Bell Ringer

• 1. What does it mean to conform?

• 2. What is a social norm?

• 3. List 5 social norms that you conform to

Conformity

Social Influence

The greatest contribution of social psychology is its study of attitudes, beliefs,

decisions, and actions and the way they are molded by social influence.

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• Imagine you just arrived at an important social function dressed in a tux or evening gown. As soon as you walk through the door you realize that you are dressed inappropriately- everyone else is dressed in normal street clothes. How would you feel? Why?

• Conformity: -Adjusting one’s behavior or thinking to coincide (be the same) with a group standard

= the “chameleon effect”

-Behavior is contagious, modeled by one followed by another. We follow behavior of others to conform.

Importance of Groups

• Being accepted by others gives us feelings of belonging, affection, & attention

• Being accepted by a group usually means following (=conforming to) social norms: standards for how to behave in certain situations– Explicit social norms: spoken or written rules for

behavior• Traffic rules, school dress code, _________________

– Implicit social norms: unspoken, unwritten rules • Face forward in an elevator, ______________,

___________

Asch’s Studies of Conformity

• Wanted to see to what extent would people conform to social norms, give in to group pressure

Asch’s Studies of Conformity

Results of Asch’s study:

• Found that ¾ of participants (75%) conformed to group opinion at least once

• 1/3 conformed about ½ the time

• ¼ (25%) conformed nearly every single time!– http://www.learner.org/resources/series138.ht

ml#program_descriptions

Why do people conform?

• To avoid feeling extreme discomfort if they are singled out as different from others

• The need for acceptance and approval of others

• Fear of embarrassment, ridicule, or rejection by group

Conditions that Strengthen Conformity

1. One is made to feel incompetent or insecure.

2. The group has at least three people.3. The group is unanimous.4. One admires the group’s status and

attractiveness.5. One has no prior commitment or response.6. The group observes one’s behavior.7. One’s culture strongly encourages respect

for a social standard.

• Homework: Choose 2 social norms that you typically follow and BREAK THEM!

• Write a ½ page essay for each describing what you did and how people reacted.

Bell Ringer

Obedience

• One of the most obvious and direct influences on attitudes and behavior is the power of authority figures– Parents, teachers, police, judges

• Why do we conform so readily to authority?– Fear of punishment and consequences for

disobeying

Stanley Milgram’s Obedience Study

• Was interested in studying whether or not most people would continue to obey an authority figure, even at the expense of another person.– Was influenced by

Nazi treatment of Jews during WWII.

• http://www.learner.org/discoveringpsychology/19/e19expand.html

Procedure

• Told participants he was conducting a study on the effects of punishment on memory.– Every time the “learner” got the question

wrong the subject had to give them an electrical shock.

– With each mistake made the shock got worse

Milgram’s StudyB

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Milgram’s Results:

• Found that 35 of the 40 participants continued to shock even after the learner was screaming in pain at 300 volts

• 2/3 of the subject continued to shock all the way to the very end!

Milgram’s Study: Results

Conditions that strengthen Obedience

• The person giving the orders was close at hand and seen as a legitimate authority figure

• Authority figure was supported by a prestigious institution

• The victim was depersonalized- at a distance, in another room

• No role models for defiance present = nobody else was seen disobeying the authority figure

• Modern study!

• http://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video;_ylt=A2KLqILm4ZpPJFYAk2j7w8QF;_ylu=X3oDMTBrOTlpOGs3BHNlYwNzZWFyY2gEdnRpZANWMTE2?p=abc+%2B+

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