Seminar on Social Psychology

Lekshmi Priya.KB2nd MSc Applied

Psychology

Social Influence

Definition of conformityClassic studies on conformity

Muzzaffer Sherrif Solomon Asch

Factors affecting conformity

Compliance: Definition and principles

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Definition of conformity

• Psychologists have proposed a variety of definitions to include the social influence that conformity exerts.

• Essentially, conformity involves giving in to group pressure.

• "Conformity is the most general concept and refers to any change in behavior caused by another person or group; the individual acted in some way because of influence from others. Note that conformity is limited to changes in behavior caused by other people; it does not refer to effects of other people on internal concepts like attitudes or beliefs... Conformity includes compliance and obedience, because it refers to any behavior that occurs as a result of others' influence - no matter what the nature of the influence."(Breckler, Olson, & Wiggins, Social Psychology Alive, 2006)

• "Conformity can be defined as yielding to group pressures, something which nearly all of us do some of the time. Suppose, for example, you go with friends to see a film. You didn't think the film was very good, but all your friends thought that it was absolutely brilliant. You might be tempted to conform by pretending to agree with their verdict on the film rather than being the odd one out." (Eysenck, Psychology: An International Perspective, 2004)

Types of Conformity

The following are some of the major types of conformity.

1. Normative conformity.2. Informational conformity.3. Identification. 4. Compliance. 5. Internalization.

• Normative conformity involves changing one's behavior in order to fit in with the group

• Informational conformity happens when a person lacks knowledge and looks to the group for information and direction.

• Identification occurs when people conform to what is expected of them based upon their social roles. Zimbardo's famous Stanford Prison Experiment is a good example of people altering their behavior in order to fit into their expected roles.

• Compliance involves changing one's behavior while still internally disagreeing with the group.

• Internalization occurs when we change our behavior because we want to be like another person.

Classic studies on conformity

Muzzaffer SherrifSolomon Asch

Muzzaffer Sherrif(July 29, 1906 – October 16, 1988)

• A Turkish-American social psychologist.

• Sherrif was a founder of modern social psychology

• Developed several unique and powerful techniques for understanding social processes, particularly social norms and social conflict. 

Muzzaffer Sherrif(1936)

• Sherif's Autokinetic Effect Experiments: In a series of experiments, Muzafer Sherif asked participants to estimate how far a dot of light in a dark room moved. In reality the dot was static, but it appeared to move due to something known as the autokinetic effect. Essentially, tiny movements of the eyes make it appear that a small spot of light is moving in a dark room. When asked individually, the participants' answers varied considerably. When asked as part of a group, however, Sherif found that the responses converged toward a central mean. Sherif's results demonstrated that in an ambiguous situation, people will conform to the group, an example of informational influence.

Solomon Eliot Asch (September 14, 1907 – February 20, 1996)

• Was an American Gestalt psychologist and pioneer in social psychology.

•  He created seminal pieces of work in impression formation, prestige suggestion, conformity, and many other topics in social psychology. 

• His work follows a common theme of Gestalt psychology 

 Solomon Asch(1951)

• Asch's Conformity Experiments: In this series of famous experiments, psychologistSolomon Asch asked participants to complete what they believed was a simple perceptual task. They were asked to choose a line that matched the length of one of three different lines. When asked individually, participants would choose the correct line. When asked in the presence of confederates who were in on the experiment and who intentionally selected the wrong line, around 75 percent of participants conformed to the group at least once. This experiment is a good example of normative influence; participants changed their answer and conformed to the group in order to fit in and avoid standing out.

The image shown is an example from Solomon Asch's landmark experiment in conformity (1951). An individual was asked to state which line, A, B, or C, matched the first line. If the other members of the group gave an obviously incorrect response, the participant was more likely to also give an obviously incorrect response (A or B).

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Why people conform?

• Informational influence - Behavior of others might convince us that our original judgment was incorrect. The group's behavior provides valuable info about what is expected.

•  Wish to avoid punishment (such as rejection or ridicule) or gain rewards. We are concerned about our social image and outcomes.

• Risk of disapproval from other group members. By deviating too far, individuals risk rejection. goals.

• Lack of perceived alternatives. A member may not realize he has any other choice but conformity.

•  Fear of disrupting the group's operations. People fear independence will obstruct the attainment of group  

• Absence of communication among group members. Lacking information that others might join in the nonconforming action, they avoid going out on a limb.

•  No feeling of responsibility for group outcomes. Members who conform may cause a group to fail to meet its objectives. They hesitate to take the initiative to turn the situation around, especially if they do not feel personally responsible for the group's success or failure.

•A sense of powerlessness. If a person feels that he cannot change the situation, he is unlikely to try anything new. The apathy becomes self-fulfilling. No one tries anything different, and consequently, nothing improves. 

Factors affecting conformity

• The difficulty of the task: Difficult tasks can lead to both increased and decreased conformity. Not knowing how to perform a difficult task makes people more likely to conform, but increased difficulty can also make people more accepting of different responses, leading to less conformity.

• Individual differences: Personal characteristics such as motivation to achieve and strong leadership abilities are linked with a decreased tendency to conform.

• The size of the group: People are more likely to conform in situations that involve between three and five other people.

• Characteristics of the situation: People are more likely to conform in ambiguous situations where they are unclear about how they should respond.

• Cultural differences: Researchers have found that people from collectivist cultures are more likely to conform

• Unanimity - individuals are more likely to conform when the rest of the group's response is common

• Cohesion - groups high in cohesion produce more conformity than non-cohesive groups

• Status - individuals are more likely to conform with high status groups

• Gender - societal norms establish gender differences which affect the ways in which men and women conform to social influence; women are more likely to conform than men in situations involving observation, but less likely when there is no observation

• Age - younger individuals are more likely to conform, perhaps due to lack of experience and status

• Importance of stimuli - Individuals may conform less frequently when the task is considered important

• minority influence- Minority influence is the degree to which a smaller faction within the group maintaining a different position on an issue influences the group during decision making. This influence is primarily informational and depends on consistent adherence to a position, degree of defection from the majority, and the status and self-confidence of the minority members.

Compliance

Definition

• "Compliance refers to a change in behavior that is requested by another person or group; the individual acted in some way because others asked him or her to do so (but it was possible to refuse or decline.)"(Breckler, Olson, & Wiggins, 2006)

• "Situations calling for compliance take many forms. These include a friend's plea for help, guiltily prefaced by the question "Can you do me a favor?" They also include the pop-up ads on the Internet designed to lure you into a commercial site and the salesperson's pitch for business prefaced by the dangerous words "Have I got a deal for you!" Sometimes the request is up front and direct; what you see is what you get. At other times, it is part of a subtle and more elaborate manipulation."(Kassin, Fein, & Markus, 2011)

Factors That Influence Compliance

• People are more likely to comply when they believe that they share something in common with the person making the request.

• When group affiliation is important to people, they are more likely to comply with social pressure

• The likelihood of compliance increases with the number of people present. If only one or two people are present, a person might buck the group opinion and refuse to comply.

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Principles of Compliance

The Six Principles of Influence/compliance(also known as the Six Weapons of Influence) were created by Robert Cialdini, Regents' Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University. He published them in 1984 in the book of "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion."

The six principles are as follows:

1. principle of reciprocity 2. principle of commitment 3. principle of scarcity 4. principle of conformity or consensus 5. principle of authority 6. principle of liking 

1. principle of reciprocity  Individuals tend to give back; if someone does

something for you (such as, lowering the price of their product), then you feel more obligated to do something for them (like buy the product).

2. principle of commitment  If you make a small commitment, then you will

be more likely to commit to something larger in the future

3. principle of scarcity  Individuals dislike feeling that they can't have

something; thus, people desire the scarce object more (e.g., "limited edition," only so many will be made).

4. principle of conformity or consensus  If everybody has one, then I need it too (e.g., "This is

the fastest growing or most popular product in the country").

5. principle of authority  Individuals are more likely to comply (i.e., buy a

product) if an "authority" endorses the product. The "authority" can be an actual authority figure, such as a medical doctor endorsing a vitamin supplement, or the "authority" can simply be someone who is popular or respected (e.g., a celebrity endorsing a product).

6. principle of liking  Individuals are more likely to buy a product from

someone they like (e.g., people being more likely to buy a product from people who are similar to themselves).

Techniques Used to Gain Compliance

• Compliance is a major topic of interest within the field of consumer psychology. This specialty area focuses on the psychology of consumer behavior, including how sellers can influence buyers and persuade them to purchase goods and services. Marketers often rely on a number of different strategies to obtain compliance from consumers. Some of these techniques include:

1. The "Door-in-the-Face" Technique2. The "Foot-in-the-Door" Technique3. The "That's-Not-All" Technique4. The "Lowball" Technique5. Ingratiation6. Reciprocity

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