Social Psych Chapter 8

When are people most likely to conform to normative pressures

According to social impact theory, the likelihood that you will respond to social influence depends on 1. strength(how important the group is to you) 2. immediacy (how close is the group to you in space and time) 3. number of people

When the experts began to act unclear about the situation what did the participants do

All of the participants broke out of their conforming role and stopped the experiment

Which of these is the most crucial variable for determining how much people use each other as a source of information

Ambiguity

Doing the line study with an MRI when going against groups what area of the brain lights up

Amygdala, an area devoted to negative emotions, and the right caudate nucleus, the area devoted to social behavior

What is the boomerang effect in using norms to change behavior

As seen in the example of university leaders trying to decrease alcohol binge drinking on campus's if you say students drink this much each week to try to get students to conform to a lower level the ones who drink less will increase their alcohol intake when trying to change behaviors using conformity we must consider different types of people receiving the message and remembering there are those who are performing the undesirable behavior at a below average level and we don't want them to change their behavior

Why is it harder for participants to draw the line when increasing by only 15 volts

Because 215 isn't that different from 230 its much harder to draw the line then if they were increasing by a higher number

What about self-justification? Why does increasing the volts by such small increments, 15 volts, make it easier for participants to continue the experiment vs increasing it drastically

Because the participants were faced with only small decisions. 15 volts at a time. Every time a person makes an important decision, dissonance is produced, with a resultant pressure to reduce it. An effective way to reduce that dissonance is to say the decision was justified. If the decision was increasing it drastically the decision would likely not be able to be self justified

How can we try to control the boomerang effect when trying to change behavior when using norms

By using injunctive norms example smiley face in the electricity experiment

What is conformity?

Changing ones behavior due to the real or imagined influence of others

What is informational social influence?

Cialdini, Cialdini and Goldstein's theory that states that the influence of other people that leads us to conform because we see them as a source of information to guide our behavior: We conform because we believe others interpretation of an ambiguous situation is more correct than ours and will help us choose an appropriate course of action

What is public compliance

Conforming to other peoples behavior publicly without necessarily believing what other people are saying or doing

The more subtle form of social influence is called?

Conformity

What is the key to minority influence

Consistency

Which culture places greater importance on conformity

Eastern

The need for social approval was a significant predictor of

Eating disorders for Japanese women (not american)

When in a ambiguous situation we tend to look to who for answers

Experts or someone with more experience in the given situatuion

What are some examples of normative social influence in everyday life

Fashion, fads, and what attractive body is

How do we get people to change their behavior for the common good

First we need to focus on what kind of norm is operating the situation there are two types injunctive and descriptive

The fast food restaurant hoax shows us what?

How overly obedient people can be

Why?

In japan loyalilty is directed to groups one belongs to there is little expectation to conform to strangers

What are two types of conformity

Informational and normative

Private acceptance is an important feature of

Informational social influence

How do minorities exert their influence on the group

Informational social influence- by introducing new and unexpected information which causes the group to examine the situation more carefully

In the littering researchers concluded that injunctive or descriptive norms are more powerful in producing desirable behavior

Injunctive

What happened in the Milgrim study if the participant saw other peers disobey

It was easier for them to disobey

What is social impact theory?

Latane's theory that the idea that conforming to social influence depends on the groups importance its immediacy and the number of people in the group

Although Japanese culture is more highly conforming than our own two ash studies found that when group unanimously gave the incorrect answer Japanese students were more or less likely to conform than americans

Less

As the size of a group increases each additional person has more or less of an influencing effect

Less

When being accurate is highly important you are more or less likely to conform

MORE

High school teacher reported smell of gas in her classroom soon she experienced physical symptoms as the class was being evacuated others began to report physical symptoms the entire school was evacuated and local experts investigated nothing was found why did the students feel these symptoms when nothing was wrong

Mass psychogenic illness

When they redid the test in 2009 they believed that society today is more likely to say no to authority figures is this true

No

What makes it difficult for people in Milgrims study to refuse to continue

Normative pressures in the form of an authority figure

The most powerful form of social influence produces what?

Obedience

In the line study where it was obvious what the right answer was did people conform

On average people confirmed on about a third of the trials

What are descriptive norms

Peoples perceptions of how they actually behave in given situations regardless of weather the behavior is approved or disapproved by others

What are injunctive norms

Peoples perceptions of what behaviors are approved or disapproved by others

The light experiment is an example of

Private acceptance

Can minorities influence others by normative means

Rarely

Does the presentation of the perfect male body effect a mans perception of themselves

Research found a significant correlation between negative feelings about ones body and reading men magazines

Do we underestimate the power of social influence

SI

What about culture definitions of the attractive male body. Do men engage in similar processes of conformity when trying to achieve the perfect body

Si

Norms are always present to some extent but they are not always salient. To promote socially beneficial behavior what needs to be done

Something needs to draw our attention to the relevant norm. Anything that highlights injunctive norms can be used to create positive behavioral change

Social impact theory predicts that conformity will increase as what increases?

Strength and immediacy

What is minority influence?

The case where a minority of group members influences the behavior or beliefs of the majority

What are social norms

The implicit or explicit rules a group has for the acceptable behaviors, values, and beliefs of its members

Normative social influence is

The influence of other people that leads us to conform in order to be liked and accepted; this type of conformity results in public compliance with group belies and behaviors but not necessarily in private acceptance in those beliefs and behaviors

In an ambiguous situation people rely on

The interpretation of others

When researchers asked participants to conserve energy they asked some groups based on facts other groups were told their neighbors conserved. Which groups conserved more energy and why?

The neighbors because they conformed

Mass psychogenic illness is

The occurrence in a group of people of similar physical symptoms with no known physical cause

What is contagion

The rapid spread of emotion or behavior through a crowd

What is idiosynerasy credits

The tolerance a person earns over time by conforming to groups norms; if enough idiosyncrasy credits are earned the person can on occasion can behave deviantly without retribution from the group

In the light experiment, once exposed to the groups and having changed their original estimations of how much the light moved, when tested alone once more, and there was no concern about looking silly in front of other participants, how did they judge the light movement?

They continued to conform

What about personal responsibility comes into play in this study?

They have someone to blame, the authority figure. They can say they were just following orders and take no punishments

When they studied execution guards what was there response to killing another human being

They used the loss of personal responsibility to reduce dissonance. They were just following orders

In Milgrims study when the scientist had to leave the room to take a phone call and the confederate with no prior experience came up with the idea to increase the shocks every time they got a question wrong would the learner conform

They were much less likely to conform because the confederate had no prior experience

Why did some(20%) participants still use a non expert as a source of information and conform

They were so uncertain about what to do they used even a non expert as a guide

If Milgrim halfway through the study told the participants to take a break what did he theorize would happen

They would refuse to continue the experiment because they would have time to reflect and realize that the norm was no longer appropriate. Many more would have successfully redefined the situation and refused to continue.

The example of boys "surfing" tells us that we conform for other reasons than the need for information we also conform

To be liked and accepted

American culture stresses the importance of

To not conform

Descriptive norms relates to

What people actually do

Situations most likely to produce conformity because of informational social influence

When a situation is ambiguous or in crisis when other people are experts

What is private acceptance

When people conform to the behavior of others because the genuinely believe these people are right

Is it true that the society in which one is raised effects the frequency of normative social influence

Yes

Once people are following one norm can they switch to another norm

Yes, but it is very difficult and unlikely for people to switch midstream

Brandon knows that society considers underage drinking to be wrong; he also knows, however, that on a Saturday night at his university many of his friends will engage in this behavior. His belief that most of the public would disapprove of underage drinking is _______________, while his perception that many teenagers drink under certain circumstances is _______________. a. an injuctive norm, a descriptive norm b. a descriptive norm, an injuctive norm c. a descriptive norm, conformity d. an injuctive norm, conformity

a. an injuctive norm, a descriptive norm

Which of the following is most true about informational social influence? a. when deciding whether to conform, people should ask themselves whether the other people know more about what is going on than they do b. people should always try to resist it c. people are most likely to conform when other people have the same level of expertise as they do d. often, people publicly conform but do not privately accept this kind of influence

a. when deciding whether to conform, people should ask themselves whether the other people know more about what is going on than they do

Which of the following situations demonstrates mass psychogenic illness? a. you share the happiness a close friend experiences when she learns that she's won the state lottery b. during the past week, complaints of dizziness and fainting spells spread throughout the dorm through no physical cause can be identified c. after looking through a medical dictionary, you fear that you have three separate illnesses d. Panic spreads throughout a crowd when someone yells, "killer bees!"

b. during the past week, complaints of dizziness and fainting spells spread throughout the dorm through no physical cause can be identified

Tom is a new student at his university. During the first week of classes, he notices a fellow student from one of his classes getting on the bus. Tom decides to follow the student and discovers that this bus takes him right to the building where his class meets. This best illustrates what kind of conformity? a. obedience to authority b. informational social influence c. public compliance d. normative social influence e. mindless conformity

b. informational social influence

Descriptive norms motivate behavior how

by informing people about what is effective or adaptive behavior

Injunctive norms motivate behavior how

by promising rewards or punishments for normative or non normative behavior

Whereas _______ may be the mechanism by which women learn what kind of body type is considered attractive, _______ explains their attempts to obtain such a shape through dieting and other means a. contagion influence, minority influence b. minority influence, contagion influence c. informational social influence, normative social influence d. normative social influence, informational social influence

c. informational social influence, normative social influence

In Asch's line studies, participants who were alone when asked to report the length of the lines gave the correct answer 98% of the time. When they were with the confederates, however, 76% of participants gave the wrong answer at least once. This suggests that Asch's studies are an illustration of a. public compliance with private acceptance b. the fundamental attribution error c. public compliance without private acceptance d. informational influence e. private compliance

c. public compliance without private acceptance

All the following are examples of informational social influence except: a. you are running a race, but because you are unsure of the route, you wait to check which of two roads the other runners follow b. you've just started work at a new job, and a fire alarm goes off; you watch your coworkers to see what they do c. when you get to college you change the way you dress that you "fit in" better - that is, so that people like you more d. you ask your adviser which classes you should take next semester e. mass psychogenic illness

c. when you get to college you change the way you dress that you "fit in" better - that is, so that people like you more

Participants from collectivist cultures showed higher or lower rates of conformity on the line task

higher

The act of conforming normatively to important groups most of the time can earn you the right to deviate occasionally without serious consequences. Conforming to a group over time earns you

idiosynerasy credits

Mass psychogenic illness is an extreme example of misdirected

informational social influence

The larger the group social pressure is

stronger

It was particularly difficult for people to abandon the "obey authority" norm in the Milgram study because of the fast paced situation. What does this mean and how did this come into play?

the study was fast paced, preventing the participants from reflecting on what they were doing. They were also busy recording the learners responses, keeping track of word pairs, and determining whether the learner's responses were right or wrong. It was difficult for them to realize that the norm that was guiding behavior was no longer appropriate

How did those in the Milgram study reduce dissonance by using self justification?

they had already agreed to the small shock. This put pressure on them to continue with the previously chosen activity. With each increasing shock, they had to continue justifying their actions. This made it difficult to decide where to draw the line. To the individual, how different is it really to give 200 but not 215

why are injunctive norms more powerful in producing desirable behavior

they tap into our normative conformity

Injunctive norms relate to

what most people do in a culture that is approved or disproved of its perception

Does having an ally help resist to normative pressures

yes

Does informational social influence influence our perceptions when it comes to important judgments, such as when an eyewitness to a crime later tries to id the culprit?

yes

Under strong social pressure, will individuals conform when this means doing something immoral

yes

It was particularly difficult for people to abandon the "obey authority" norm in the Mildram study because of three key aspects

1) fast paced situation 2) self-justification 3) loss of personal responsibility

When Milgrim told the participants they could choose any level of shock to test aggression levels how many of them went to the full 450 volts? What does this tell us?

2%; the studies do not indicate that people have an evil streak. It's not about aggression. It's about social pressure

Researchers found that conformity increased as the number of people in the group increased but at what point does conformity stop increasing due to number of group members

4 or 5

Which of the following best describes an example of normative social influence a. Sarah is studying with a group of friends. When comparing answers on the practice test, she discovers that they all answered the question differently than she had. Instead of speaking up and telling them she thinks the answer is something else, she agrees with their answer, because she figures they must be right b. Sarah is supposed to bring a bottle of wine to a dinner party she is attending. She doesn't drink wine herself but figures she can just ask the store clerk for advice on what kind to buy c. Sarah is out to lunch with her boss and coworkers. Her boss tells a joke that makes fun of a certain ethnic group and everyone else laughs. Sarah doesn't think the joke is funny but laughs anyway d. Sarah is flying on an airplane for the first time. She is worried when she hears the engine make a strange noise but feels better after looking at the flight attendant and sees no alarm

d. Sarah is flying on an airplane for the first time. She is worried when she hears the engine make a strange noise but feels better after looking at the flight attendant and sees no alarm

Which of the following is true, according to the social impact theory? a. people conform more to others who are physically close than to others who are physically distant b. people conform more if the others are important to them c. people conform more to three or more people than to one or two people d. all of the above e. only a and b are true

d. all of the above

Which of the following had the least influence on participants' willingness to keep giving shocks in the Milgram study? a. normative social influence b. activation of the "obey authority" norm c. self justification d. informational social influence e. participants aggression

e. participants aggression