Lecture 9 Social Influence Notes PDF

Lecture 9 Social Influence TB Ch. 7 Social Influence Process whereby attitudes and behavior are influenced by the real or implied presence of other people - - Compliance Superficial, public and transitory change in behavior and expressed attitudes in response to requests or group pressure keywor...

Lecture 9 Social Influence TB Ch. 7 Social Influence Process whereby attitudes and behavior are influenced by the real or implied presence of other people - - Compliance Superficial, public and transitory change in behavior and expressed attitudes in response to requests or group pressure keyword: Normative influence - conformity based on a person’s desire to fulfill others’ expectation, often to gain acceptance. - The motivation is to seek harmony and approval (regardless the opinion is right or wrong) - Will go along with others' opinions to avoid confrontation keyword: Informational influence - conformity that results from accepting evidence about reality provided by other people. - individuals look to others for guidance and information in situations where they lack knowledge or are uncertain about the correct course of action. (persuaded by others’ opinion and then change my opinion) - The motivation is to seek validity and truth - We use other's judgment to gauge our own understanding of ambiguous stimuli (uncertainty in reality) Informational influence OR Normative influence ★underlying motivations ★ Conformity occurs when there is no objective reality or clear answer Normative influence : the desire for social acceptance and conformity to group norms Informational influence : driven by the need for information and guidance in uncertain situations. Sherif's Autokinetic Experiment : Autokinetic effect : informational influence Purpose: - to examine how individuals' judgments and perceptions can be influenced by the presence of others in ambiguous or uncertain situations. Procedure: 1. In a dark room looking at a small point of (stationary) light, and the point of light would appear moving after you stare at it for a while 2. Participants stare at a point of light and report how far the light has moved, and do this for many trials 3. The confederates in the experiment intentionally provide exaggerated estimates, influencing the perceptions of the actual participant. 4. The purpose of this manipulation is to observe the effect of social influence on the participant's judgments. 1 Experiment 1 : A single individual High variability in perceiving the light movement at the beginning trials However, the estimations link up some stable values on later trials Implications Subjects developed a personal norm (on how far the light usually moves) and adhered to this norm when interpreting light movement Experiment 2: Paired Individuals Procedure: 1. Two individuals announced their judgments trial by trial 2. Both individuals had high variability in their judgments on the beginning trials; However, both of their judgments converged to similar values on later trials Implication The two subjects developed a group norm through interaction over the trials - Stage 1 ­Find two pairs of individuals in which one pair had developed a "high" norm and the other pair had developed a "low" norm through interactions­ - Stage 2 Select one individual from each pair and form a new pair Prediction 1. If the group norm developed at stage 1 was due to informational influence ­Both individuals in the new pair would hold on to their individual judgments (their previous group norm) and would not exchange in their estimations (at least not at the beginning) 2. If the group norm at stage 1 was due to normative influence ­The new pair would exchange rapidly, again to avoid confrontation and to seek approval Implication - Individual estimates did not exchange, which suggested that group norms at stage 1 were developed via informational influence - how social influence can lead individuals to conform to group judgments or perceptions, even when they contradict their own initial beliefs or observations. - It highlights the power of social influence in shaping individual behavior and perception, particularly in situations where there is no clear objective reality or reference point. 2 Asch's Line Judgment Experiment : Normative social influence Purpose: - to investigate individuals would conform to a majority opinion, even when that opinion was clearly incorrect and in contradiction to their own perception Procedure: - Participants were seated in a group along with several confederates who were instructed to give intentionally incorrect answers. The participants were shown a standard line and then presented with three comparison lines of different lengths, one of which matched the standard line in length. Each participant was asked to state aloud which of the comparison lines matched the standard line. the confederates, positioned to respond before the participant, consistently provided incorrect answers. Result: - revealed a high degree of conformity among participants. approximately 75% of participants conformed to the majority opinion at least once, providing an incorrect answer to match the consensus of the group. Implication: - This demonstrated the powerful influence of social pressure and the tendency to conform to group norms, even when those norms contradicted obvious evidence. Milgram Experiment : informational influence Purpose: - to investigate obedience to authority and the willingness of individuals to inflict harm on others under the instructions of an authority figure - to examine how far individuals would go in obeying the commands of an authority figure, even if those commands caused harm or distress to others Procedure: - Three participants: the experimenter (authority figure), the participant (the "teacher"), and a confederate (the "learner"). The learner was strapped to a chair and the teacher (participant) was instructed to administer electric shocks of increasing intensity whenever the learner answered a question incorrectly. The learner was not actually receiving electric shocks but was an actor following a scripted response. Result: - 3 A significant portion of participants were willing to administer increasingly severe electric shocks to the learner, even when they expressed distress or protested, simply because an authority figure instructed them to do so Ethics ­Use of deception ­Put participants under stress Generalizability ­Highly contrived situation which did not occur in real life ­No real harm done ­Subjects did not really believe that they were causing harm to the learner ­The experimenter assured the teacher (naive subject) that there would be no permanent damages Related key term: Agentic state - To characterize unquestioning obedience, people as agents transfer personal responsibility to the person giving orders. Factor in obedience: Immediacy of the victim - How close or obvious the victim is to the participant 1. When the learner is unseen and heard pounding on the wall→ 65% shocked to the limit of 450v 2. When the learner is unseen and unheard → 100% shocked to the end limit 3. ↑ immediacy = ↓ obedience 4. When the learner is in the room → 40% obey to to the limit 5. When need to hold the learner’s hand → 30 % obey 330v = immediacy make the participants view the learners that they are human like them → empathy with their thoughts and feelings Factor in obedience: 1. ↑ anonymity 匿名, unanimity 一致, task difficulty, ambiguity 2. ↓ expertise Who conforms? Individual and group characteristics 1. Masculine task: e.g. identify types of wrench Tasks with less familiarity and expertise → women conform 2. Feminine task: e.g. identify types of needle work Task with less familiarity and expertise → men conform 3. In public & private setting: women conform more with maintain group harmony 4. In public setting: men resistant to influence in public setting - Key word: Administrative violence refers to acts of harm or oppression carried out by authorities or institutions in positions of power. Conformity : - When individuals witness others, especially those in positions of power, engaging in or 縱容暴力或壓 迫行為 condoning violent or oppressive acts, they may conform to those behaviors to avoid social rejection or punishment. - create a reinforcing cycle where individuals within the administrative system maintain or even escalate acts of violence, as they conform to the norms established by their peers or superiors 4 Examples: 1. Diffusion of responsibility - occurs when individuals feel less accountable for their actions or inaction in a group setting, leading to a decreased sense of personal responsibility. - make it easier for individuals within the administrative system to ignore or participate in acts of violence without feeling individually culpable. 2. Bystander effect - refers to the phenomenon where individuals are less likely to intervene or take action in situations of harm or violence when there are others present individuals within the administrative system may witness or be aware of oppressive actions but fail to intervene due to factors such as the perceived diffusion of responsibility, fear of repercussions, or the belief that someone else will take action. - ★obey to authority -> were responsible for the consequences - Key word: Minority influence Social influence processes numerical or power minorities change the attitudes of the majority Assumption: 1. Symmetric influence - Majority group and the minority group mutually influence each other's attitudes or opinion - Minority group's perspective or viewpoint gradually gains acceptance and influences the majority group's beliefs or behaviors - Majority group's perspective also influences the minority group - Traditionally, majority influence, opinion or norm influences the minority. - over time, as the minority group consistently presents their viewpoint and provides persuasive arguments or evidence → the majority group may gradually become more open to considering and adopting aspects of the minority perspective - influence goes both ways Example: conversations or debates with differing opinions or perspectives Over time, this interactive exchange of ideas and reciprocal influence can lead to a convergence or modification of beliefs and attitudes for both individuals. The majority opinion holder may adopt elements of the minority perspective or adjust their stance based on the persuasive arguments presented by the minority. Simultaneously, the minority perspective holder may refine their position and incorporate insights gained from engaging with the majority. interactive exchange of ideas and reciprocal influence can lead to a convergence or modification of beliefs and attitudes for both individuals. Depend on the individuals' openness, receptiveness, and the quality of arguments presented can impact the extent of influence = individuals with differing viewpoints engage in constructive dialogue and mutual learning 5 2. Two- process = Conversion Process: - When members of the majority group actively reevaluate their own beliefs and opinions in response to the minority's viewpoint and encounter a persuasive and consistent minority argument → a cognitive conflict or discrepancy between their existing beliefs and the new information presented by the minority. → leads to a process of cognitive restructuring or reevaluation, where individuals critically assess their own opinions and potentially shift their stance to align with the minority viewpoint. Example: There is a heated debate about climate change. A person who initially held indifference towards the issue encounters a series of well-researched and compelling arguments from experts, scientific evidence, and persuasive campaigns that emphasize the urgency of addressing climate change. As this person engages with the information and critically evaluates their own beliefs, the conversion process begins. They experience cognitive dissonance—a state of psychological discomfort caused by holding conflicting beliefs or attitudes. The persuasive information they encounter presents a discrepancy between their existing skepticism and the new evidence supporting climate change. = An individual encountering persuasive information that challenges their existing beliefs, leading to cognitive dissonance. Through cognitive restructuring and critical evaluation, they may undergo a change in attitude or belief. Key word: Majority influence ● ● ● ● The minority (the target) engages in social comparison Recognizes the majority norm Under majority pressure, avoids confrontation Immediate public compliance and delayed private rejection ● - Effective Minority influence Consistency : Disrupts the majority norm Draw attention to the minority Conveys the clear impression that there is an alternative coherent points Demonstrate certainty and unshakeable commitment Show that it is the only solution ● If the minority is treated by the majority as ingroup minority (but not outgroup minority) Experiment: ‘Blue-green’ studies 1. Confederate always consistent calling slides ‘green’ 2. Confederate always inconsistent calling slides ‘blue’ and ‘green’ = the consistency minority were more influential than the inconsistent minority 6 Other key terms 1. Conversion effect 轉立場 - When minority influence brings about a sudden internal change in the attitude of majority - How a member of the majority processes the minority’s messages A. Majority influence produces direct public compliance - People engage in comparison process to fit in with others - Majority influence are accepted passively → public compliance with majority views with little private attitude change B. Minor influence produce indirect private change in opinion due to cognitive conflict and restructuring - People engage in validation process -validity of their beliefs → little overt public agreement with the minority, for fear of being viewed as a member of the minority → a degree of private internal attitude change on surface later Convergent- Divergent theory 收斂-發散 - Majority or minority in influence - Exposure to minority views can stimulate innovation and creativity - ‘Stress & message processing’ = Majority- induced stress restricts message processing = Minority- induced stress elaborate message processing Hypothesis: Direction-of-attention Content-of- thinking Differential-influence Minory Cause people to focus on the minority message itself (message focus) Lead to detailed evaluation of arguments Produces more private/ indirect than public/ direct influence Majority Causes people to focus on their relationship to the majority (interpersonal focus) Lead to superficial Produces more public/ direct examination of arguments influence than private/ indirect = publicly expressed attitudes conformed to the expressed views of the majority → If the majority is pro gay → minority anti will also pro gay → while privately expressed attitudes shifted towards the minority 2. Attribution - The process of assigning a cause to our own behavior and others 3. Social impact - The effect that other people have on our attitude and behavior, usually as a consequence of factors such as group size, temporal and physical immediacy 7