Social Influence Flashcards
Social influence:
Process whereby attitudes and behaviour are influenced by the real or implied presence of other people
Social norms:
Rules and standards that are u fees told by members of a group and that guide or constrain social behaviour without the force of laws
Social norm:
Converge away from individual to common standard
Social norms emerge to
Guide behaviour in conditions of u certainty
Sherif’s social norm study:
Autokinetic effect (point of light appears to move)
Groups of 2 or 3
Use judgement of others as frame of reference
Conformity researcher:
Asch
Conformity
Rational process
People construct norm from others’ behaviour to determine appropriate behaviour
Asch Study
Average conformity 33%
Anonymous 12.5%
Why do people conform?
Self doubt, self conscious and fear of social disapproval
Types of influence
Informational influence (sherif) Normative influence (asch)
Informational influence:
Ambiguous situation
Need to feel confident that perceptions / beliefs / feelings correct
Influence to accept info from another as evidence about reality
True cognitive change
Normative influence:
Need for social approval and acceptance
Avoid disapproval
Surface compliance
Compliance:
Public agreement and outward change in behaviour
Does not reflect internal change
Persists only while behaviour u see surveillance
Conversion:
Private agreement, acceptance / internalisation
True internal change that persists in a sense of surveillance
Subjective validity of social norms
Minority influence researcher:
Moscovici
Minority influence:
Social influence processes whereby numerical or power minorities change the attitudes of the majority
Minority influence effective if:
Consistent
Not rigid
Committed
Majority influence produces
Public compliance via social comparison
Minority influence produces
Indirect private change in opinion, conversion effect as a consequence of active consideration of minority point of view
Agentic state:
Mentally absolve of own responsibility and transfer responsibility to person giving order
Ethics of Milgrams experiment:
Is research important
Objectivity
Is participant free to terminate Study
Does participant freely consent to take part
Factors influencing obedience:
Gradual change and commitment
Immediacy of victim
Immediacy of authority figure
Legitimacy of authority figure
Obedience to authority researcher
Milgram
Milgram Study:
Electric shocks
Increase by 15 volts
