Group persuasion

Question 1

What is informational influence?

Answer 1

The desire to be RIGHT usually leads us to change our minds and behaviour

‘other people have unique info’

Question 2

What is normative influence?

Answer 2

The desire to be LIKED may lead us to change our PUBLIC behaviour but not private opinions

‘uncomfortable disagreeing with others’

Question 3

What are the factors of informational influence?

Answer 3

Conformity is due to own epistemic limits

Conformity is higher for ambiguous topics on which subjects are least well informed

Eg complex socio-political problems seem to generate a lot of conformity pressure

Question 4

What are the factors of normative influence?

Answer 4

Conformity is to avoid feeling bad

Deviants in a group expect and receive more negative evaluations from the others

Conformity is higher when people depend on the group for rewards or will interact with them in the future

Question 5

Is normative influence contained?

Answer 5

Gradual private change

Conformity occurs first for public behaviour but may cause people to later change their private beliefs

People don’t like to be seen as hypocrites - we want out attitudes to match the attitudes implied by our behaviour

Question 6

What are some other factors that affect group conformity?

Answer 6

Commitment to group
Group unanimity
Group size
Desire for individuation

Question 7

What is significance of commitment to group?

Answer 7

In general, greater commitment to a group leads to greater pressure for conformity

Question 8

What is group unanimity?

Answer 8

there is a unanimous majority

One dissenter can reduce the amount of conformity

Question 9

What is significance of group size?

Answer 9

There are several other people holding the same view or performing the same behaviour

Question 10

What is the significance of desire for individuation?

Answer 10

Individual differences (personality) affect conformity

Question 11

Explain Asch’s study

Answer 11

A lone ally can decrease pressure to conform, even if ally is wrong.

Selected correct response (B) at a higher rate even though rebellious answer was not correct (C).
- conformity dropped from 32% to 9%

Also found that larger group size increased conformity as suspicion increased. levels off quickly (5-15 confederates)

Question 12

Explain Moscovici’s study into Minority Influence

Answer 12

6-person groups rated colour of slides with a 2-person minority of confederates.

confederates consistently said green when answer was blue

Almost 1/3 ppts reported seeing at least 1 green slide

Question 13

What are the 3 main factors where minority influence is effective?

Answer 13

Consistency
Early defections from majority side
Minority is similar to majority

Question 14

What is the dual-process perspective?

Answer 14

Suggests that majorities elicit conformity, but minorities elicit conversion

Question 15

What is significance of media influence?

Answer 15

Power of broadcast media comes from scope of message dissemination and shared awareness that others are watching

when we are aware that others are watching same event, it initiates shared attention effect and higher elaboration likelihood

Question 16

What are some issues with media influence as an explanation for conformity?

Answer 16

Retrospective self-report is fallible
- self-presentation biases

Politically motivated people are more likely to consume congruent political media than less motivated

Makes media seem more of a mechanism than a cause

Question 17

What is structural bias in context of media influence?

Answer 17

Males outnumbered females 3 to 1, warping reality (1986)

Films 2007-12 - women have 25% less speaking roles and so do ethnic minorities, older adults + kids

Prime TV overrepresents crime so heavy viewers tend to endorse more prejudice views on women/ crime etc

Question 18

What is an effective way to increase influence?

Answer 18

Role-playing the other side

If I make Pro arguments, they seem reasonable
- hijacks our self-esteem of ourselves

Question 19

What is resistance in the persuasion system?

Answer 19

System 1

Motivation
- behavioural approach

Attention
- selective attention

Cognition
- selective processing

Emotion
- maintain positive mood

Question 20

Explain study into resistance?

Answer 20

1964 US surgeon general issued report linking smoking to lung cancer

Incontrovertible evidence of risks of smoking

40% of smokers found document was flawed but only 10% of non-smokers

Question 21

What makes people resist?

Answer 21

Attitude inoculation
Reactance
Public Commitment
Knowledge/ Meta-knowledge

Question 22

What is attitude inoculation?

Answer 22

Small attacks on our beliefs that would engage our pre-existing attitudes, prior commitments and background knowledge
- therefore counteract a larger attack

Overcoming weak arguments from other side can strengthen us against stronger versions of those arguments

Question 23

What is If-Then programming?

Answer 23

IF you see this argument, HERE is the response (counter)

Bolsters System 1, automatize resistance

Question 24

Explain Wood’s study into knowledge within the persuasion system

Answer 24

environmental pro-preservation students divided into 2 groups - high and low knowledge of environmental issues

gave groups arguments that preservation efforts weren’t necessary - science would solve future problems

Those with high knowledge resisted message and generated lots of counter arguments based on their knowledge

Those with low knowledge shifted attitudes to anti-preservation

• more knowledge allows System 1 to defend worldview and lower effort and energy

Question 25

What is Meta-knowledge?

Answer 25

Actively training critical thinking - especially relevant in era of fake news and misinformation Bolsters System 2 - automatize the act of thinking

Question 26

What is reactance in context of group persuasion?

Answer 26

When people feel their freedom to perform a certain behaviour is threatened, an unpleasant state of resistance is aroused - can be reduced by performing prohibited behaviour people motivated to think they have the freedom to think and behave in a manner largely of their choosing When this is threatened, we will assert our agency - especially when persuasive messages are too strong and become prohibitions or demands

Question 27

What is the reactance theory?

Answer 27

You do it because you're told not to. You don't do it because that's what you demanded

Question 28

Explain Pennebaker + Sanders study into reactance

Answer 28

Campus bathroom filled with graffiti that is expensive to move 2 signs in bathroom: 1 - do not write on walls in any circumstance 2 - do not write on these walls 2 = less graffiti

Question 29

What is Public Commitment in context of group persuasion?

Answer 29

Public commitments = Making a public statement of your commitments creates a powerful resistance to changing those attitudes later on Much more resistance to counter-attitudinal messages than control when reporting attitudes on social issues in casual setting. - more receptive to extreme pro-attitudinal messages

Question 30

What did Vaughan-Johnston say about Hypocrisy?

Answer 30

Avoiding hypocrisy is very powerful motivation People dislike hypocrites - especially ones who stress their attitudes strongly Even if topics are trivial