Social Influence and Conformity

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Questions and Answers

What is the primary strategy of the low-ball tactic in manipulation?

Offering several alternatives that are equally desirable.

Creating urgency by indicating limited availability.

Offering a product at a high price with no additional charges.

Presenting an attractive price while omitting hidden costs. (correct)

How does the bait and switch tactic primarily operate?

It provides a high-quality item for a low cost, then switches to a more expensive one.

It provides a product that is not readily available and suggests alternatives. (correct)

It offers multiple product options simultaneously.

It guarantees the lowest price on all products provided.

In the context of social validation, which of the following behaviors is most likely to be influenced by others?

Avoiding a social gathering due to prior commitments.

Making a purchase decision based solely on personal preference.

Selecting a movie based entirely on critic reviews.

Choosing a restaurant based on the number of patrons already dining. (correct)

Which factor increases the effectiveness of social validation in influencing behavior?

The similarity between the influencer and the individual. Signup and view all the answers

Which personality type is more likely to comply with social validation tactics?

Collectivist personality in any cultural context. Signup and view all the answers

What characteristic makes authority figures influential in manipulation?

Their perceived expertise and credibility Signup and view all the answers

How does the scarcity principle affect people's behaviors?

It prompts people to act quickly to avoid missing out Signup and view all the answers

Which tactic is exemplified by the 'door in the face' principle?

Offering a large initial request that is likely to be rejected Signup and view all the answers

What is the main reason that reciprocity can lead to increased compliance?

It triggers a sense of obligation to repay a favor Signup and view all the answers

In which situation is the reciprocity principle likely to have the greatest effect?

When a stranger offers significant assistance Signup and view all the answers

Which cultural factor influences the acceptance of favors according to the reciprocity principle?

Collectivist vs Individualistic tendencies Signup and view all the answers

What does manipulating through heuristic responses imply about decision-making?

Individuals rely on mental shortcuts like familiarity to make decisions Signup and view all the answers

What is the typical outcome when an individual feels obligated due to the reciprocity principle?

They seek to repay the favor, often with greater value Signup and view all the answers

What effect does sharing similarities, such as having the same birthday, have on compliance?

It increases compliance Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following best describes the Chameleon Effect?

It involves unconscious mimicry of others' behaviors Signup and view all the answers

How does the Echo Effect influence people's willingness to donate?

It encourages larger donations Signup and view all the answers

What is a key aspect of the Foot-in-the-Door tactic?

Getting agreement on a small request before making a larger one Signup and view all the answers

Which personality trait is likely less affected by the principle of consistency?

Openness Signup and view all the answers

What can result from a person agreeing to a small request?

A higher likelihood of agreeing to a larger request Signup and view all the answers

What does the principle of consistency imply about human behavior?

People strive to remain consistent with their actions and beliefs. Signup and view all the answers

What is a result of the Chameleon Effect in social situations?

It fosters smoother social interactions Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Social influence is the effect of words, actions, or the mere presence of people on attitudes, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
Change in thoughts, feelings, and behaviors due to the behavior or existence of other people.

Conformity

Conformity is a change in one's behavior due to real or imagined influence from other people.
Asher's line study examined conformity.

Obedience

Obedience is the change in behavior in response to direct orders from authority figures.
The Milgram electric shock experiment is an example of obedience.
Change in thoughts, feelings, or behaviors in accordance with orders from authority.

Elaboration Likelihood Model (Central and Peripheral Routes)

Two ways to process social influences:
- Central Route: Requires all available information, time to consider options, and objective information; involves critical thinking, motivation, ability, and opportunity to consider information; leads to longer-lasting attitude changes and more predictable behavior.
- Peripheral Route: Uses heuristics (rules of thumb), quick thinking, frequent common responses, and automatic responses; less critical thinking.

Peripheral Route Factors

Motivation to decide is lacking
Ability to decide is lacking
Lack of time to consider things critically
Long-lasting, durable attitude change is less likely.
Langer et al (1978) study showed that using the phrase "because..." in a request increases compliance.

Tactics of Manipulation

Manipulation relies on heuristics (mental shortcuts).
Automatic responses without much thought before responding.
Occurs when familiar with a stimulus.
Influences people's attitudes.

Manipulation Tactic 1: Authority

When someone is perceived as an expert, their influence increases.
People defer to credible experts and authority figures to guide behavior.
This occurs when ambivalent or in ambiguous situations.
Experts don't have to be actual authorities.
Example: Using experts in an advertisement to persuade people of products.

Manipulation Tactic 2: Scarcity

Rare items are perceived as more valuable.
Short supply of an item increases its desirability.
Examples: closing down sales and limited-time offers.

Manipulation Tactic 3: Reciprocity

People feel obligated to repay gifts or favors.
Regan (1971): Free Coke study showed participants bought significantly more raffle tickets after receiving a free drink.
The favor is often returned with interest.
Cultures influence the repayment behavior.
Examples: Free samples that lead to sales conversions.

Manipulation Tactic 4: Reciprocity via concessions

The "door-in-the-face" technique (large request followed by a small request).
Initial large request is intended to be rejected, making the subsequent smaller request more appealing.
Used by salespeople to overcome initial resistance and close a deal.

Manipulation Tactic 5: Liking

People tend to favor and comply with people they know and like.
Liking someone leads to higher compliance rates.
Similarities, repeated contacts and cooperation increase likeability.

Liking Heuristic Mental Shortcuts

Contact and cooperation: Repeated interactions and working together increase liking.
Conditioning and association: Positive associations can make people or things liked automatically
Physical attractiveness: Attractiveness is linked to other favorable qualities such as expertise, trustworthiness, kindness, smarter or being socially skilled.
Similarity: Similarity creates instant bonds and feelings of liking.

Manipulation Tactic 6: Liking – Physical Attractiveness

Halo effect: People who are physically attractive are perceived as having other positive qualities.
Experiment findings: attractive people have better ratings in different life areas.
Attractiveness in advertisement increases believability of information.
People rate attractive children more intelligent and successful.

Manipulation Tactic 7: Liking – Physical Attractiveness: Conditioning and Association

Positive correlation between attractiveness and expertise/trustworthiness.
More attractive people in ads result in more believability of product being promoted.
Conditioning and association increase product or person liking.

Manipulation Tactic 8: Liking – Similarities

People who are similar tend to share characteristics and have mutual attractions.
People with similarities create instant bonds.
Birthday similarity: Participants with same birthdays likely to comply with requests.

Manipulation Tactic 9: Liking – Chameleon Effect

Unconscious mimicry of postures, mannerisms, facial expressions and behaviors of others.
Improves social connections and rapport.
Mimicry only effective if the other person is unaware of it.

Manipulation Tactic 10: Liking – The Echo Effect

Copying a person's speech and paraphrasing it (repeating key phrases).
Increases likeness and compliance.

Manipulation Tactic 11: Consistency and Commitment

People have a fundamental desire to appear consistent with their words and actions.
Consistency is valued, inconsistency is not.
Conscientious people are more affected by consistency.
Less effort is required with consistency. This reduces cognitive dissonance.

Manipulation Tactic 12: Foot-in-the-Door

Small request followed by a larger request, more likely to get the larger request, because of commitment.
First small request leads the recipient to feel commited.

Manipulation Tactic 13: Low-Ball

Offer a product at a good price, hidden extras later added.
Creates commitment and consistency. The extras are not revealed in the early stages.

Manipulation Tactic 14: Bait and Switch

An initial offer for a product is tempting.
Product is unavailable now and is replaced with a different/worse one.
This is manipulative.

Look to others for cues on how to think, feel, or behave.
Others' actions validate personal actions.
People more likely to comply when others around them are already compliant.
Bystander effect is influenced by social validation. If nobody reacts then somebody, by social validation, is less likely to react.
Social validation, in its quantity, means good quality.
More likely to tip when there’s already some money (social validation).
Quantity-related phenomena increase desired behaviors.
Social validation is more effective when the person performing the behavior is similar to you.

Collectivists are more receptive to social influences.
Consistency and commitment are important values in collectivist cultures.
Individualists are more influenced by personal consistency. Cultural factors such as personal style have an increased influence on compliant behavior.

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Description

This quiz explores the key concepts of social influence, including conformity and obedience. It delves into famous studies and models, such as the Elaboration Likelihood Model, to understand how individuals are swayed by others. Test your knowledge on how social interactions can profoundly affect behavior and attitudes.