Generally, social psychology focuses on the interpersonal, group, social and cultural aspects of psychology.
Social Influence -- Conformity & Obedience
CONFORMITY -- adjusting our behavior & thinking to bring it into line with some group standard.
Asch's famous experiment that illustrates the power of conformity:
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Standard line Comparison lines
Subject told the experiment is about perception. The object is to pick the line among the comparison lines that best matches the standard line. The task is actually easy, and subjects alone err <1% of the time.
Subject is in a group of other people who he thinks are other subjects, but who are actually confederates pretending to be other subjects. The actual subject is the last one to answer.
After a couple of easy rounds, the confederates all pick an obviously wrong answer. The question is: what does the actual subject do?
Answer: they agreed with the others >1/3 of the time.
So... even at the level of obvious perception, conformity can be a powerful influence.
Another experiment:
Students in groups of 30 watched Clinton/Bush debate. 10 of the group were confederates all of whom either cheered Bush & jeered Clinton (or vice-versa, in other groups).
Result: the 20 actual subjects rated the candidates very differently, depending upon whether the confederates were doing.
Again: our perceptions can be powerfully influenced by the tendency to conform to a perceived standard.
Generally, conformity increases when:
-- we feel incompetent or insecure
-- the group has at least 3 people
-- the group is unanimous
-- we have no prior commitment to the issue
-- others in the group can see us
-- our culture encourage group cohesiveness
OBEDIENCE
MILGRAM'S famous studies in obedience
The question: how do people respond to commands made by authority figures?
The basic experiment:
The researcher -- who's pretending to be researching the effects of punishment on learning.
The confederate -- who's pretending to be a learner who's wired to be a control panel that delivers electrical shocks (he doesn't actually get the shocks).
The control panel -- a big metal box with a series of
30 switches labeled in 15-volt increments from 15 volts to 450 volts. In
addition, the switches are grouped with labels that read:
(15-60) Slight (you don’t need to copy these; just get
(75-120) Moderate the main idea.)
(135-180) Strong
(195-240) Very Strong
(255-300) Intense
(315-360) Extreme intensity
(375-420) Danger: severe
(435-450) XXX
The "teacher" asks questions, and for every one the "learner" gets wrong flicks the next higher switch, one after the other. If the "teacher" hesitates, the "researcher" orders him to continue, saying that the experiment requires it, that he has no choice, etc.
At 120v, the "learner" shouts that the shocks are hurting him.
At 150v, the "learner" demands to be released from the experiment and refuses to go on.
At 225v, the "learner" just screams with every shock, refusing to answer any of the questions.
At 330v, the "learner" is silent and no longer answers at all.
Question: when do people stop obeying the "researcher?" Will anyone go all the way to the end (450v)? Who?
Prior to the experiment, surveys were given to find out what people think the rate of obedience would be:
Psychiatrists estimated 0.12% would go all the way to the end.
People in general estimated 2%
But actually…
63% of the "teachers" obeyed the researcher all the way
up to the last switch (450v)!
So... who goes all the way to the end? Everyday people, like ourselves. We don't like to think of ourselves that way, but actually, most of us would do it.
Generally, obedience is highest when...
-- person giving orders is close at hand
-- person perceived as an authority figure
-- victim is depersonalized or anonymous
-- no role models for defiance
Part of Milgram's result had to do with the "foot-in-the-door effect" (i.e., it's easier to get people to obey if you acclimate them to it little by little).
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Group Influence
How we perform can vary with whether other people are watching us or not.
SOCIAL FACILITATION: Doing better because we’re being watched.
SOCIAL INHIBITION: Doing worse (“choking”) because we’re being watched.
generally...
-- if a person is good at something and/or if the task is simple, he or she will tend to experience social facilitation.
-- but if a person is not good at something, he or she will tend to experience social inhibition.
DEINDIVIDUATION -- a combination of being aroused by a crowd, and a lessening of one's sense of personal responsibility, restraint, self-consciousness, right/wrong etc.
-- due to anonymity. E.g., riots, mobs, etc.
The BYSTANDER EFFECT -- how being part of a crowd of bystanders can inhibit individual action & responsibility (“it’s not my problem”). 2 explanations:
1. INFORMATIONAL INFLUENCE THEORY -- we use the reactions of others as a guide for our own reactions, so if they’re not reacting, we tend not to.
2. DIFFUSION OF RESPONSIBILITY THEORY -- in the presence of others, we tend to feel less personal responsibility for taking action.
SOCIAL LOAFING -- when it's hard to gauge individual performance in team-efforts like tug-of-war or rowing a canoe, people tend to perform LESS than when they’re in an individual effort of the same type (not in book)
-- a tendency toward slacking in group situations.
GROUP POLARIZATION -- groups that tend to hold similar views of something, and who discuss their attitudes a lot within the group -- tend to become more extreme and solidified in their attitudes
-- esp. when the group is isolated from other influences.
GROUPTHINK -- an example of group polarization -- sometimes very confident groups that are seeking to maintain harmony and good feeling -- can squelch contrary opinions, and start making extremely distorted, erroneous decisions.
-- E.g., Vietnam, Watergate, space-shuttle Challenger.
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Attitudes and Persuasion
Attitude: any belief or opinion that includes an evaluation of some object, person or event along a continuum from negative to positive and that predisposes us to act in a certain way toward that object, person or event (X).
3 components of attitudes:
1. Cognitive component: thoughts and beliefs about X
2. Affective component: emotions and feelings about X
3. Behavioral component: behavior around and about X
3 functions of attitudes:
1. PREDISPOSING FUNCTION: attitudes guide or influence to behave in certain ways, rather than others.
2. INTERPRETING FUNCTION: attitudes provide guidelines for interpreting and categorizing objects and deciding whether to approach or avoid them.
3. EVALUATIVE FUNCTION: attitudes helps us stand up for those beliefs and values that we consider important.
2 ways of changing attitudes:
1. COGNITIVE DISSONANCE: a state of tension that arises when our beliefs and behaviors contradict one another.
-- motivates us to add or change our beliefs
2. SELF-PERCEPTION THEORY: says that we perceive our own
behavior, and then bring our beliefs into line with it (rather than behaving
according to our beliefs).
Persuasion: 2 basic routes
1. CENTRAL ROUTE -- works by presenting logical reasons, arguments, analyses.
2. PERIPHERAL ROUTE -- works by emotional appeal, generating positive feelings, etc.
3 Elements of persuasion
1. SOURCE: we’re more likely to believe sources we perceive are honest, trustworthy, expert & credible.
2. MESSAGE: the actual content of the message
-- if it’s via the central route, it will contain facts, analyses, etc.
-- if it’s via the peripheral route, it will contain emotional appeal.
3. AUDIENCE: knowing the audience is important
-- if the audience is leaning toward the persuader, a one-sided message tends to be better.
-- if the audience is leaning away from the persuader, a two-sided message (that emphasizes both pro’s and con’s) tends to be better.
General rule: Persuasion is more likely if the persuader matches the route (central or peripheral) and the one-sided/two-sided aspect to his audience.
-- hence it’s important to take your audience into consideration.