1. Chapter 7: Social Influence

2. Learning Objectives
Can situations automatically activate social norms from your memory without your awareness?
Americans often admire nonconformists, but what typically happens to people who fail to conform to others' opinions or behaviors?
How do people from individualist and collectivist cultures differ in their tendencies to conform?
What social factors influence whether we obey or disobey the destructive commands of authority figures?

3. Social Influence
Exercise of social power to change the attitudes or behaviors of others in a particular direction
Social power: force available to change attitudes or behavior
Types of social influence
Conformity
Compliance
Obedience

4. Conformity Yielding to perceived group pressure
Imitate others behavior and beliefs
Conforming to one reference group may result in independence from another reference group.

5. Compliance Publicly acting in accord with a direct request
May be associated with attitude change (internal compliance)
May comply without attitude change (external compliance)

6. Obedience
Performance of an action in response to a direct order from an authority figure
More likely than other types of social influence to imply a result of personal freedom
Obedience is seen as a sign of maturity in many situations.

7. Classic Study: Sherif
Participants judged how much a dot of light moved in a dark room.
It didn't really move at all but seemed to move because of the autokinetic effect.
Participants who discussed estimates converged on a norm.
Later, individual estimates reflected the group norm.
Thus, when reality is ambiguous, people conform to the group.

8. Figure 7.1 Norm Development

9. Pluralistic Ignorance
The belief that everyone else sees things a certain way when they do not
For instance, assuming that everyone else thinks binge drinking is a good idea, or that everyone else understands the lecture
Driven by conformity to social norms

10. Classic Study: Asch Participants were asked to judge length of lines.
Five confederates gave wrong answers on key trials.
76% of participants gave the wrong-but- conforming answer at least once.
Thus, even when reality is clear, conformity affects behavior.

11. Asch’s Conformity Experiments

12. Figure 7.2 Asch’s Line Judgment Task

13. Experiencing Conformity
There are individual differences in conformity in a given situation.
Most people assume others conform more than themselves.
When confronted about conforming that runs counter to one's private views, most people change recall of facts to avoid believing they conformed.
Postconformity change-of-meaning

14. Figure 7.3 Degree of Conformity in Asch’s Research

15. Normative and Informational Influence
Normative influence: Go along with group to gain rewards or avoid punishment from the group.
Not wanting to "stand out" or "be the only one"
Informational influence: Go along with the group because they have more information.
Especially when we doubt our own judgment

16. Classic Study: Schachter
Participants gathered to evaluate a case study of juvenile delinquent Johnny Rocco.
Three confederates were part of the discussion.
"Mode" took up the position similar to group.
"Slider" started extremely harsh, and then moved toward the group opinion.
"Deviate" started harsh and stayed there.
When deviate would not be persuaded
Communication dropped
Deviate was rejected by group.

17. Ostracism Rejection and exclusion are used for social control.
Emotional pain following social rejection activates same brain regions as physical pain.
Signal of a potential survival threat
Threat of social exclusion disrupts self-regulation and logical thought.

18. Situational Factors and Conformity
Group size
Group cohesiveness
Topic relevance
Social support
Others' gestures
Cues activating automatic conformity

19. Figure 7.4 Group Size and Conformity

20. Personal Factors and Conformity
Self-awareness
Self-presentation
Desire for personal control
(Not) gender

21. Theory of Psychological Reactance
People believe they are free to do certain things.
If they think these freedoms are threatened, they will act to assert their independence.
Being truly independent does not involve reactance.
Anti-confomity is chronic opposition to all social influence.
Shows reactance in action

22. Theory of Minority Influence
Groups holding the minority opinion are most influential when:
Consistent and confident
Similar to majority in every way but the disputed opinion (single minority)
Arguing in the same direction as evolving cultural norms

23. Figure 7.5 Conformity to Consistent and Inconsistent Minorities

24. Factors Influencing Compliance
People more likely to comply when:
In a positive mood
The norm of reciprocity is invoked
Reasons—even meaningless ones—are given

25. Two-Step Compliance Strategies
Foot-in-the-door
Small request followed by bigger request
Door-in-the-face
Large (unreasonable) request followed by smaller compromise request
That's-not-all technique
Unreasonable offer is immediately paired with a bonus that makes it more reasonable.
Low-balling
True cost not disclosed until after commitment

26. Figure 7.6 That’s Not All!

27. Intense Social Influence
Can lead to unusual compliance
False confessions are an example of an act of unusual compliance.
False confessions can occur due to either internal or external compliance pressures.

28. Classic Study: Milgram
Participants were asked to take part in study of learning as "teacher."
They believed they were giving electric shocks to a "learner."
Shocks increased in voltage.
"Learner" (confederate) appeared to protest.
Participants who objected were told to continue.
Despite significant personal distress, participants continued to obey at a high rate.
65% continued increasing shocks until they ran out of switches.

29. Implications of Milgram's Study
Participants were not "evil" or particularly different from the normal population.
Results cannot be explained by gender, race, age, education, socioeconomic status, or country of origin.
The situation caused destructive obedience.
The majority of people in the study violated their own deeply-held values.
The presence of an unknown authority figure and their spoken directions were sufficient to bring about a gross violation of one's values.

30. Figure 7.7 Some Factors That Influence

31. Reducing Destructive Obedience
People who voiced firm objections early were less likely to continue to the end of Milgram's study.
Being in the presence of someone who objected reduced obedience.
Getting destructive orders while in groups reduces obedience by introducing the idea of collective action.

32. Social Impact Theory
The amount of influence others have is a function of their:
Number
Strength
Immediacy
People form like-minded social clusters that reinforce their viewpoints.

33. Figure 7.8 The Psychology of Social Impact: Source and Target Factors