Social Influence Flashcards
what are norms?
uniformities of behaviour, attitudes or values.
Norms regulate group members behaviour
what are descriptive norms?
Behaviour that is the most common in a given situation
what are injunctive norms?
behaviour that is the most desirable/undesirable in a given situation
gives information about what others disapprove/approve of
Sherif’s Autokinetic phenomenon study, on the induction of a group norm, found what..
participants were asked to call out their estimates of how much a pinpoint of light moved in the dark
when they called out the responses alone they were all quite varied but when they called them out loud infant of a group all the responses covered after repeated phases - creating a group norm
the study showed that in conditions of uncertainty that people use others as frames of reference
what effect does social norms have on attitudes?
sigel and sigel experiment
assessed college women in the US at the beginning and end of their first year at college, comparing their level of authoritarianism
women were either assigned to a sorority or a dormitory
whilst the two groups at the beginning of the year did not differ in levels, at the end of the year those in dormitories were more liberal (drop in their level of authoritarianism)
THEREFORE, the social norms of one’s immediate context impact attitudes
The norms of littering behaviour ..
A littered environment can show an implicit norm
people in a field experiment were more likely to litter if they saw a confederate litter in an already dirty environment and less likely if they cause a confederate litter in a clean environment
the confederates behaviour drew attention to the norm and increased its accessibility
What forms of social influence are there?
informational influence = wanting to be right
normative influence = wanting to be liked, accepted and avoid disapproval by others
what does Turner’s referent informational influence suggest ?
that we do not conform due to a desire to be right (info) or liked (normative) but rather people behave in accordance to the norm because the norm defines group membership and group membership is important to the self-concept (social identity).
people adhere to the norm because the norm is self–defining. (norm is internalised)
what is minority social influence?
when a minority (in terms of numbers or power) changes the attitudes of the majority
what is the genetic model of minority influence?
The model explains that whether a minority gains influence depends on how they approach the issue
(their behavioural style)
Consistency is one behavioural style needed for minority influence …
(Colour study)
A group of participants are asked to judge colour slides as either green or blue … all slides are actually blue
a minority of confederates name the slides as green either consistently or inconsistently
more participants conform to the green colour when the confederate is consistent
What type of influence does the majorities exert?
Majority influence uses the comparison process
this is where the individual compares their response to that of others and conforms to the normative response of the group
this influence is temporary
what type of influence does the minority exert?
minority influence uses the validation process
Being exposed to the minorities view results in a more systematic processing of the argument, with an attempt to understand why the minority has taken that position. This can lead to deeper private conversion to their way of thinking
majority may prevent this being shown publicly
(THEREFORE USUALLY PRIVATE ACCEPTANCE)
evidence for minority influence leading to private conversion
(gay rights video)
(Maass & Clark, 1983)
participants were split into groups, watching videos on gay rights where the majority either took a pro or anti gay rights position and the minority another
when the minority were pro, the participants expressed privately a position closer to pro but publicly one that was closer to anti gay rights
