Social Influence

Term Test 4 Thursday March 4 in class, 12:00 - 1:50 30 to 40 multiple choice questions 10% of course grade Topics covered class material: Jan 27 - Mar 2 assigned readings: see lectures web pag Language and Nonverbal Communication Cognitive Development Social Development Social Influence

Three Minute Review SOCIAL PERCEPTION: PREJUDICE discrimination vs. prejudice social categorization in-group out-group in-group bias “We’re better than they are.” out-group homogeneity bias “They’re all the same.” stereotypes evolutionary factors? dark side of altruism?

prejudice can become a self-fulfilling prophecy stereotypes public private implicit implicit association test prejudice can become a self-fulfilling prophecy job interviews stereotype threat How can we reduce prejudice? Be mindful of biases Co-operate with members of other groups Robbers Cave Experiment Jigsaw approach Have friends from other groups

Social Influence How do others affect our behavior? How do others change our beliefs? How do others get us to do what they want? follow societal rules and expectations commit atrocities

Conformity The adoption of attitudes and behaviors shared by a particular group of people. “The only thing a non-conformist hates more than a conformist is another non-conformist who won’t conform to the rules of non-conformity.”

Conformity is not always bad there would be anarchy without conformity social acceptance often depends on conformity

Asch’s Line Judgment Experiment Solomon Asch, 1955 replicated by others in 1990 “Which comparison line is the same length as the standard?” 3 3 3 3 ??? 3

Asch’s Line Judgment Experiment On average, subjects conformed on ~40% of trials 26% of subjects never conformed 28% conformed on more than half the trials Conformity dropped to ¼ of its peak if one other person dissented (even when the dissenter made an inaccurate judgment) Conformity dropped dramatically when subjects recorded their responses privately (so actually it was compliance -- yielding to public pressure without changing private views)

Group Decisions How does this tendency to conform affect group decisions?

Group Polarization example: risky-shift effect groups with a tendency to take risks exaggerate risk-taking decisions groups with a tendency to be conservative exaggerate safe responses

Groupthink

Groupthink Psychologist Irving Janis coined the term “Groupthink” to describe the tendency to avoid dissent and reach a consensus during group decisions Janis argued that groupthink was responsible for many stupid policy decisions e.g., Bay of Pigs invasion (JFK & co., 1962) Causes of Groupthink powerful group of people who think alike absence of objective and impartial leadership high levels of stress regarding decision

Déjà vu? Space Shuttle Challenger Space Shuttle Columbia January 28, 1986 Space Shuttle Columbia February 1, 2003 “It seems to me that with that much carnage in the wheel well, something could get screwed up enough to prevent deployment and then you are in a world of hurt.” Robert Daugherty, engineer, Jan 30, 2003 Milt Heflin, chief flight director at Johnson said the members of the systems team concluded "that there wasn't anything else they needed to do or be concerned about.“ They agreed with the analysis by other engineers that the blow from the insulation probably hadn't done any serious damage, Heflin said. From www.usatoday.com “Why are we talking about this on the day before landing, and not the day after launch?“ William Anderson, engineer, Jan 30, 2003 NASA under strong pressure to launch shuttle first civilian in space many delays had occurred engineers were opposed to the launch because of concerns that cold temperatures might make rubber seals too brittle NASA executives made the decision to launch without input from engineers final NASA decision-maker was never told of engineers’ concerns

Preventing Groupthink Be impartial and objective Leader should encourage dissent Assign at least one “devil’s advocate” Occasionally break group into subgroups Seek opinions of external experts Towards end of decision, have a “second chance” meeting to review lingering doubts

Social Facilitation Social Interference an individual performs better in the presence of others examples: 1898: cyclists who competed against one another performed better than those who cycled alone or against the clock cockroaches running toward a goal run faster in pairs home team advantage home teams win ~60% of games played Social Interference an individual performs worse in the presence of others examples: stage fright

Social Loafing as the number of people increases, the effort exerted by each individual declines examples that are probably all-too-familiar to you: group projects roommates and housework less common in collectivist cultures (e.g., China) than individualistic cultures (e.g., USA) Chinese subjects work harder in groups than when alone (social compensation)

Preventing Social Loafing Make each person accountable Record who did what Make the task challenging, appealing and involving Keep the group small If possible, put people of the same intelligence & competence together

Deindividuation Loss of individual identity in presence of group Occurs in large groups e.g., looting, rioting Physical anonymity e.g., Would KKK members burn crosses if they weren’t wearing hoods? Diminished self-awareness e.g., gang rapes “Jump bitch jump”

Kitty Genovese New York City, 1964 Kitty Genovese was raped and murdered while at least 38 neighbors looked on nobody phoned the police until after the attacker left the scene When asked why they didn’t act, bystanders said things like, “I just don’t know,” or “I just didn’t want to get involved.”

Bystander Apathy field studies (Harold Takooshian) New York City bicycle theft wallet pickpocketing man put unconscious woman in car trunk 20 replications, no intervention why car alarms suck 95-99% false alarms few people stop thieves (1-5%) field study (Takooshian) 8% intervened 15% helped thief break in many people complain (60%) and some damage car out of aggravation doesn’t deter real thieves waste of police resources

Bystander Apathy Experiment (Latane and Darley, 1970) subjects heard student in adjacent room having an epileptic seizure and gasping for help likelihood and speed of intervention depended on how many others subject though were present

Why Don’t People Help? ambiguity risks to self anonymity diffusion of responsibility

Diffusion of Responsibility “I used to ask myself, ‘Why doesn’t somebody do something?!’ Then I realized I am somebody.” -- Jane Wagner

Practice What You Preach Experiment (Darley & Batson, 1973) Princeton Theology Seminary students were on their way to give a sermon about “The Good Samaritan” Good Samaritan: New Testament figure who takes time to help injured man at a roadside Subjects were deliberately made to be early, on-time, or late On their way through an alley, the seminary students found a man slumped in a doorway, coughing and groaning What do you think they did?

Persuasion Robert Cialdini, social psychologist who trained with the best reciprocity Hare Krishnas’ flower power: “Please, it is a gift for you.” preys on reciprocal altruism lowballing “Would you be a subject in an experiment at 7:00 a.m.?” 24% yes “Would you be a subject in an experiment? Yes? By the way, it’s at 7:00 a.m.” 56% yes, 95% of them showed up “I’ll give the car to you for $7,000. I need to discuss this with my manager. The manager says you can have it for only $7,300.” door-in-the face technique foot-in-the-door technique

Social Impact Theory Convergence of social forces Diffusion of social impact