chapter 7 conformity. copyright © houghton mifflin company. all rights reserved.7 | 2 figure 7.1:...
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Figure 7.1: Continuumof Social Influence
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Figure 7.2: The Chameleon Effect
From Psychology, 3rd Edition by Saul Kassin. Copyright © 1997. Reprinted by permission of Prentice-Hall, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ.
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Conformity
• Tendency to change perceptions, opinions, or behavior in ways that are consistent with group norms.
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When all members of a group give an incorrect response to an easy questiaon, most people most of the time conform with that response.
Answer: False… Let’s see why!
Putting Common Sense to the Test…
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Figure 7.3: A ClassicCase of Suggestibility
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Figure 7.4: Line Judgment Task Used in Asch's Conformity Studies
Asch, 1955.
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What Did Asch’s Participants Do?
• Participants went along with the clearly incorrect majority 37% of the time.
• However, 25% of the participants NEVER conformed.
• Still, 50% conformed for at least half of the critical presentations.
– The rest conformed on an occasional basis.
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Sherif’s vs. Asch’s Studies
• Sherif: Because of ambiguity, participants turned to each other for guidance.
• Asch: Found self in awkward position.– Obvious that group was wrong
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Why Do People Conform?
• Informational Influence: People conform because they believe others are correct in their judgments.
• Normative Influence: People conform because they fear the consequences of appearing deviant.
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Types of Conformity
• Private Conformity: Changes in both overt behavior and beliefs.
• Public Conformity: Superficial change in overt behavior only.
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Figure 7.6: Distinguising Types of Conformity
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Table 7.1: Two Types of Conformity
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Majority Influence: Group Size
• Conformity increases with group size -- but only up to a point.
• Why?– Law of “diminishing returns”?– Perception that others are either in “collusion” or
“spineless sheep”?
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Majority Influence: Awareness of Norms
• Conform only when know about and focus on social norms.
• Often misperceive what is normative.– Pluralistic ignorance
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Majority Influence: Having an Ally in Dissent
• When there was an ally in Asch’s study, conformity dropped by almost 80%.
• Why does having an ally reduce majority influence on our behavior?
– Substantially more difficult to stand alone for one’s convictions than when one is part of even a tiny minority.
– Any dissent can reduce the normative pressures to conform.
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Majority Influence and Gender Differences
• Sex differences appear to depend on:– How comfortable people are with the experimental
task – Type of social pressure people face
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Majority Influence and Culture
• Cultures differ in the extent to which people adhere to social norms.
• What determines whether a culture becomes individualistic or collectivistic?
– The complexity of the society– The affluence of the society– The heterogeneity of the society
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Minority Influence: The Power of Style
• Moscovici: Nonconformists derive power from the style of their behavior.
– “Consistent dissent” approach
• Hollander: Minorities influence by first accumulating idiosyncrasy credits.
– “First conform, then dissent” strategy
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How Does Minority Influence Work?
• Does minority influence work just like the process of conformity?
• Do majorities and minorities exert influence in different ways?
– Because of their power and control, majorities elicit public conformity through normative pressures.
– Because seen as seriously committed to their views, minorities produce private conformity, or conversion.
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Majority vs. Minority Influence
• Relative impact of each depends on whether the judgment that is being made is objective or subjective.
• The relative effects of majority and minority viewpoints depend on how conformity is measured.
– Direct, public measures vs. more indirect, private measures of conformity
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Compliance
• Changes in behavior that are elicited by direct requests.
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The Language of Requests
• Talking fast and catching people off guard can improve compliance rates.
• People can be disarmed by the simple phrasing of the request.
– How you ask for something can be more important than what you ask for.
– Langer: We often respond mindlessly to words without fully processing the information they are supposed to convey.
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Langer et al (1978)
0102030405060708090100
Percentage
That Complied
No Reason Reason Given Irrelevant
Reason
May I Use the Xerox Machine?
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Norm of Reciprocity
• The powerful norm of reciprocity dictates that we treat others as they have treated us.
– This norm leads us to feel obligated to repay for acts of kindness, even when unsolicited.
• Norm of reciprocity is relatively short-lived.
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Sequential Request Strategies:Foot-in-the-Door Technique
• Person begins with a very small request; secures agreement; then makes a separate larger request.
• Why is it effective?– Self-perception theory revisited
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Freedman and Fraser
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Percent That
Complied
Intrusive Only Initial, then Intrusive
Request Made
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Sequential RequestStrategies: Low-Balling
• Person secures agreement with a request and then increases the size of that request by revealing hidden costs.
• Why is it effective?– Psychology of commitment
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Cialdini et al
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Percent That
Volunteered
Told 7 a.m. First Told 7 a.m. Later
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An effective way to get someone to do you a favor is to make a first request that is so large the person is sure to reject it.
Answer: True… Let’s see why!
Putting Common Sense to the Test…
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Sequential Request Strategies: Door-in-the-Face Technique
• Person begins with a very large request that will be rejected; then follows that up with a more moderate request.
• Why is it effective?– Perceptual contrast?– Reciprocal concessions?
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Cialdini et al
0
10
20
30
40
50
Percent That
Agreed
Real Request Only After Declining Initial
Request
Willing to Take Delinquents to the Zoo?
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Sequential Request Strategies: That’s Not All, Folks!
• Person begins with a somewhat inflated request; then immediately decreases the apparent size of the request by offering a discount or bonus.
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Burger et al
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Sales
75 Cents Reduced to 75 cents
Price of Cupcakes
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Table 7.3: SequentialRequest Strategies
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Assertiveness: When People Say No
• To be able to resist the trap of compliance techniques, one must:
– Be vigilant– Not feel indebted by the norm of reciprocity
• Compliance techniques work smoothly only if they are hidden from view.
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Obedience
• Behavior change produced by the commands of authority
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In experiments on obedience, most participants who were ordered to administer severe shocks to an innocent person refused to do so.
Answer: False… Let’s see why!
Putting Common Sense to the Test…
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Milgram’s Research: Forces of Destructive Obedience
• Conducted his experiments during the time that Adolph Eichmann was being tried for Nazi war crimes.
• His unorthodox methods have been the subject of much ethical debate.
• Description of Milgram’s obedience experiments.
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Table 7.4: The Learner's Protests in the Milgram Experiment
Experiment 5: New Base-Line Condition. The Learner's Schedule of Protests, pp. 56-57, AND figure created from Table 2 Maximum shocks Administered in Experiments 1,2,3, and 4, p. 35 from OBEDIENCE TO AUTHORITY: AN EXPERIMENTAL VIEW by STANLEY MILGRAM Copyright © 1974 by Stanley Milgram. Used by permission of HarperCollins Publishers.
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The Prods Used in Milgram’s Experiment
• “Please continue (or please go on).”• “The experiment requires that you continue.”• “It is absolutely essential that you continue.”• “You have no other choice; you must
go on.”
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Table 7.5: Milgram's Baseline Results
Experiment 5: New Base-Line Condition. The Learner's Schedule of Protests, pp. 56-57, AND figure created from Table 2 Maximum shocks Administered in Experiments 1,2,3, and 4, p. 35 from OBEDIENCE TO AUTHORITY: AN EXPERIMENTAL VIEW by STANLEY MILGRAM
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The Obedient Participant
• Milgram’s participants were tormented by experience.
• No gender differences observed in level of obedience.
• Milgram’s basic findings have been replicated in several different countries and among different age groups.
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Are We All Nazis?
• No, an individual’s character can make a difference.
• Authoritarian Personality: Submissive toward figures of authority but aggressive toward subordinates.
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Figure 7.7: Factors That Influence Obedience
Based on Stanley Milgram, Obedience to Authority, 1974.
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Important Factors That Influence Obedience
• Physical presence and apparent legitimacy of the authority figure
• The victim’s proximity• The experimental procedure
– Participants were led to feel relieved of personal responsibility for the victim’s welfare.
– Gradual escalation was used.
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Defiance: When People Rebel
• Social influence can also breed rebellion and defiance.
• Having allies gives individuals the courage to disobey.
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As the number of people in a group increases, so does their impact on an individual.
Answer: False… Let’s see why!
Putting Common Sense to the Test…
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Social Impact Theory
• Social influence depends on three factors:– The strength of the source– The immediacy of the source to the target in time
and space– The number of sources
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Figure 7.8: Social Impact: Source Factors and Target Factors
From B. Latane (1981) "The Psychology of Social Impact," American Psychologist, 36, 344. Copyright (c) 1981 by the American Psychological Association. Reprinted with permission.
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Conformity rates vary across different cultures and from one generation to the next.
Answer: True… Let’s see why!
Putting Common Sense to the Test…
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Perspectives on Human Nature
• Are people generally malleable or unyielding?• Cultural differences
– Some cultures value autonomy and independence whereas others place more emphasis on conformity to one’s group.
– Within a given culture, these values can change over time.