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Chpt 8: Conformity (Strategies for using Social Influence (Other Tactics…
Chpt 8: Conformity
Strategies for using Social Influence
Using Norms to Change Behaviour
descriptive norms have a boomerang effect on those who engage in behaviour less than average.
should use both descriptive norm + injunctive norm to prevent boomerang effect (eg. electricity conservation study)
need to rmb there are ppl engaged in undesirable behaviour above-average level and below-average level TB252
Other Tactics of Social Influence (LFC. SAD)
Scarcity
Ppl want more of the things there are less of
Consensus
Ppl look to the actions of others to determine their own. Seeing others do it will make you follow them as well
when attitudes are weak and ambiguous, we use the majority rule
Liking: Breed love
we comply more often to ppl we like
Authority
we tend to follow credile knowledgeable experts
Consistency: Farm a commitment
Foot-in-the-door
Make a small request to ppl. After agreement, present a larger request which is the target request
solicits a small voluntary and public commitment
Reciprocity
Door-in-the-face
Offer a large request and expect rejection. After rejection, offer a smaller request (target request)
By regressing to a smaller request, it looks like you are making a compromise
Thus, in return the target person feels obligated to compromise as well
Role of Injunctive and Descriptive Norms
Descriptive norms
perceptions of the way ppl actually behave in a given situation, regardless of whether the behaviour is approved/disapproved of
motivate behaviour by informing ppl abt what behaviour is typical
Injunctive norms
what we think other ppl approve/disapprove of
motivate behaviour by promising rewards for normative behaviour
eg. Littering experiment
when injunctive norm was salient, littering was low in both conditions
When descriptive norm was salient, littering was low only in clean setting. When place was dirty, seeing others litter made you do it too
Obedience to authority
Role of Normative Social Influence
Insistent experimenter made it diff to say no
however when seeing someone disobey, easier for participants to disobey
didn't want to disappoint experimenter
Other Reasons Why we Obey
physical proximity
closer the authority figure, the higher the obedience. Closer the learner, lower the obedience
Escalation of commitment
incremental nature of shocks made it easier to proceed to next level of shock
Fast paced nature of experiment-->little time to reflect
Loss of personal responsibility
experimenter was the one in charge & they were just following orders
Role of Informational Social Influence
Experimenter seemed like an expert with the lab coat
Confusing situation
caught in a dilemma-->followed orders of the expert, the authority figure
competing social norms between "obey authority" vs "don't harm others"
Why people conform
Informational Social Influence (the need to know whats right)
more likely when..
under time pressure: no time to think about how to behave
situation is important (eg. eyewitness study: high impt condition, conform to confederates' judgements)
situation is ambiguous
there are experts-->better behavioural guides though not always reliable source of information
we rely on others as a source of info to guide our behaviour because we don't know what to do in an ambiguous/unusual situation & believe others' interpretation of the situation is more correct than ours
result in
Private acceptance
ppl conform to behaviour because they genuinely believe these ppl are right
Public compliance
conforming publicly without necessarily believing in what the group is doing
Normative Social Influence (need to be accepted)
more likely when...
Strength:when group is important to us
Normative pressures are strong when cost of losing group is high
Groups highly attracted to us are more powerful
Brain scans showed when ppl disagreed with a close group, the amygdala lighted up
when group is highly cohesive
Number of ppl
when group gets larger but same effect once reaches more than 3 other ppl
when we can't find an ally in the group
Immediacy: how close is the group to you in time & space when trying to influence you
Eg. Asch studies
but when other confederates were present, even when situation was unambiguous, out of 12 trials, ppl conformed 33% of the time
Since the right answers were unambiguous, conformity could be inferred to be due to normative influence instead of informational influence
participants' judgements were close to perfect when tested alone
we conform to others in order to be liked and accepted by them--> often results in public compliance without private acceptance
Consequences of resisting normative influence
If discussions don't work, group members may react negatively to your presence and withdraw from you
Group may bring you "back into the fold" by discussion or making teasing remarks
What is conformity
Changing one's behaviour due to the real or imagined influence of others