Social Psychology – Ch 17

Social Influence

Social Psychology

Scientific study of the ways that people’s behavior and mental processes are shaped by the real or imagined presence of others

Facilitation and Inhibition

Facilitation

Triplett (1898) and others

Presence of others facilitates activity

Tends to be on simple/well-learned tasks

Inhibition

Derailing effects of coactors and audience

Tends to be more common on complex tasks

Related to arousal, or that presence of others is distracting?

Social Loafing – when working with others our effort can be reduced

Stoop effect research suggests that it is competition and social comparison that are the major determinants of social facilitation

Deindividuation

Loss of identity in a crowd

Reduces sense of accountability

Zimbardo electrocution study (1969)

Can be influenced by social norms – like nurse’s uniform decreases effect

Bystander Effect

Kitty Genovese case

People are less likely to help when others are present

More likely to define event as a non-emergency

Diffuses the responsibility of acting

However, when one person helps it increases rate of help in others.

Also, more likely to act if you know….I’m looking at YOU

Conformity

Asch Studies

Participant asked about length of line when confederates gave the incorrect response.

Conformed to group consensus 1/3 of the time, and ¾ of participants conformed at least once.

If there is no consensus it significantly reduces conformity

Influencing conformity

Informational social influence – unsure of an ambiguous stimuli so conform with others (Sherif study…)

Normative social influence – desire to fit in with the group

Minority influence – Asch study in reverse – still had an impact in almost 1/3 of cases

These cases tended to involve a change in perception of participants

Obedience

Milgram Studies

65% continued to 450 volts, all continued to 300 volts

Surveillance

Buffers

Role models

Emerging situation

Ideology

Hofling et al 1966 study of nurses and obedience

Internalization

Foot in the door technique – start with a small request, then increase it

Freedman and Fraser 1966

17% in control condition vs. 76% in

Door in the face technique

Lowballing

Bait and Switch

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

There is a drive toward cognitive consistency – when our actions don’t match with our beliefs we act to reduce the inconsistency

Rationalization

Festinger and Carlsmith 1959

Self-perception theory

We come to know our own attitudes, etc. in part by inferring them from our own behavior.

Does this better explain the Festinger and Carlsmith study?

Can rewards undermine intrinsic motivation?

Overjustification effect – too much emphasis placed on situational causes for a behavior

Self-justification leads people to rationalize behaviors

Impact of groups

We identify with REFERENCE GROUPS – our attitudes might begin as compliance, but over time become internalized.

Bennington College example

Keep it REAL!

Institutional Norms – rules for accepted behavior applied to an organization

Stanford Prison Experiment (Zimbardo 1972)

Participants took on the roles of the institution

Groups and decisions

Group Polarization – group decisions tend to more extreme than individual ones.

Stoner (1961)

Combination of informational and normative social influence

Groupthink – members of a group suppress dissent in the interest of consensus.

Cohesive decision makers

Isolation from outside

No systematic process

Direct leader with an opinion

High stress