conformity
changing your behavior due to the real or imagined influence of others
informational social cues
conforming because you believe that others will interpret an ambiguous situation accurately, and thus assisting us to choose an appropriate course of action
sherif (1936) study of light and conformity
conducted through a light on a black wall that was NOT moving, but our eyes make it seem like it can move. when in a group, people would think that their general consensus was correct and conform to the opinions of others
private acceptance
when people conform to the behaviors and opinions of others because they believe other people are right
public compliance
conforming publicly without neccessarily believing in what others do
when do people conform to information social influence (3 reasons)
- when the situation is ambiguous
- when the situation is a crisis
- when other people are expects
social norms
implicit or explicit rules that a group has for the acceptable behaviors, values, and beliefs of its members
can be good or bad
normative social influence
occurs when the influence of others lead us to conforming to be accepted or liked within a group. leads to public compliance with the group’s beliefs
asch line experient (1951)
example of conformity
- fake participants gave wrong answers about a line and the real participant went along with the clearly wrong answer most of the time
social impact theory
the idea that conforming to social influence depends on strength (how important the group is to you), immediacy (how close the group is to you), and number (how many people are in the group)
idiosyncrasy credits
the tolerance a person earns over time by conforming to group norms. if enough credits are earned, the person can deviate from the group without severe pushback
collectivistic cultures and conformity
view it as a valued trait and part of their societal norms
injunctive norms
what we think other people approve/disapprove of
motivates behavior by promising rewards or punishment
(what we SHOULD do in a given situation)
- stronger than descriptive norms
descriptive norms
our perceptions of the way people actually behave in, regardless of when the behavior is approved/ disapproved of
(what people ACTUALLY do in a situation)
foot-in-the-door
a small request is made to be agreed to so that a large request later is more likely to be agreed to
door-in-the-face
a large request is made to be said no to, so that later a smaller request does not seem as bad and is thus agreed to
obedience
a change in one’s behavior in compliance to an authority figure
milgrim study
how far participants went when able to administer shock to a fake participant under the false impression of an authority figure
- deemed unethical
normative social influence
- conforming in order to be liked or accepted
- occurs more in larger groups
- ~7 people in a group
makes it difficult for people to stop obeying authority figures
boomerang effect
making an undeseriable behavior more likely than it previously was
reciprocity
if someone does something for you, it creates the expectation that you will do something parallel back
freedman & fraiser (1966) example of door-in-the-face
asked to put a small sign in their yard first (more likely to say yes) and others were asked to put a large sign first (more likely to say no), then a week later the first group was asked to put the large sign (more likely to say yes)
