Topic 2 Test 2- Social Influence and Persuasion

Milgram Study

"teacher" administered what he or she thought were real shocks to a "learner" In reality, the learner received no shocks. The purpose of the study was to see how far the teacher would go before refusing to continue. The teacher's first hint that something was amiss came after pressing the 75-volt lever and hearing through the wall the learner say "Ugh!" The learner's reactions became stronger and louder with each lever press. If at any time the teacher asked to end the session, the experimenter responded with phrases such as, "The experiment requires that you continue," and "You have no other choice, you must go on." The experimenter ended the session only after the teacher stated four successive times that he did not want to continue. All the while, the learner's protests became more intense with each shock. After 300. most people predict that very few if any participants would keep pressing all the way to 450 volts. Yet in the basic procedure described here, 65 percent of the participants continued to administer shocks to the very end of the session. EQUALLY as prevalent today

prescriptive norms

(norms that prescribe behavior) What people say/believe ought to be done What's good/bad Sometimes called injunctive norms what we SHOULD do

Heuristic

A mental shortcut or rule of thumb that reduces complex mental problems to more simple

Gradually escalating commitments

A pattern of small, progressively escalating demands is less likely to be rejected than a single large demand made all at once.

conformity

Adjusting one's behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard. Changing one's attitude or behavior to match a perceived social norm. people have a tendency to imitate the actions of others trends music food and clothes

labeling

Assign the target a trait label ("You're like a stats wizard.") Seek compliance with a label - consistent request ("Can you explain how multiple regression works again?") >>> similar to self fulfilling prophecy consistency

normative influence

Conformity that results from a concern for what other people think of us. when we express opinions or behave in ways that help us to be accepted or that keep us from being isolated or rejected by others people go along with the crowd because they are concerned about what others think of them. We don't want to look out of step or become the target of criticism just because we like different kinds of music or dress differently than everyone else. Fitting in also brings rewards such as camaraderie and compliments ex: asch line experiment The confederates uniformly gave incorrect answers on 12 of the 16 trials, and 76 percent of the participants went along with the norm at least once and also gave the wrong answer at teenagers are more prone to conforming than are adults, and that people conform significantly less often when they believe the confederates will not hear their responses more conformity is found in collectivist countries such as Japan and China than in individualistic countries such as the United States we are motivated to maintain harmony in our interpersonal relationships public compliance

informational influence

Conformity that results from a concern to act in a socially approved manner as determined by how others act. BEING RIGHT use group as information people assume majority is correct private acceptance Most of us, most of the time, are motivated to do the right thing. If society deems that we put litter in a proper container, speak softly in libraries, and tip our waiter, then that's what most of us will do

Unfair exchange

Do somebody a favor. (e.g., agree to pick them up from the airport) Then, ask for a bigger favor in return. ("Can you watch my dog for a few days?")

Zimbardo's Prison Experiment

Done at Stanford; assigned a group of students to play either the role of prison guard or prisoner; prisoners were locked up in the basement of the psychology building, and the guards were put in charge of their treatment - students took their assigned roles perhaps too well, and the experiment had to be ended early because of the cruel treatment the guards were inflicting o the prisoners. In a recent interview, Zimbardo argued (you can tell that he is a social psychologist) that "human behavior is more influenced by things outside of us than inside." He believes that, despite our moral and religious beliefs and despite the inherent goodness of people, there are times when external circumstances can overwhelm us and we do things we never thought we were capable of doing. He argued that "if you're not aware that this can happen, you can be seduced by evil. We need inoculations against our own potential for evil. We have to acknowledge it. Then we can change it" (Driefus, 2007). the specifics of the social situation, more than the people themselves, are often the most important determinants of behavior...

Export power

Experts have knowledge or information, and conforming to those whom we perceive to be experts is useful for making decisions about issues for which we have insufficient expertise type of informational influence based on the fundamental desire to obtain valid and accurate information, and where the outcome is likely to be private acceptance to the beliefs or instructions of doctors, teachers, lawyers, and computer experts is an example of expert influence; we assume that these individuals have valid information about their areas of expertise, and we accept their opinions based on this perceived expertise

conformity and mental rotation

FMRI study show that spatial awareness is not in the decision making part >> suggests perception itself is altered with an ambiguous filter not just behavior

Resisting Persuasive Messages

Forewarning Innoculation

factors affecting conformity

Group size (more conformity, up to about 3 or 4) Group unanimity Anonymity Expertise and status Culture - tight vs. loose (tight conforms more) Gender (women conform more than men)

What reduces conformity?

HAving an ally in dissent because it is much harder to stand alone but with another person it reduces the pressure to conform.

honesty

Honesty is the moral dimension of trustworthiness. Persuasion professionals have long understood how critical it is to their efforts. Marketers, for example, dedicate exorbitant resources to developing and maintaining an image of honesty. Name brands add a mental shortcuts for costumers.

Likability

If we know that celebrities aren't really experts, and that they are being paid to say what they're saying, why do their endorsements sell so many products? Ultimately, it is because we like them. More than any single quality, we trust people we like. The mix of qualities that make a person likable are complex and often do not generalize from one situation to another. One clear finding, however, is that physically attractive people tend to be liked more. In fact, we prefer them to a disturbing extent: Various studies have shown we perceive attractive people as smarter, kinder, stronger, more successful, more socially skilled, better poised, better adjusted, more exciting, more nurturing, and, most important, of higher moral character.

What does Milgram's study teach us?

In the initial study the authority's status and power was maximized—the experimenter had been introduced as a respected scientist at a respected university. However, in replications of the study in which the experimenter's authority was decreased, obedience also declined. In one replication the status of the experimenter was reduced by having the experiment take place in a building located in Bridgeport, Connecticut, rather than at the labs on the Yale University campus, and the research was ostensibly sponsored by a private commercial research firm instead of by the university. In this study less obedience was observed (only 48% of the participants delivered the maximum shock). Full obedience was also reduced (to 20%) when the experimenter's ability to express his authority was limited by having him sit in an adjoining room and communicate to the teacher by telephone. And when the experimenter left the room and had another student (actually a confederate) give the instructions for him, conformity was also reduced to 20%. In addition to the role of authority, Milgram's studies also confirmed the role of unanimity in producing conformity. When another research participant (again an experimental confederate) began by giving the shocks but then later refused to continue and the participant was asked to take over, only 10% were obedient. And if two experimenters were present but only one proposed shocking while the other argued for stopping the shocks, all the research participants took the more benevolent advice and did not shock. Finally, in another condition the teacher sat next to the learner and was forced to wear an insulated glove and to hold the learner's hand on the shock pad as he administered the shock. Again, obedience was reduced, this time to only 30%.

consistency of group members (unanimity)

It matters less how many group members there are but if all the members are conforming ex: conformity occurred not so much because many confederates gave a wrong answer but rather because each of the confederates gave the same wrong answer. conformity was only observed when the minority group members were completely consistent in their expressed opinions. Why should unanimity be such an important determinant of conformity?Being the only person who is different is potentially embarrassing, and people who wish to make a good impression on, or be liked by, others may naturally want to avoid this. If you can convince your friend to wear blue jeans rather than a coat and tie to a wedding, then you're naturally going to feel a lot less conspicuous when you wear jeans too. Second, when there is complete agreement the participant may become less sure of his or her own perceptions. Because everyone else is holding the exact same opinion, it seems that they must be correctly responding to the external reality. When such doubt occurs, the individual may be likely to conform due to informational conformity.

The Importance of the Task

On easy tasks, participants conformed less to the incorrect judgments of others when the decision had more important consequences for them. In these cases, they seemed to rely more on their own opinions (which they were convinced were correct) when it really mattered, but were more likely to go along with the opinions of the others when things were not that critical (probably normative conformity). on the difficult tasks, however, results were the opposite. In this case participants conformed more when they thought the decision was of high, rather than low, importance. In these cases in which they were more unsure of their opinions and yet they really wanted to be correct, they used the judgments of others to inform their own views (informational conformity).

Person Differences in Conformity

People prefer to have an "optimal" balance between being similar to, and different from, others. When people are made to feel too similar to others, they tend to express their individuality, but when they are made to feel too different from others, they attempt to increase their acceptance by others. Supporting this idea, research has found that people who have lower self-esteem are more likely to conform in comparison with those who have higher self-esteem. This makes sense because self-esteem rises when we know we are being accepted by others, and people with lower self-esteem have a greater need to belong. And people who are dependent on and who have a strong need for approval from others are also more conforming. Age also matters, such that individuals who are either younger or older are more easily influenced than individuals who are in their 40s and 50s

self-interest effect

People who are seen to be arguing in their own self-interest (for instance, an expert witness who is paid by the lawyers in a case or a celebrity who is paid for her endorsement of a product) may be ineffective because we may discount their communications vs. hen a person presents a message that goes against external causes, for instance by arguing in favor of an opinion to a person who is known to disagree with it, we see the internal states (that the individual really believes in the message he or she is expressing) as even more powerful.

peripheral route persuasion

Persuasion that relies on superficial cues that have little to do with logic The peripheral approach is the salesman's way of thinking. It requires a target who isn't thinking carefully about what you are saying. It requires low effort from the target and often exploits rule-of-thumb heuristics that trigger mindless reactions we use this when unmotivated/ distracted ads, colleges it may be intended to persuade you to do something you do not want to do and might later be sorry you did. Advertisements, for example, may show celebrities, cute animals, beautiful scenery, or provocative sexual images that have nothing to do with the product.

choosing effective communicators

Research has demonstrated that the same message will be more effective if is delivered by a more persuasive communicator. In general we can say that communicators are more effective when they help their recipients feel good about themselves—that is, by appealing to self-concern. For instance, attractive communicators are frequently more effective persuaders than are unattractive communicators. Attractive communicators create a positive association with the product they are trying to sell and put us in a good mood, which makes us more likely to accept their messages. And as the many marketers who include free gifts, such as mailing labels or small toys, in their requests for charitable donations well know, we are more likely to respond to communicators who offer us something personally beneficial. When communicators are perceived as attractive and similar to us, we tend to like them. And we also tend to trust the people that we like...

Obedience

Responding to an order or command from a person in a position of authority. Following orders from an authority figure In many situations obedience is a good thing in many sitatuons. We are taught to obey teachers, parents, and police officers. ex: a military would fail to function of soldiers stopped obeying people. Yet there is a dark side: . In the name of "following orders" or "just doing my job," people can violate ethical principles and break laws. More disturbingly, obedience often is at the heart of some of the worst of human behavior—massacres, atrocities, and even genocide. milgrams obedience study

Fixed action patterns

Sequences of behavior that occur in exactly the same fashion, in exactly the same order, every time they are elicited. There is the feeding tape, the territorial tape, the migration tape, the nesting tape, the aggressive tape These behaviors are so automatic that it is very difficult to control them. If you ever feed a baby, for instance, nearly everyone mimics each bite the baby takes by opening and closing their own mouth! The effectiveness of peripheral persuasion relies on our frequent reliance on these sorts of fixed action patterns and trigger features.

Trigger features

Specific, sometimes minute, aspects of a situation that activate fixed action patterns. ex: Humans are not so different. Take the example of a study conducted on various ways to promote a campus bake sale for charity Simply displaying the cookies and other treats to passersby did not generate many sales. (2 out of the 30 took it) In an alternate condition, however, when potential customers were asked to "buy a cookie for a good cause" the number rose to 12 out of 30. It seems that the phrase "a good cause" triggered a willingness to act. In fact, when the phrase "a good cause" was paired with a locally-recognized charity (known for its food-for-the-homeless program) the numbers held steady at 14. the for a good cause was a big enough hot button

word of mouth

Surveys show we turn to people around us for many decisions. A 1995 poll found that 70% of Americans rely on personal advice when selecting a new doctor. The same poll found that 53% of moviegoers are influenced by the recommendation of a person they know. In another survey, 91% said they're likely to use another person's recommendation when making a major purchase. relating to them personally

Conformity

Tendency to change perceptions, opinions, or behavior in ways that are consistent with group norms to the change in beliefs, opinions, and behaviors as a result of our perceptions about what other people believe or do. "Go along with the group" Because we want to be liked and accepted by others, we may sometimes behave in ways that we might not really have wanted to if we had thought about them more carefully. As an example, we may we engage in unhealthy behaviors, such as smoking or alcohol abuse, simply because our friends are engaging in them. There are many types of conformity, ranging from the simple and unconscious imitation of the other people around

central route persuasion

The argument Persuasion that employs direct, relevant, logical messages. It rests on the assumption that the audience is motivated and will think carefully about what is presented political views ex: you might decide to vote for a particular political candidate after hearing her speak and finding her logic and proposed policies to be convincing. we use this when motivated and have the ability to pay attention

Social Proof/Consensus

The mental shortcut based on the assumption that, if everyone is doing it, it must be right. We tend to do what other people like r example, found that audiences laughed longer and more when a laugh track accompanied the show than when it did not, even though respondents knew the laughs they heard were connived by a technician from old tapes that had nothing to do with the show they were watching. yelp ratings

Message strength

The message contained either strong arguments (persuasive data and statistics about the positive effects of the exams at other universities) or weak arguments (relying only on individual quotations and personal opinions). students who were in the high personal relevance condition (left side) were strongly influenced by the quality of the argument, but the low personal involvement students (right side) were not.

presenting message as education

The message may be framed as objective information. Salespeople, for example, may try to convey the impression they are less interested in selling a product than helping you make the best decision. Divert attention away from sales agenda- "product sells itself" The implicit message is that being informed is in everyone's best interest, because they are confident that when you understand what their product has to offer that you will conclude it is the best choice

descriptive norms

The perception of what most people do in a given situation. especially new or unclear situations we rely on others to tell us what we are doing/ should be doing. Observations of other's behavior "What's common" NOT ALWAYS A GOOD THING. Think of drinking on college campuses . There are many reasons why students binge drink, but one of the most important is their perception of the descriptive norm. students typically overestimate the descriptive norm for college student drinking Hotel guests were more likely to reuse their towels when a hanger in the bathroom told them that this is what most guests

psychological reactance

The strong emotional response that we experience when we feel that our freedom of choice is being taken away when we expect that we should have choice ex: If Magritte's parents are too directive in their admonitions about not smoking, she may feel that they do not trust her to make her own decisions and are attempting to make them for her. In this case she may experience reactance and become more likely to start smoking.

Milgram Obedience Experiment

The study to see if people were likely to obey an authority figure in a white lab coat claiming to be a scientist. The "teachers" gave an electric shock to "learners" when they have a wrong answer. Once the learner (who was, of course, actually an experimental confederate) was alone in the shock room, he unstrapped himself from the shock machine and brought out a tape recorder that he used to play a prerecorded series of responses that the teacher could hear through the wall of the room so they weren't actually getting shocked. The experimenter responded to participants' questions at this point, if they asked any, with a scripted response indicating that they should continue reading the questions and applying increasing shock when the learner did not respond. results: In the end, 65% of the participants continued giving the shock to the learner all the way up to the 450 volts maximum, even though that shock was marked as "danger: severe shock" and there had been no response heard from the participant for several trials. In sum, well over half of the men who participated had, as far as they knew, shocked another person to death, all as part of a supposed experiment on learning.

sunk cost effect

The trap occurs when a person's aversion to loss impels them to throw good money after bad, because they don't want to waste their earlier investment. ex: he more time and energy a cult recruit can be persuaded to spend with the group, the more "invested" they will feel, and, consequently, the more of a loss it will feel to leave that group.

Testimonials and Endorsements

This technique employs someone who people already trust to testify about the product or message being sold ex: tiger woods for the wheaties message Celebrity endorsements are a frequent feature in commercials aimed at children. The practice has aroused considerable ethical concern, and research shows the concern is warranted

authority

Trust authority figures From earliest childhood, we learn to rely on authority figures for sound decision making because their authority signifies status and power, as well as expertise. Authorities such as parents and teachers are not only our primary sources of wisdom while we grow up, but they control us and our access to the things we want. WE assume their positions give them special access to information and power ex: people willing to give other shocks if the other people were in authority

problems with authority

Uncritical trust in authority can be problematic for several reasons. First, even if the source of the message is a legitimate, well-intentioned authority, they may not always be correct. Second, when respect for authority becomes mindless, expertise in one domain may be confused with expertise in general. To assume there is credibility when a successful actor promotes a cold remedy, or when a psychology professor offers his views about politics, can lead to problems. Third, the authority may not be legitimate. It is not difficult to fake a college degree or professional credential or to buy an official-looking badge or uniform.

what to do if there is a a bad social norm?

Use a dynamic norm as in people have started to do this.... vs telling the exact truth

pluralistic ignorance

a false impression of what most other people are thinking or feeling, or how they are responding. privately rejecting the norm vs. publically accepting it. Shared misrepresentation about a social norm (the perception of the norm matters more than the norm...) ex: heavy drinking in college: salient, appears common, acceptance. Most students think others like to drink more than te=hey actually do. how much predicted tends to be over the actual number. (and feel judged if they drink less) So they drink more confirms the norm for others! ex: everyone thinks they are the only student with a question but in actuality it is because no one wants to ask the question

Charismatic Leaders

a package of traits for a successful leader leaders who are enthusiastic, committed, and self-confident; who tend to talk about the importance of group goals at a broad level; and who make personal sacrifices for the group. express views that support and validate existing group norms but that also contain a vision of what the group could or should be. positive relationship between a leader's charisma and effective leadership performance

psychological reactance

a strong motivational state that prevents conformity Reactance is aroused when our ability to choose which behaviors to engage in is eliminated or threatened with elimination. The outcome of the experience of reactance is that people may not conform at all and may even move their opinions or behaviors away from the desires of the influencer. ex: Do not write on these walls under any circumstances!" whereas in other restrooms they placed a sign that simply said "Please don't write on these walls." Two weeks later, the researchers returned to the restrooms to see if the signs had made a difference. They found that there was much less graffiti in the second restroom than in the first one. It seems as if people who were given strong pressures to not engage in the behavior were more likely to react against those directives than were people who were given a weaker message. Reactance represents a desire to restore freedom that is being threatened. A child who feels that his or her parents are forcing him to eat his asparagus may react quite vehemently with a strong refusal to touch the plate. And an adult who feels that she is being pressured by a car salesman might feel the same way and leave the showroom entirely, resulting in the opposite of the salesman's intended outcome.

reverse psychology

a technique involving the advocacy of a belief or behavior that is opposite to the one desired, with the expectation that this approach will encourage the subject of the persuasion to do what actually is desired: the opposite of what is suggested.

social power

ability of a person to create conformity even when the people being influenced may attempt to resist those changes Bosses have power over their workers, parents have power over their children, and, more generally, we can say that those in authority have power over their subordinates.

referent power

an ability to influence others because they can lead those others to identify with them. he person who provides the influence is (a) a member of an important reference group—someone we personally admire and attempt to emulate; (b) a charismatic, dynamic, and persuasive leader; or (c) a person who is particularly attractive or famous Referent power generally produces private acceptance rather than public conformity young child who mimics the opinions or behaviors of an older sibling or a famous baseball player, or a churchgoer who follows the advice of a respected church leader, is influenced by referent power. referent power is a particularly strong source of influence because it is likely to result in the acceptance of the opinions of the important other.

the maven

an expert.... is planted as a seed The seeding process begins by identifying so-called information hubs—individuals the marketers believe can and will reach the most other people. they are trusted. As a result, mavens are often targeted by persuasion professionals to help spread their message.

door-in-the-face technique

asking for a large commitment and being refused and then asking for a smaller commitment. First, present target with a large request ("Would you clean the kitchen and living room?") Then, back down to a smaller request ("Well, can you at least do the dishes?") persuader begins with a large request they expect will be rejected. They want the door to be slammed in their face. Looking forlorn, they now follow this with a smaller request, which, unknown to the customer, was their target all along.

6 Persuasion Techniques

authority, commitment and consistency, social proof, liking, reciprocity, scarcity

Triad of Trustworthiness

authority, honesty, likability

Resisting social influence

aware of persuasion possess resources to resist have an ally make a precommitment

that's-not-all technique

begins with the salesperson asking a high price. This is followed by several seconds' pause during which the customer is kept from responding. The salesperson then offers a better deal by either lowering the price or adding a bonus product. it is a variation of a door in the face

private acceptance

conforming to other people's behavior out of a genuine belief that what they are doing or saying is right results from informational influence

two paths to persuasion

central route and peripheral route High relevance → influenced by quality of speech Low relevance → influenced by expertise

how a communicator presents a message

communicators who speak confidently, quickly, and in a straightforward way are seen as more expert than those who speak in a more hesitating and slower manner. Taking regular speech and speeding it up by deleting very small segments of it, so that it sounds the same but actually goes faster, makes the same communication more persuasive.

Asch Line Experiment

experiment designed to test how peer pressure to conform would influence the judgment and individuality of a test subject; found people were willing to ignore reality and give an incorrect answer in order to conform to the rest of the group. obvious stimuli but awkward social position makes it very uncomfortable

personality theories of leadership

explanations of leadership based on the idea that some people are simply "natural leaders" because they possess personality characteristics that make them effective some of these traits include intelligence, social skills, verbal skills, self-confidence, creativity, emotional stability, concientiousness and agreeableness. Also expertise

Forewarning

giving people a chance to develop a resistance to persuasion by reminding them that they might someday receive a persuasive message, and allowing them to practice how they will respond to influence attempt warning of an impending influence attempt (works for central route) Forewarning can be effective in helping people respond to persuasive messages that they will receive later.

personal relevance

he students were told either that the new exam would begin before they graduated (high personal relevance) or that it would not begin until after they had already graduated (low personal relevance). he top panel of the figure shows that the students in the high personal relevance condition (left side) were not particularly influenced by the expertise of the source, whereas the students in the low personal relevance condition (right side) were students who were in the high personal relevance condition (left side) were strongly influenced by the quality of the argument, but the low personal involvement students (right side) were not.

Inoculation

involves building up defenses against persuasion by mildly attacking the attitude position mildly attacking someone's belief in an effort to strengthen it ex: We would begin by telling Magritte the reasons that her friends might think that she should smoke (for instance, because everyone is doing it and it makes people look "cool"), therefore allowing her to create some new defenses against persuasion. Thinking about the potential arguments that she might receive and preparing the corresponding counterarguments will make the attitude stronger and more resistant to subsequent change attempts.

Milgram study results

obedience rates decreased when the learner was in the same room as the experimenter and declined even further when the teacher had to physically touch the learner to administer the punishment. Participants also were less willing to continue the procedure after seeing other teachers refuse to press the shock levers, and they were significantly less obedient when the instructions to continue came from a person they believed to be another participant rather than from the experimenter. Finally, Milgram found that women participants followed the experimenter's instructions at exactly the same rate the men had. we are all influenced by outside resources more than we think we are.

transformational leaders

leaders who inspire followers to focus on common, long-term goals. are more like charismatic leaders—they have a vision of where the group is going and attempt to stimulate and inspire their workers to move beyond their present status and to create a new and better future. those who can reconfigure or transform the group's norms

Transactional Leadership

leadership based on an exchange process in which followers are rewarded for good performance and punished for poor performance. are the more regular leaders who work with their subordinates to help them understand what is required of them and to get the job done

gender differences in conformity

men and women have different levels of self-concern and other-concern. Men are, on average, more concerned about appearing to have high status and may be able to demonstrate this status by acting independently from the opinions of others. On the other hand, and again although there are substantial individual differences among them, women are, on average, more concerned with connecting to others and maintaining group harmony. Taken together, this means that, at least when they are being observed by others, men are likely to hold their ground, act independently, and refuse to conform, whereas women are more likely to conform to the opinions of others in order to prevent social disagreement. the fact that men are perceived as effective leaders, and are more likely to become leaders, does not necessarily mean that they are actually better, more effective leaders than women. Indeed, a meta-analysis studying the effectiveness of male and female leaders did not find that there were any gender differences overall . It is difficult for women to gain power because to do so they must conform to these masculine norms, and often this goes against their personal beliefs about appropriate behavior And when women do take on male models of expressing power, it may backfire on them because they end up being disliked because they are acting nonstereotypically for their gender. women may conform somewhat more than men, although these differences are small and limited to situations in which the responses are made publicly. In terms of leadership effectiveness, there is no evidence that men, overall, make better leaders than do women. However, men do better as leaders on tasks that are "masculine" in the sense that they require the ability to direct and control people. On the other hand, women do better on tasks that are more "feminine" in the sense that they involve creating harmonious relationships among the group members.

subliminal advertising

occurs when a message, such as an advertisement or another image of a brand, is presented to the consumer without the person being aware that a message has been presented—for instance, by flashing messages quickly in a TV show, an advertisement, or a movie If it were effective, subliminal advertising would have some major advantages for advertisers because it would allow them to promote their product without directly interrupting the consumer's activity and without the consumer knowing that he or she is being persuaded.... Even if a subliminal or subtle advertisement is perceived, previous experience with the product or similar products—or even unrelated, more salient stimuli at the moment—may easily overshadow any effect the subliminal message would have had *Taken together, the evidence for the effectiveness of subliminal advertising is weak and its effects may be limited to only some people and only some conditions.*

thoughtful message processing

occurs when we think about how the message relates to our own beliefs and goals and involves our careful consideration of whether the persuasion attempt is valid or invalid.

Sherif's Autokinetic Effect

participant's estimates of the apparent movement of light started different but converged once the participants came together ambiguous stimuli, people look to each other for guidance alone very different in a group who initially had made very different estimates were then placed in groups along with one or two other individuals, and in which all the group members gave their responses on each trial aloud (each time in a different random order), the initial differences in judgments among the participants began to disappear, such that the group members eventually made very similar judgments

focus theory of social norms

people conform to norms when they are salient (prescriptive or descriptive) littered vs. clean parking lot >>> if more dirty then people litter vs. if its more clean towel experiment= 75% of the people in the hotel reuse towels vs. 75% of people in the hotel use towels. More successful if you apply it to the room because it is more salient

Consistency

people want/ like to stay consistent with what they have done before and who they are so they don't change techniques: foot in the foor low ball bait and switch labeling

inoculation method

people who are subjected to weak versions of a persuasive message are less vulnerable to stronger versions later on

low-ball technique

persuasive technique in which the seller of a product starts by quoting a low sales price and then mentions all of the add-on costs once the customer has agreed to purchase the product ex: low price on a car and a house but it is not actually going to be sold at that price First, get an agreement to a specific arrangement (Get your roommate to agree to do the "dishes") Then, change the terms of the agreement (Add the rest of the dishes and pots and pans into the sink) Backing out on a commitment seems wrong and may threaten self-esteem, even if the commitment was obtained in an unethical way.

foot-in-the-door technique

persuasive technique involving making a small request before making a bigger one the tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request ex: salesperson thinks this way this makes it easier for people to conform later First, gain target's compliance with a small request ("Would you knead this knot in my shoulder?") Then, make a related, larger request ("Ooh. That feels good. Can you massage the rest of my back?") consistency

coercive power

power that is based on the ability to create negative outcomes for others, for instance by bullying, intimidating, or otherwise punishing. Bosses have coercive power over employees if they are able (and willing) to punish employees by reducing their salary, demoting them to a lower position, embarrassing them, or firing them. more likely to produce public conformity than private acceptance Coercion is usually more difficult to use, since it often requires energy to keep the person from avoiding the punishment by leaving the situation altogether. And coercive power is less desirable for both the power-holder and the person being influenced because it creates an environment of negative feelings and distrust

legitimate power

power vested in those who are appointed or elected to positions of authority teachers, politicians, policemen, and judges and their power is successful because members of the group accept We accept that governments can levy taxes and that judges can decide the outcomes of court cases because we see these groups and individuals as valid parts of our society. Individuals with legitimate power can exert substantial influence on their followers. Those with legitimate power may not only create changes in the behavior of others but also have the power to create and change the social norms of the group. In some cases legitimate power can even be used successfully by those who do not seem to have much power.

Types of Power

reward power, coercive power, legitimate power, referent power, and expert power

Reactance

strong emotional response when our choices are limited

public conformity

superficial change in behavior (including the public expression of opinions) that is not accompanied by an actual change in one's private opinion. doesn't necessarily reflect our beliefs Conformity may appear in our public behavior even though we may believe something completely different in private. We may obey the speed limit or wear a uniform to our job (behavior) to conform to social norms and requirements, even though we may not necessarily believe that it is appropriate to do so (opinion). We may use drugs with our friends without really wanting to, and without believing it is really right, because our friends are all using drugs

how to manipulate trustworthiness

testimonials and endorsements, presenting the message as education, "word of mouth", the maven

Leadership

the ability to direct or inspire others to achieve goals ay give commands and enforce them with reward or coercive power, resulting in public conformity with the commands. In other cases they may rely on well-reasoned technical arguments or inspirational appeals, making use of legitimate, referent, or expert power, with the goal of creating private acceptance and leading their followers to achieve.

Persuasion

the act of inducing an attitude belief or behavior in another (EVERYONE USES IT)

minority influence

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

informational conformity

the change in opinions or behavior that occurs when we conform to people whom we believe have accurate information We base our beliefs on those presented to us by reporters, scientists, doctors, and lawyers because we believe they have more expertise in certain fields than we have we choose a prom gown on the basis of our friends' advice about what looks good on us, we are using informational conformity—we believe that our friends have good judgment about the things that matter to us.

social influence

the influence of other people on our everyday thoughts, feelings, and behavior one of the most common ways we change out attitudes when interacting with others many different types on a continuum: Persuasion Compliance Obedience Conformity

expertise

the message was supposedly prepared either by an expert source (the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education, which was chaired by a professor of education at Princeton University) or by a nonexpert source (a class at a local high school). the top panel of the figure shows that the students in the high personal relevance condition (left side) were not particularly influenced by the expertise of the source, whereas the students in the low personal relevance condition (right side) were

Reciprocity

the normative pressure to repay, in equitable value, what another person has given to us. Social indebitedness lays the basis for virtually every type of social relationship, from the legalities of business arrangements to the subtle exchanges within a romance. A salesperson may offer free gifts, concessions, or their valuable time in order to get us to do something for them in return. Or, you might give money to a charity fundraiser who has given you a flower in the street happens in the dictator game with whoever wins get $20 and they get to decide what to do with it. Most people split it 50-50 two techniques: door in the face unfair exchange

identifiable victim effect

the tendency to be more moved by the vivid plight of a single individual than by a more abstract number of people One persuasive "victim"> Many victims >Statistics persuasion

contingency model of leadership

the theory that leadership effectiveness is determined both by the personal characteristics of leaders and by the control afforded by the situation Factor 1: Fielder conceptualized the leadership style of the individual as a relatively stable personality variable and measured it by having people consider all the people they had ever worked with and describe the person that they least liked to work with (their least preferred coworker). Those who indicated that they only somewhat disliked their least preferred coworker are relationship-oriented types of people, who are motivated to have close personal relationships with others. However, those who indicated that they did not like this coworker very much were classified as task-oriented types, who are motivated primarily by getting the job done. 3 aspects of the group situation were important: 1. The degree to which the leader already has a good relationship with the group and the support of the group members (leader-member relations) 2. The extent to which the task is structured and unambiguous (task structure) 3. The leader's level of power or support in the organization (position power) contingency model predicts that task-oriented leaders will be most effective either when the group climate is very favorable and thus there is no need to be concerned about the group members' feelings, or when the group climate is very unfavorable and the task-oriented leader needs to take firm control.

psychological reactance

the theory that people react against threats to their freedom by asserting themselves and perceiving the threatened freedom as more attractive A reaction to people, rules, requirements, or offerings that are perceived to limit freedoms.

cultural differences

there is also evidence that conformity is greater in some cultures than others. Your knowledge about the cultural differences between individualistic and collectivistic cultures might lead you to think that collectivists will be more conforming than individualists, and there is some support for this. y, although the effects of individual differences on conformity tend to be smaller than those of the social context, they do matter. And gender and cultural differences can also be important. Conformity, like most other social psychological processes, represents an interaction between the situation and the person.

expert communicators

these people sometimes be perceived as trustworthy because they know a lot about the product they are selling. When a doctor recommends that we take a particular drug, we are likely to be influenced because we know that he or she has expertise about the effectiveness of drugs. It is no surprise that advertisers use race car drivers to sell cars and basketball players to sell athletic shoes.

Liking

things that we like or are similar and familiar we are more drawn to finding common ground is so helpful "Hi, there. Where are you from?" "You live in Florida? I used to live there!" or "Psychology? I want to major in psych!" we see this with brands>> brands we like we trust Establish similarity/familiarity ("I'm from there too!") Then make a request. ("Want a lap dance?")

the chameleon effect

unconsciously mimicking others expressions, postures, and voice tones to help us feel what they are feeling showing that social influence can be automatic

spontaneous message processing

we accept a persuasion attempt because we focus on whatever is most obvious or enjoyable, without much attention to the message itself. students who were not highly involved in a topic, because it did not affect them personally, were more persuaded by a likeable communicator than by an unlikeable one, regardless of whether the communicator presented a good argument for the topic or a poor one. On the other hand, students who were more involved in the decision were more persuaded by the better than by the poorer message, regardless of whether the communicator was likeable or not. They were not fooled by the likeability of the communicator ex: The slogans "The joy of cola!" "Coke adds life!" and "Be a Pepper!" funny TV ads that are shown during the Super Bowl broadcast every year are likely to be effective because we watch them, remember them, and talk about them with others this affect is usually strong when people are happy yet fearful messages are also persuasive because the ad is more salient and we tend to remember them. They tend to be more affect because the brain tends to remember more negative thoughts than positive. they can cause a lot of anxiety and turn people off of the message

Scarcity

we tend to like things more if there are less left or less than 1 left >>> becoming less effective because things are continually resold on the internet

sleeper effect

when a persuasive message from an unreliable source initially exerts little influence but later causes attitude change a delayed impact of a message that occurs when an initially discounted message becomes effective, such as we remember the message but forget the reason for discounting it consumers forget the source of the message faster than the content ex: once, I told my friends a story that I had read about one of my favorite movie stars. Only later did I remember that I had read the story while I was waiting in the supermarket checkout line, and that I had read it in the National Enquirer! I knew that the story was probably false because the newspaper is considered unreliable, but I had initially forgotten to discount that fact because I did not remember the source of the information. persuasion

reward power

when one person is able to influence others by providing them with positive outcomes. Bosses have reward power over employees because they are able to increase employees' salary and job benefits, and teachers have reward power over students because they can assign student high marks. The variety of rewards that can be used by the powerful is almost endless and includes verbal praise or approval, the awarding of status or prestige, and even direct financial payment. Because the change in behavior that results from reward power is driven by the reward itself, its use is usually more likely to produce public conformity than private acceptance.

majority influence

when the beliefs held by the larger number of individuals in the current social group prevail most common

thoughtful vs. spontaneous...

when we can motivate people to process our message carefully and thoughtfully, then we are going to be able to present our strong and persuasive arguments with the expectation that our audience will attend to them. If we can get the listener to process these strong arguments thoughtfully, then the attitude change will likely be strong and long lasting. On the other hand, when we expect our listeners to process only spontaneously—for instance, if they don't care too much about our message or if they are busy doing other things—then we do not need to worry so much about the content of the message itself; even a weak (but interesting) message can be effective in this case. Successful advertisers tailor their messages to fit the expected characteristics of their audiences. In addition to being motivated to process the message, we must also have the ability to do so. If the message is too complex to understand, we may rely on spontaneous cues, such as the perceived trustworthiness or expertise of the communicator

bait-and-switch technique

which occurs when someone advertises a product at a very low price. When you visit to the store to buy the product, however, you learn that the product you wanted at the low price has been sold out. Spur the target to take a course of action ("Wanna come over? We can watch a movie.") Describe course as unwise, suggest an alternative ("Ugh. All I have is Twilight, which my cousin left here. Let's just go out instead.") ex: An example is a car dealership that advertises a low-priced car in a newspaper ad but doesn't have that car available when you visit the dealership to purchase it. Again, people are more likely to buy an alternative higher-priced product after they have committed themselves to the purchase than they would have been without the original information. Once you imagine yourself owning the car, your attitude toward the car becomes more positive, making the idea of giving it up more costly and also making it more likely that you will buy it. get them to start something then switch the terms consistency