeyed if another participant did

Question 27

Social facilitation

Triplett (1898)

Answer 27

Improvement of performance in the prescence of others

Question 28

Drive theory of social facilitation

Zajonc (1965)

Answer 28

Social facilitation is due to arousal enhancing whatever response tendency is dominant
* Increased arousal improves easy tasks and hinders performance on dificult ones

Question 29

What causes arousal levels to increase?

Answer 29

• Evaluation apprehension - anxiety regarding being judged
• Distraction - cognitive overload when paying attention to task and others
• Mere prescence of others

Question 30

What factors influence the social facilitation effect
?

Answer 30

Physical proximity and size of audience

Question 31

Minority influence

Answer 31

The minority changing the attitudes, beliefs or behaviours of the majority
* Sufragettes Movement (founded 1897)
* Civil Rights movement (1896-1970) - MLK

Question 32

Factors of minority influence

Answer 32

1. Self-confidence
2. Consistency
3. Commitment to cause
4. Flexibility
5. Defection from the majority - destroying the illusion of unanimity within the majority (sug-groups within)

Question 33

What is the role of a leader?

Answer 33

To help lead and guide people towards the group goal
* Inspire commitment
* Mobilise resources
* Devise strategies
* Create opportunities
* Influence outcomes

Question 34

Leader vs manager

Answer 34

Manager: Planning, organising, scheduling, budgeting, staffing
Leader: provide a vision, determine direction of an organisation, goals, provide resources and support to get the job done

Question 35

Leader: Born or made?

Answer 35

Prescribed leader: Are appointed the poisiton - usually be an authority person
Emergent leader: Emerge from the group and take charge - usually have the respect and support of group members

Question 36

Types of leaders

Answer 36

Task orientated: Focus on meeting objectives
* Provides instruction and corrects mistakes
Person orientated: Focus on developing communication, maintaining social
interactions and ensuring all group members are involved
* Positive feedback after good performances and encouragement after mistakes

Question 37

Leadership styles

Answer 37

Democratic: Offers guidance and allows members to be involved in decisions - has the final say
Autocratic:

Question 38

Leadership styles

Answer 38

Democratic: Offers guidance and allows members to be involved in decisions - has the final say
Autocratic:

Question 39

Heine and Lehman (1997)

Answer 39

Japanese don’t rationalise with the free-choice paridigm - Candians do

• Difficult choices are not psychologically threatening, as they do not affect the core aspects of the self
• Self/ internal attitudes are not self-defining - relaionships and social roles are
• Therefore, if a bad decision is made, it does not pose a threat to their cultural criteria of the self