Ch. 9 - Conformity Flashcards
Define conformity
Define norms
Examples of social influence
Changes in one’s behaviour caused by others
- eliminates potential conflict, makes human interaction smoother, allows us not to have to think deliberately about every single action
Expectations held by a group about what behaviours are right/wrong
- implicit or explicit
E.g. salting collection plates, retailers using terms like ‘best selling’
Automatic mimicry
Happens because of ideomotor action (thinking about a behaviour makes performing it more likely)
Brain regions responsible for perception overlap with those responsible for action
Function is to make interactions smoother and foster social connections
Costs to conformity (2, example)
Benefits to conformity (study example)
People may conform to undesirable behaviours
People may follow harmful/immoral orders (e.g. Jonestown massacre)
Can be used for prosocial causes (e.g. hotel encouraging hotel guests to reuse towels)
Informational influence (study example) Normative influence (study example)
We want to be right when faced with ambiguous or novel situation
- e.g. participants asked to estimate distance moved by point of light in a dark room)
We want to be liked/accepted, even if we privately don’t believe in the group behaviour
- Asch line test
- conformity decreased when confederate answers were given by a computer, and when answers were submitted privately
Predictors of conformity (7)
Group size
Group status
Cultural differences (more conformity in collectivist cultures)
Group unanimity
Anonymity (eliminates normative influence, reduces conformity)
Expertise and status (experts influence informational influence, status affects normative influence)
Gender (women socialized to value interdependence and relationships more so are more subject to social influence)
Influence of minority opinion
Influence exerted mainly through informational influence because people in the majority don’t feel pressure to be liked by the minority
Minority opinion can induce more scrutiny and systematic thought to lead to real change
Define compliance
3 types of approaches
Change in behaviour resulting from another’s request
Request can be reason, emotion, or norm based
Reason based approaches (2 main types)
Reciprocity = if someone does us a favour we should repay them with a favour of our own
- Cialdini: mailed Christmas cards to strangers
- free gift technique
- door in face technique
Commitment/consistency = we are motivated to appear consistent in our words and actions
- foot in door technique
- low ball technique
Emotion based approaches (mood)
Positive mood increases compliance, causes us to interpret events more favourably
- mood maintenance = it feels good to feel good, helping others makes people feel good
Specific negative moods can increase compliance if complying with a request can relieve a bad feeling (negative state relief hypothesis)
Norm based approaches
Desriptive v.s. prescriptive/injunctive
Appeal to both emotions and reason
More effective when information about the norm is surprising
Descriptive norms = what is typically done
Prescriptive norms = what one ought to do
To increase compliance, these 2 norms shouldn’t be in conflict with each other
Define obedience (study example)
A change in behaviour resulting from another’s order
Milgram’s obedience studies: factors affecting obedience (5)
How to avoid obedience
Responsibility Proximity to learner Prestige of setting Dissenting opinion Ease of disobeying (e.g. experimenter leaves the room)
Key to avoiding obedience to immoral orders is to begin resisting immediately
Reactance theory
People reassert their prerogatives in response to the unpleasant state of arousal they experience when they believe their freedoms are threatened
