Week 4 Social influence

Question 1

Social influence

Answer 1

process whereby attitudes, and behaviours are influenced by the real or implied presence of others

Question 2

Compliance

Answer 2

Superficial change in expressed atttiudes and behaviours in response to requets or group pressure

• Compliance does not involve internal change
• Compliance occurs only under surveillance (real or assumed)
• The source of influence has the power

Question 3

Persuasive influence

Answer 3

Privately adhering to, or adjusting our thoughts, feelings, and/or behaviours to be consistent with the standard of the group.

• Involves internal change
• Doesn’t need surveillance
• Source of influence doesn’t need to have power

Question 4

Reference group

Answer 4

groups to which we feel closely related and which has a great influence on our attitudes and behaviours

Question 5

Obedience: experiment description

Answer 5

Milgram experiment 1974 (obj: investigate obedience to authority)

• 20 to 50 years old men
• randomly assigned role of teacher while a confederate was learner
• teacher had to learner’s knowledge under different conditiosn

–> 65% obedience

Question 6

Conformity experiment

Answer 6

Asch experiment 1951

• male unviersity students
• take part in a visual discrimination task with different lenghts of line

–> average conformity rate 33%

Question 7

Process of conformity

Answer 7

• Normative influence : person’s desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval, wants to fit in
• informational influence: pressure to conform to a group norm

Question 8

Factors which influence confirmity

Answer 8

• Low-self esteem
• Unanimous group,
• Attractive group’s status
• No prior commitment

Question 9

Minority influence + factors

Answer 9

The minority can introduces social change(s) that can lead to innovation

Factors which influence minority:

• Investment (minority making significant personal and material sacrificies ex: Colin Kaepernick)
• Autonomy (minority acting out of principal rather than personal motives)
• Consistency (a minority which doesn’t change its opinion)

Question 10

Membership group

Answer 10

Group to which we belong

• not particularly feeling a sense of belonging
• doesn’t not have much influence on our attitudes and behaviours

Question 11

Majority

Type of compliance

Answer 11

Direct and public

Question 12

Minority

Type of compliance

Answer 12

Indirect and private

Question 13

Majority

Cause of compliance

Answer 13

Normative or informational influence

Question 14

Minority

Cause of compliance

Answer 14

Due to cognitive conflict

Question 15

Majority

Content of thinking

Answer 15

Message is passively
accepted as valid without
much thought

Question 16

Minority

Content of thinking

Answer 16

Carefully analyse the message –> Need to convince the majority
that the message is valid

Question 17

Majority

Direction of attention

Answer 17

Focus is on the source of

the message

Question 18

Minority

Direction of attention

Answer 18

Focus is on the message itself

Question 19

Majority

Differential influence

Answer 19

• Public compliance with the
  majority view
• Little or no attitude change

Question 20

Minority

Differential influence

Answer 20

• Little or no public compliance
  with the minority view
• Great change in private attitude

Question 21

Obedience experiment - facotrs which influence obedience

Answer 21

In Milgram but completed with Hogg & Vaughan in 2014

• Victim unseen but heard
• Experimenter giving orders in the room
• in a university
• no peer pressure
• in the USA

Question 22

Influence of a minority study

Answer 22

Moscovici experiment 1969

obj: investigate influence of a minority
- take part in an experiment of a colour perception

Question 23

Influence of a minority study - result

Answer 23

• Higher number of errors (people who answered greeen when it was blue) when the minority was consistent