Social Influence
Social Influence
Efforts by one or more individuals to
change the attitudes, beliefs, perceptions,
or behaviors of others
Conformity
Compliance
Obedience
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Conformity
Type of social influence in which individuals
change their attitudes or behavior in order
to adhere to existing social norms
Social Norms: Rules indicating how
individuals are expected to behave in
certain situations
Explicit (written)
Implicit (unwritten)
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Conformity class exercise
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Why do people conform?
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Asch’s Conformity Experiments
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Asch’s Conformity Experiments
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Asch’s Conformity Experiments
25% never conformed
75% conformed at least once
Average conformity: 33% of trials
Number of people in the majority are
important
One person giving correct answer almost
eliminated conformity
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Why do people conform?
Informational social influence
Based on desire to be correct
Social Comparison:
Evaluate the accuracy of beliefs or the quality of
personal attributes by comparing themselves to
others
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Why do people conform?
Informational social influence
Based on desire to be correct
Normative social influence
Based on desire to be liked and accepted
Negative consequences of nonconformity?
Internalized standards
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Why do people conform?
Informational social influence
Based on desire to be correct
Normative social influence
Based on desire to be liked and accepted
Cohesiveness
Accept influence from those we like
Group size
As group size increases, conformity increases
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Resisting Pressure to Conform
Reactance
React against threats to a personal freedom by
asserting that freedom
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Resisting Pressure to Conform
Asserting Uniqueness
Need to see ourselves as unique results in less
conformity
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