Unit 7: Social Influence

Question 1

Define social influence.

Answer 1

The ways in which people are affected by the real and imagined pressures of others.

Question 2

Define conformity.

Answer 2

the tendency to change our perceptions, opinions, or behaviour in ways that are consistent with group norms

Question 3

Define compliance.

Answer 3

changes in behaviour that are elicited by direct requests

Question 4

Define obedience.

Answer 4

behaviour change produced when the request is a command, and the requester is a figure of authority

Question 5

Define normative influence.

Answer 5

influence that produces conformity when a person believes others are correct in their judgments

Question 6

Define informational influence.

Answer 6

influence that produces conformity when a person fears the negative social consequences of appearing deviant

Question 7

Define public conformity.

Answer 7

a superficial change in overt behaviour, without a corresponding change of opinion, produced by real or imagined group pressure

Question 8

Define private conformity.

Answer 8

the change of beliefs that occurs when a person privately accepts the position taken by others

Question 9

Describe Sherif’s study on social influence.

Answer 9

Sherif’s study involved an autokinetic task that was difficult where reality could not be easily validated with physical evidence. The participants turned to each other for information and conformed because they were truly persuaded by the information whereby they believed that others were correct in their judgments and made a corresponding change in their private beliefs that integrated this information. They demonstrated normative influence and private conformity.

Question 10

Describe Asch’s study on social influence.

Answer 10

Asch’s study involved a visual line comparison task that was easy where reality was clear. In this situation, the cost of dissent became an issue and participants found it difficult to depart from others even when they were wrong. As a result, they demonstrated informational influence and public conformity. That is, they feared the social consequences of appearing deviant and changed their responses to conform in response to this pressure while privately maintaining their dissonant beliefs.

Question 11

Define majority influence.

Answer 11

the process by which people succumb to group norms through social influence

Question 12

What are the five factors that impact majority influence?

Answer 12

1. group size
2. a focus on norms
3. the presence of an ally
4. gender differences
5. culture

Question 13

How does group size affect majority influence?

Answer 13

The impact of a group increases with group size up to three or four members.

Question 14

How does a focus on social norms affect majority influence?

Answer 14

In order for people to feel pressure to adhere to social norms, they must know what they are (awareness) and focus on them.

Question 15

How does the presence of an ally affect majority influence?

Answer 15

People have increased difficulty dissenting on their own. Normative pressures to conform are reduced when there are other dissenters, even if it is a small minority with different opinions than the individual.

Question 16

How do gender differences affect majority influence?

Answer 16

There are small gender differences in public (i.e. observable) situations with women conforming more and men conforming less than they do in private situations. However, there is evidence that status and group identity need to be considered as well based on evidence that gender differences disappear when women are made to feel superior to others in the room.

Question 17

How does culture affect majority influence?

Answer 17

conformity rates are higher in cultures that are collectivistic rather than individualistic

Question 18

Define minority influence.

Answer 18

Minority influence is the process by which dissenters produce change within a group.

Question 19

What makes minority influence effective?

Answer 19

1. forceful
2. persistent
3. consistent
4. flexible
5. open-minded
6. ingroup membership
7. judgment is opinion (vs. fact)

Question 20

What is mindlessness?

Answer 20

Mindlessness describes the tendency for the mind to be on autopilot and for people to respond without processing the information.

Question 21

How can mindlessness influence compliance with the requests of others?

Answer 21

It can make people vulnerable to compliance but it can also have the opposite effect (e.g. automatically walking past someone on the street asking for money).

Question 22

What is the norm of reciprocity?

Answer 22

The norm of reciprocity dictates that we treat others the same way they treat us.

Question 23

How can the norm of reciprocity influence compliance with the requests of others?

Answer 23

It contributes to the predictability and fairness of social interaction because favours given are returned. However, it can also be used to exploit others by trapping them into compliance.

Question 24

What is the foot-in-the-door technique?

Answer 24

A two-step compliance technique in which an influencer sets the stage for the real request by first getting a person to comply with a much smaller request.

Question 25

What is the low-balling?

Answer 25

A two-step compliance technique in which the influencer secures agreement with a request but then increases the size of that request by revealing hidden costs.

Question 26

What is the door-in-the-face technique?

Answer 26

A two-step compliance technique in which an influencer prefaces the real request with one that is so large that it is rejected.

Question 27

What is the that’s-not-all technique?

Answer 27

A two-step compliance technique in which the influencer begins with an inflated request, and then decreases its apparent size by offering a discount or bonus.

Question 28

Explain why the foot-in-the-door technique works.

Answer 28

The foot-in-the-door technique works because of self-perception and people inferring their attitudes by observing their own behaviour. When people observe their own behaviour to the initial small request, they come to see themself as the type of person who is cooperative when approached with a request. Then, when the second, more burdensome request is made by the influencer, the person complies as a way to maintain this new self-image.

Question 29

Explain why the low-balling technique works.

Answer 29

Low-balling works because of the psychology of commitment. After people come to a decision, they justify it to themselves by focusing on all of its positive aspects. This causes them to become increasingly committed to their course or action and resistant to changing their mind, regardless of whether the initial reasons justifying the decision change. Additionally, when they do not suspect duplicity, people feel a commitment or obligation to honour their end of the agreement even if the other person’s conditions change.

Question 30

Explain why the door-in-the-face technique works.

Answer 30

There are two reasons why the door-in-the-face technique works: perceptual contrast and reciprocal concessions. The principle of perceptual contrast is that after being exposed to a very large initial request, the second request will seem smaller. Reciprocal concessions refers to the pressure to respond to other people’s changes in a bargaining position by making concessions of our own. Additionally, refusing the first request may trigger feelings of guilt which can be reduced by complying with the second, smaller request.

Question 31

Explain why the “that’s-not-all” technique works.

Answer 31

The reason the that’s-not-all technique works is also based on the notion of reciprocal concessions. This technique involves making the concession before the buyer has a chance to reject the initial request. This is typically done by reducing the original price or adding a bonus.

Question 32

Briefly describe the hypothesis, research design, procedure, and results of Stanley Milgram’s original experiment on obedience to authority.

Answer 32

Milgram was studying forces of destructive obedience to authority. The original experiment involved deception where participants were told the purpose was to study the effects of punishment on learning. Participants were ordered by an experimenter to administer increasingly painful shocks to a confederate when the confederate got a question wrong. The confederate became more vocal about being in pain and wanting to stop the experiment as it progressed. The experimenter told participants who expressed concern for the confederate’s distress that they were required to continue with the experiment. Sixty-five percent of participants obeyed completely but were tormented by the experience.

Question 33

List the variables that affected the level of obedience in Milgram’s series of experiments on obedience to authority.

Answer 33

1. the authority figure
2. the proximity of the victim
3. the experimental procedure
4. the participant’s character

Question 34

How did the authority figure affect the level of obedience in Milgram’s experiements on obedience to authority?

Answer 34

The physical presence of a prestigious authority figure is necessary for participants to engage in destructive obedience. Fewer participants obeyed the commands of an ordinary person compared to an experimenter who projected legitimacy.

Question 35

How did the proximity of the victim affect the level of obedience in Milgram’s experiements on obediene to authority?

Answer 35

When participants are more physically separate from the victim, they are better able to emotionally distance themselves from the consequences of their actions and engage in destructive obedience.

Question 36

How did the experimental procedure affect the level of obedience in Milgram’s experiements on obedience to authority?

Answer 36

Gradual escalation creates a situation in which participants slowly realize the implications of what they are doing and it becomes more difficult for them to escape and disengage from the situation. This is similar to the foot-in-the-door technique of compliance.

Question 37

How did the participant’s character affect the level of obedience in Milgram’s experiements on obediene to authority?

Answer 37

People with an authoritarian personality are submissive to figures of authority but aggressive toward subordinates. The influence is comparatively less than situational factors.

Question 38

Describe the Gamson study on obedience.

Answer 38

In the Gamson study, groups of participants were asked to participate in videotaped discussions for a large oil company who wanted them to express the company’s viewpoint so the tapes could be used as evidence to win a court case. The majority of the groups refused to follow the script.

Question 39

Why did the participants in Gamson’s study behave differently than the participants in Milgram’s study?

Answer 39

The Gamson study had participants in groups whereas the Milgram study never had more than one participant present in the same session. The presence and support of others not to obey commands can provide the extra courage people need to resist orders they disagree with. When disobedience is morally, religiously, or politically motivated it is always a collective act.

Question 40

Describe the social impact theory.

Answer 40

Social impact theory proposes that social influence (the total impact of others on a target person) depends on the strength, immediacy, and number of source persons relative to target persons.

Question 41

How does strength of the source person influence social impact according to social impact theory?

Answer 41

Strength of a source is based on the source’s status, ability, or relationship to a target. Stronger sources have greater influence.

Question 42

How does immediecy of the source person influence social impact according to social impact theory?

Answer 42

Immediacy refers to the proximity of the source and target in time and space. Sources that are closer have greater influence.

Question 43

How does number of sources influence social impact according to social impact theory?

Answer 43

The number of sources is related to influence such that a higher number of sources has more impact (up to 3-4 sources, after which there is a negligible additional effect).

Question 44

What increases the target’s resistance according to social impact theory?

Answer 44

1. when social impact is divided among many strong and distant targets
2. when there is an ally present
3. when the target is in the company of rebellious peers

Question 45

Explain how the social impact theory is relevant to conformity, compliance, and obedience.

Answer 45

Social impact theory enables us to predict the emergence of social influence (conformity, compliance, obedience) and determine when it will occur.