Transcript Lecture 7 - University of Alberta

Lecture 7
Social Influence
Outline
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Introduction
Effects of Mere Presence
Conformity
Compliance
Obedience
Effects of Mere Presence
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The simplest form of social influence in
which there is no direct interaction or
communication between the individuals
involved, only the presence of another
person.
Conformity
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A form of social influence in which
individuals change their attitudes or
behaviour in order to adhere to social
norms of real or imagined others.
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Social norms: widely accepted ideas or
rules indicating how people should behave.
They represent the standard behaviour of a
social group.
% of participants by number of trials
on which participants conformed
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
0
1 to 3
4 to 6
7 to 9
10 to 12
Conformity
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Informational social influence
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Conforming because we believe that
others’ interpretation of an ambiguous
situation is more correct than ours and will
help us to choose an appropriate course of
action.
Conformity
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Normative social influence
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The influence of other people that leads us
to conform in order to be liked and
accepted by them; this type of conformity
results in public compliance with the
group’s beliefs and behaviours, but not
necessarily with private acceptance of the
group’s beliefs and behaviours.
Conformity
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Social impact theory
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Conforming to social influence depends on
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Strength
Immediacy
Number
Compliance
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A form of social influence involving
direct requests from one person to
another
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Foot-in-the-door technique
Door-in-the-face technique
“That’s not all” (TNA) technique
The low-ball technique
Compliance
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Foot-in-the-door technique
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A procedure for gaining compliance in
which requesters begin with a small
request and then, when it is granted,
escalate to a larger one (the one they
actually desired all along).
Compliance
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Door-in-the-face technique
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A procedure for gaining compliance in
which requesters begin with a large
request and then, when it is refused,
retreat to a smaller one (the one they
actually desired all along).
Compliance
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“That’s not all” technique
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A technique for gaining compliance in
which requesters offer additional benefits
to target persons before they have decided
whether to comply with or reject specific
requests.
Compliance
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The low-ball technique
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A means of inducing someone to carry out
a requested act by first asking him/her to
carry out the act, and only then increasing
the cost of fulfilling the request.
Obedience
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A form of social influence in which one
person simply orders one or more
persons to perform some action(s).