How Do Others Affect the Individual?

Social Psychology

ConformityChanges in attitudes or behaviors to be

consistent with those of othersMay lead to positive or negative behaviors

Video

ConformityWhich of the lines below is the same as the one

to the left?

• What if 6 other people answered line 1 before it was your turn to answer?

• Some participants conformed and gave the wrong answer!

Findings….Conformity increases when the following factors are applied:

Feel insecure or do not know what you are doingThe group is made up of 3 or more peopleRest of the group is unanimous in their opinionYou are impressed by the status of the groupFeel other people in the group are watching and

judging you

Social Influence Informational Social Influence

influence resulting from one’s willingness to accept others’ opinions about reality

Social InfluenceNormative social influence causes a person

to conform, or change a behavior for the purpose to either gain approval or avoid disapproval from a group

When someone refers to being part of the norm or the crowd, it is implied as doing some behavior or sharing some thought that everyone else is displaying or thinking.

ObedienceObedience is the tendency to follow a person’s

orders or requests because he or she is seen as an authority figure

Stanley MilgramStanley Milgram was a

social psychologist who studied the effects of obedience on a person’s behavior

Specifically he wanted to know if a person would deliver shocks to another person because they were told by an authority figure to do so.

Milgram’s StudyThe experiment involved the: The Experimenter- person who worked

with Milgram and played the part of the authority figure by dressing in a lab white coat and looking intelligent

The experiment also involved two subjects: one was The Learner who knew the purpose of the study and was given instructions from Milgram on what to do.

The teacher, who was the subject being studied and was unaware of the intentions of the experiment

Milgram’s Study Teacher delivers

increasing shocks to the learner (or so the teacher thought)

Learner protested Experimenter

ordered the teacher to continue

Would the teacher continue?

Milgram’s Study

75% of the “teachers” gave

the highest shock 450 volts and no

one stopped before

administering the 300 volt level.

Possible explanations…The teacher was told by the experimenter, who was

the authority figure, to administer the shocks resulting in the teacher justifying the shocks given to the learner- he or she was told to do it

The teacher believed and trusted that the experimenter, who was the expert and authority figure, would not allow any harm to happen to the learner.

The teacher could not see the learner receive the shocks, which could have made it easier to give the shocks. This effect was evaluated in subsequent studies

Social Influence Milgram’s follow-up obedience

experiment

Obedience to AuthorityFactors that

Facilitate/Inhibit ObediencePresence of someone

who refuses to obeyBackground authority

increases obedienceCulture does NOT have

much of an effect on obedience

EthicsEthical concerns

of Milgram’s StudyDeceptionPotential for

psychological harm to participants

Video

What are the effects of Identifying with a group?

Social Psychology

Group PerformanceSocial Facilitation

Improved performance of tasks in the presence of others

Occurs with simple or well-learned tasks but not with tasks that are difficult or not yet mastered

Group PerformanceSocial Loafing

Worsened performance when part of a groupDue to decreased effort and motivationMore likely when individual performance is

difficult to identifyLess likely when

The task is rewarding

The group is cohesive

Individuals are identified

Facilitation vs. Loafing

Presence of others

Individual efforts

evaluated

Evaluation apprehensio

n

Social Facilitatio

nIndividual

efforts NOT evaluated

No evaluation

apprehension

Social Loafing

Group Decision MakingOften results in poorer decisions than those made by

individualsDue to Groupthink

mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides realistic appraisal of alternatives

Group Decision MakingSometimes groups make more extreme

decisions than individuals would makeGroup Polarization

enhancement of a group’s prevailing attitudes through discussion within the group

Choice ShiftA choice shift occurs when, after a group’s

interaction on an issue, the mean attitude of group members differs from the members’ mean initial attitude.

Social Influence

If a group is like-minded, discussion strengthens its prevailing opinions

Group PerformanceDeindivuduation

loss of self-awareness and self-restraint in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity

Helps explain behavior of mobs

Loss of self awareness

Leads to behavior we typically would not doStanford Prison

ExperimentVideo

Extra Credit???Ready to apply these concepts? Ready to earn

some extra points??!!Let’s do some Norm Violations!

Working with a partner (does not have to be in this class) violate a norm and document the reactions that occur.

Applying the concepts of social psychology (attribution theory, actor/observer, conformity, etc.) write a 1-2 page report of your findings