Learning Packet 3: Social Psychology PDF

3 | Social Psychology 27 UNIT 3: Social Influence 3.0 Learning Outcomes At the end of this module, students will be able to: 1. Recognize the different views of norms and roles 2. Discuss factors a...

3 | Social Psychology 27 UNIT 3: Social Influence 3.0 Learning Outcomes At the end of this module, students will be able to: 1. Recognize the different views of norms and roles 2. Discuss factors affecting people’s conformity, compliance and obedience 3. Create a material that could change people’s perception of a social phenomenon 3.1 Introduction So far in the previous modules we have considered mostly “within-the-skin” phenomena— how we think about one another. Now we consider “between-skins” happenings—how we influence and relate to one another. Therefore, in this module we will probe social psychology’s central concern: the powers of social influence. What are these unseen social forces that push and pull us? How powerful are they? Research on social influence helps illuminate the invisible strings by which our social worlds move us about. Social influence is the change in behavior that one person causes in another, intentionally or unintentionally, as a result of the way the changed person perceives themselves in relationship to the influencer, other people and society in general. Three areas of social influence are conformity, compliance and obedience. Conformity is changing how you behave to be more like others. This plays to belonging and esteem needs as we seek the approval and friendship of others. Conformity can run very deep, as we will even change our beliefs and values to be like those of our peers and admired superiors. Compliance is where a person does something that they are asked to do by another. They may choose to comply or not to comply, although the thoughts of social reward and punishment may lead them to compliance when they really do not want to comply. Obedience is different from compliance in that it is obeying an order from someone that you accept as an authority figure. In compliance, you have some choice. In obedience, you believe that you do not have a choice. Many military officers and commercial managers are interested only in obedience. The next four topics reveal these subtle powers, especially cultural influences, the forces of social conformity, the principles of persuasion, the consequences of participation in groups, and how all these influences operate together in everyday situations. Seeing these influences, we may better understand why people feel and act as they do. And we may ourselves become less vulnerable to unwanted manipulation and more adept at pulling our own strings. C. M. D. Hamo-ay  3 | Social Psychology 28 3.2 Discussion Social influence is the process by which an individual’s attitudes, beliefs or behavior are modified by the presence or action of others. From the norms and roles that were inculcated in us as we are all growing up as well as other areas covered in this lesson such as conformity, compliance and obedience, and minority influence have been a considered to be factors that have affected how we influence and relate to one another. Seeing these influences, we may better understand why people feel and act as they do. And we may ourselves become less vulnerable to unwanted manipulation and more adept at pulling our own strings. Norms and Roles There are many ways that people can influence our behavior, but perhaps one of the most important is that the presence of others seems to set up expectations. Social roles are the part people play as members of a social group. With each social role you adopt, your behavior changes to fit the expectations both you and others have of that role. On the other hand, social norms are unwritten rules about how to behave. They provide us with an expected idea of how to behave in a particular social group or culture. For example, we expect students to arrive to a lesson on time and complete their work. Definition of Norms and Roles Norms are rules for accepted and expected behavior. Such rules vary in cultures. They prescribe proper behavior. In short, norms describe what most other do and what is normal in a given culture. Role is a set of norms that defines how people in a given social position ought to behave. High and Low Status Roles. The status of the individual comes to see themselves as meriting favorable treatment or as capable of superior performance over those who have given inferior status of reality. Role Reversal. Playing new role allows people change themselves or empathize with people whose roles differ from their own. Role Conflict. Roles are set of norms so as norms are expectations on how one ought to behave. Several role conflicts necessitate its own method of resolution. 1. Conflict between Person and Role. Tension between one’s personality or attitudes and the expectations of one’s role. 2. Intrarole Conflict. Tension created by contradictory expectations about how a given role should be played. 3. Interrole Conflict. Tension between the requirements of two different roles that must be played at once. C. M. D. Hamo-ay  3 | Social Psychology 29 Gender Roles. A cluster of behavior that characterizes traditional female or male behaviors within cultural setting. Stereotypes are attached to gender roles for they are fixed, conventional ideas about a group of people that can give rise to prejudice and discrimination. Gender- the characteristics, whether biologically or socially influenced with which people define the state of being male and female. Gender role- a set of behavior expectations (norms) for males or females. Gender stereotype- is a fixed, conventional idea about how men and women ought to behave. Sex role- the set of behaviors, duties, and expectations attached in occupying a particular social position like professor or doctor. Sex and Gender Defined Sex as a biological term refers to the particular chromosomes that are carried in the cells of the body. Gender- is the social significance of sex. It refers to the constellation of characteristics and behaviors which come to be differentially associated with and expected man and women in a particular society, the notions of masculinity and femininity. Male and Female Roles Differentiated Plausible explanations for gender differences are based on biological influence and its interaction in culture. Psychological influences include the differences in cognitive functioning personality and social behavior. Biological Influence. Apruebo (2007) maintained sex hormones are responsible for the prenatal differentiation of sex organs. Sex hormones and chemical substances like GABA are responsible for the prenatal differentiation of sex organs. Three major hypotheses are presented as regards behavioral impact of biological sex differences as stated in the following: 1. Gender-role behavior is influenced by the prenatal hormonal environment. 2. Gender identity is determined not by chromosomes or hormonal influence but by rearing. 3. Sexual orientation is determined more by rearing than by chromosomal, gonadal, or hormonal factors. Psychological Influences. Include psychodynamic theory, identification theory, social- cognitive theory, and gender-schema theory. C. M. D. Hamo-ay  3 | Social Psychology 30 connects gender-typing with resolution of Psychodynamic theory Freud’s and Electra complexes. explains gender-typing in terms of observational learning, identification and/or imitation and socialization. Social-Cognitive theory explains gender-typing in terms of observational learning, identification and/or imitation and socialization. views gender identity as a knowledge of the distribution of behavior patterns into feminine Gender-Schema theory and masculine roles that motivate and guide the gender typing of the child. Sociobiological and Psychological Bases of Gender Role Variations Sociobiology, the study of the emergence of social behavior using the principles of evolutionary biology and its interaction with culture is accounted to the innumerable ways to the males and females’ roles. Psychological influences determine the nature of the differences of gender roles. o Sociobiological Based. Males have testes, females have ovaries. Males produce sperms females produce eggs. o Psychological Based. Focused on the differences between male and female roles involving cognitive differences, social learning theory, and gender schematic processing theory. Cognitive Differences. Strong stereotyped expected roles on the differences between males and females can be described in terms of mathematical, spatial, and linguistic abilities. ✓ Mathematical abilities- the stereotypes that males are better than females in math. ✓ Spatial abilities- another stereotype is that males have superior spatial activities over females. ✓ Linguistic differences-the stereotype holds that females have greater verbal abilities than males. Cognitive Developmental Theories. A person acquires his/her sex role through development that is the child knows that he or she is male or female. Three Progressive Stages During Early Childhood 1. Gender Labelling- the stage with which the child gradually becomes aware that he or she is a member of a particular sex. 2. Gender Stability- the stage with which the child gradually becomes aware of the durability of their own gender, and can predict accurately what the child sex will be when he/she grows up. C. M. D. Hamo-ay  3 | Social Psychology 31 3. Gender Consistency- the stage with which the child has to understand the permanency of gender. Social Learning Theories. Albert Bandura proposes that the child develops both gender identity and gender role via learning process that involves modelling, imitation, and reinforcement. Children learn what behaviors are gender-role appropriate via observation and imitation with adult and models as well as through trial and error in the children’s behavior. Exercise No. 5. Look around you, in your neighborhood. List down the names given to being girl, boy and LGBT and how an individual have lived with these labels given to them. Ex. Those named Intoy, Iday. Changing Gender Roles This implies that gender roles are converged on the differences between male and female behavior. Hoffman believed that sex differences may be expected to diminish as socialization practices accommodate to the reality of new adult roles. The ideology of the women’s liberation movement and the equal rights would bring changes on gender roles so that all persons can develop their own potentialities irrespective of sex. Myers pointed out the three ways that a society without gender roles are met as stated. 1. To socialize females to behave more as males are presumed to behave. 2. To achieve a society without gender roles would be to advocate the opposite. 3. To socialize all persons to develop both masculine and feminine traits so that they may draw upon whichever are appropriate in a given situation. This gender role is aptly called androgyny. Androgyny comes from the union of the Greek terms “andro” for man and “gyne” for woman with which it refers to the psychological merging of the masculine and feminine principles. Conformity, Compliance, Obedience Is conformity good or bad? That question has no scientific answer. Assuming the values most of us share, we can say that conformity is at times bad (when it leads someone to drive drunk or to join in racist behavior), at times good (when it inhibits people from cutting into a theater line), and at times inconsequential (when it disposes tennis players to wear white). The moral: We choose labels to suit our values and judgments. Labels both describe and evaluate, and they are inescapable. So let us be clear on the meanings of these labels: conformity, compliance, and obedience. C. M. D. Hamo-ay  3 | Social Psychology 32 When is conformity considered good? Bad? Give your own experience showcasing the advantages and disadvantages of conforming to others or the majority. Definition of Conformity, Compliance and Obedience Conformity is change in behavior or belief as the result of real or imagined group pressure. For example, when, as part of a crowd, you rise to cheer a game-winning goal, are you conforming? Maybe, maybe not. The key is whether your behavior and beliefs would be the same apart from the group. Would you rise to cheer the goal if you were the only fan in the stands? Compliance is conformity that involves publicly acting in accord with an implied or explicit request while privately disagreeing. This is insincere and outward conformity. For example, people comply primarily to reap a reward or avoid a punishment. If our compliance is to an explicit command, we call it obedience. Obedience is acting in accord with a direct order or command. Sometimes we genuinely believe in what the group has persuaded us to do. Let us consider this example, we may join millions of others in exercising because we accept that exercise is healthy. This sincere, inward conformity is called acceptance. Acceptance sometimes follows compliance; we may come to inwardly believe © Alex Gregory/ The New Yorker Collection/www.cartoonbank.com something we initially questioned, and just act it out. C. M. D. Hamo-ay  3 | Social Psychology 33 Exercise No. 6 Look for some classic conformity and obedience studies, these could be the studies you have included in your reviewed articles in LP1. Describe how these social psychologists/ social researchers have studied conformity in the laboratory. Explain what their findings reveal about the potency of social forces which affect conformity, compliance and obedience. Autokinetic phenomenon or Self (auto) motion (kinetic) is the apparent movement of a stationary point of light in the dark. Muzafer Sherif and others have used this technique to answer questions about people’s suggestibility thus lead to their notion of Norm Formation. In everyday life, the results of suggestibility are sometimes amusing. This results to social contagion, for example when one person coughs, laughs, or yawns, and others are soon doing the same. Just being around happy people can help us feel happier, a phenomenon that Peter Totterdell and his colleagues (1998) call “mood linkage.” Another form of social contagion is what Tanya Chartrand and John Bargh (1999) call “the chameleon effect.” The chameleon effect is our natural mimicry of others’ postures and language generally elicits liking— except when echoing others’ negative expressions such as anger. Copyright © 2010 American Scientist. Suggestibility on a mass scale appears as collective delusions—spontaneous spreading of false beliefs. Occasionally, this appears as “mass hysteria”—the spread of bodily complaints within a school or workplace with no organic basis for the symptoms. The Liberating Effects of Group Influence These classic experiments give us a negative view of conformity. But conformity can also be constructive. The heroic firefighters who rushed into the flaming World Trade Center towers were “incredibly brave,” but they were also “partly obeying their superiors, partly conforming to extraordinary group loyalty.” Perhaps you can recall a time you felt justifiably angry at an unfair teacher but you hesitated to object. Then one or two other students spoke up about the unfair practices, and you followed their example, which had a liberating effect. C. M. D. Hamo-ay  3 | Social Psychology 34 What Predicts Conformity? Conformity is highest when the group has three or more people and is unanimous, cohesive, and high in status. Conformity is also highest when the response is public and made without prior commitment. Let’s look at each of these conditions. 1. Group Size- a small group can have a big effect. Asch and other researchers found that 3 to 5 people will elicit much more conformity than just 1 or 2. The way the group is “packaged” also makes a difference. 2. Unanimity- several The percentage of passersby who imitated a group looking upward increased as group size experiments reveal that increased to 5 persons. Source: Data from Milgram, Bickman, & Berkowitz, 1969. someone who breaks a group’s unanimity deflates its social power. It’s difficult to be a minority of one; few juries are hung because of one dissenting juror. 3. Cohesion- is a “we feeling”; the extent to which members of a group are bound together, such as by attraction to one another. The more cohesive a group is, the more power it gains over its members. 4. Status- higher-status people tend to have more impact on others. Milgram (1974) reported that in his obedience experiments, people of lower status accepted the experimenter’s commands more readily than people of higher status. 5. Public Response- people conform more when they must respond in front of others rather than writing their answers privately. Likewise during elections, it is much easier to stand up for what we believe in the privacy of the voting booth than before a group. 6. Prior Commitment- once a people commit themselves to a position, they seldom yield to social pressure. Real umpires and referees rarely reverse their initial judgments. Why People Conform? There are two possibilities: A person may bow to the group (a) to be accepted and avoid rejection or (b) to obtain important information. Morton Deutsch and Harold Gerard (1955) named these two possibilities normative influence and informational influence. The first springs from our desire to be liked, and the second from our desire to be right. C. M. D. Hamo-ay  3 | Social Psychology 35 Normative influence is when conformity is based on a person’s desire to fulfill others’ expectations, often to gain acceptance. We want to be liked. The tendency to conform more when responding publicly reflects normative influence. Informational influence happens when conformity occurring when people accept evidence about reality provided by other people. Results from others’ providing evidence about reality. The tendency to conform more on difficult decision-making tasks reflects informational influence: We want to be right. Who Conforms? Among your friends, can you identify some who are “conformists” and others who are “independent”? Researchers have focused on three predictors: personality, culture, and social roles. Personality scores are poor predictors of specific acts of conformity but better predictors of average conformity. Trait effects sometimes seem strongest in “weak” situations where social forces do not overwhelm individual differences. Thus, personality predicts behavior better when social influences are weak. Although conformity and obedience are universal, different cultures socialize people to be more or less socially responsive. Like for example is the people who belong to the collectivist and individualistic culture. Social roles involve a certain degree of conformity, and conforming to expectations is an important task when stepping into a new social role. Persuasion Persuasion, whether it be education or propaganda, is everywhere—at the heart of politics, marketing, courtship, parenting, negotiation, evangelism, and courtroom decision making. Social psychologists therefore seek to understand what leads to effective, long- lasting attitude change. What factors affect persuasion? As persuaders, how can we most effectively “educate” others? Imagine that you are a marketing or advertising executive. Or imagine that you are a preacher, trying to increase love and charity among your parishioners. Or imagine that you want to restrain climate change, to encourage breast-feeding, or to campaign for a political candidate. What could you do to make yourself and your message persuasive? And if you are wary of being influenced, to what tactics should you be alert? Persuasion is everywhere. When we approve of it, we may call it “education.” C. M. D. Hamo-ay  3 | Social Psychology 36 What Paths Lead to Persuasion? To elicit action, a persuasive message must clear several hurdles. What is crucial, however, is not so much remembering the message itself as remembering one’s own thoughts in response. 2-WAYS TO PERSUASION 3.3.1.1 The Central Route occurs when interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts. When people are motivated and able to think about an issue, they are likely to take the central route to persuasion — focusing on the arguments. If those arguments are strong and compelling, persuasion is likely. If the message offers only weak arguments, thoughtful people will notice that the arguments aren’t very compelling and will counterargue. 3.3.1.2 The Peripheral Route occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues, such as a speaker’s attractiveness. It is when focusing on cues that trigger automatic acceptance without much thinking. In these situations, easily understood familiar statements are more persuasive than novel statements with the same meaning. C. M. D. Hamo-ay  3 | Social Psychology 37 Let’s take a look at this!!! These two routes to persuasion—one explicit and reflective, the other more implicit and automatic—were a forerunner to today’s “dual processing” models of the human mind. Central route processing often swiftly changes explicit attitudes. Peripheral route processing more slowly builds implicit attitudes, through repeated associations between an attitude object and an emotion. What are the Elements of Persuasion? Among the ingredients of persuasion explored by social psychologists are these four: (1) the communicator, (2) the message, (3) how the message is communicated, and (4) the audience. In other words, who says what, by what method, to whom? The Communicator (Who says) Social psychologists have found that who is saying something does affect how an audience receives it. It’s not just the message that matters, but also who says it. What makes one communicator more persuasive than another? ✓ Credibility (Believability) is when a credible communicator is perceived as both expert and trustworthy. However, an impact to persuasion of a non-credible person may correspondingly increase over time if people remember the message better than the reason for discounting it. This results to sleeper effect –a delayed impact of a message that occurs when an initially discounted message becomes effective, such as we remember the message but forget the reason for discounting it. PERCEIVED EXPERTISE PERCEIVED TRUSTWORTHINESS To be seen as knowledgeable on the Speech style (looked straight in the eye) topic When not trying to persuade the Speaks confidently audience, When people talk fast. C. M. D. Hamo-ay  3 | Social Psychology 38 ✓ Attractiveness and Liking pertains to having qualities that appeal to an audience. An appealing communicator (often someone similar to the audience) is most persuasive on matters of subjective preference. ✓ Many factors influence whom people are attracted to. They include physical attractiveness, proximity, similarity, and reciprocity. ✓ Attractive people will be more persuasive because they have characteristic that makes them more effective as communicators. What Is Said? The Message Content It matters not only who says something but also what that person says. Common sense could lead you to either side of these questions: 1. Is a logical message more persuasive—or one that arouses emotion? 2. Will you get more opinion change by advocating a position only slightly discrepant from the listeners’ existing opinions or by advocating an extreme point of view? 3. Should the message express your side only, or should it acknowledge and refute the opposing views? 4. If people are to present both sides—say, in successive talks at a community meeting or in a political debate—is there an advantage to going first or last? C. M. D. Hamo-ay  3 | Social Psychology 39 Reason versus Emotion When people listen, how do you think they get to be persuaded? It depends on the audience. Well-educated or analytical people are responsive to rational appeals. Thoughtful, involved audiences often travel the central route; they are more responsive to reasoned arguments. Uninterested audiences more often In experiments at Radboud University Nijmegen, humor travel the peripheral route; they are more enhanced people’s liking for products such as these. affected by their liking of the communicator. Other factors that would affect persuasion are enumerated below. The Effect of Good Feelings Messages also become more persuasive through association with good feelings. The Effect of Arousing Fear Messages can also be effective by evoking negative emotions. Example, by requiring cigarette makers to include graphic representations of the hazards of smoking on each pack of cigarettes, more than three dozen other governments have assumed—correctly, it turns out—that showing cigarette smokers the horrible things that can happen to smokers adds to persuasiveness. Experiments show that, often, the more frightened and vulnerable people feel, the more they respond Discrepancy Disagreement produces discomfort, and discomfort prompts people to change their opinions. Like for example, a communicator who proclaims an uncomfortable message may be discredited. People who disagree with conclusions drawn by a newscaster rate the newscaster as more biased, inaccurate, and untrustworthy. One-Sided versus Two-Sided Appeals Acknowledging the opposing arguments might confuse the audience and weaken the case. On the other hand, a message might seem fairer and be more disarming if it C. M. D. Hamo-ay  3 | Social Psychology 40 recognizes the opposition’s arguments. So, if your audience will be exposed to opposing views, offer a two-sided appeal. For optimists, positive persuasion works best (“The new plan reduces tuition in exchange for part-time university service”). For pessimists, negative persuasion is more effective (“All students will have to work part-time for the university, lest they pay out- of-state tuition”) Primacy versus Recency Effect People’s preconceptions control their interpretations. Moreover, a belief, once formed, is difficult to discredit, so going first could give voters ideas that would favorably bias how they perceive and interpret the second speech. Besides, people may pay more attention to what comes first. Then again, people remember recent things better. Primacy effect happens when an information presented first usually has the most influence. Recency effect happens when an information presented last sometimes has the most influence but is less common than primacy effects. Forgetting creates the recency effect (1) when enough time separates the two messages and (2) when the audience commits itself soon after the second message. How Is It Said? The Channel of Communication For persuasion, there must be communication. And for communication, there must be a channel: a face-to-face appeal, a written sign or document, a media advertisement. It is the way the message is delivered—whether face to-face, in writing, on film, or in some other way. To Whom Is It Said? The Audience Persuasion varies with who... says what... by what medium... to whom. Let’s consider two audience characteristics: age and thoughtfulness. Finally, it matters who receives the message. The age of the audience makes a difference; young people’s attitudes are more subject to change. What does the audience think while receiving a message? Do they think favorable thoughts? Do they counterargue? Were they forewarned? C. M. D. Hamo-ay  3 | Social Psychology 41 Persuasive Elements We can also analyze cult persuasion using the factors: Who (the communicator) said what (the message) to whom (the audience)? Successful cults typically have a charismatic leader—someone who attracts and directs the members. As in experiments on persuasion, a credible communicator is someone the audience perceives as expert and trustworthy—for example, as “Father” Moon. The vivid, emotional messages and the warmth and acceptance with which the group showers lonely or depressed people can be strikingly appealing: Trust the master, join the family; we have the answer, the “one way.” The message echoes through channels as varied as lectures, small-group discussions, and direct social pressure. Recruits are often young people under 25 years old, still at that comparatively open age before attitudes and values stabilize. Some are less educated people who like the message’s simplicity and find it difficult to counterargue. But most are educated, middle- class people who, taken by the ideals, overlook the contradictions in those who profess selflessness and practice greed, who pretend concern and behave callously. Group Influence Group interactions often have dramatic effects. Intellectuals hang out with other intellectuals, and they strengthen one another’s intellectual interests. Deviant youth hang out with other deviant youth, amplifying one another’s antisocial tendencies. But how do these groups affect attitudes? And what influences lead groups to make smart and dumb decisions? In this chapter, we consider three examples of such collective influence: social facilitation, social loafing, and deindividuation. These three phenomena can occur with minimal interaction (in what we call “minimal group situations”). Then we consider three examples of social influence in interacting groups: group polarization, groupthink, and minority influence. Then let us start with the first question below. What is A Group? Group dynamics expert Marvin Shaw (1981) argued that all groups have one thing in common: Their members interact. Therefore, he defines a group as two or more people who interact and who influence one another. For example, a pair of jogging companions, then, would indeed constitute a group. Different groups help us meet different human needs— 1. to affiliate (to belong to and connect with others) 2. to achieve, and 3. to gain a social identity C. M. D. Hamo-ay  3 | Social Psychology 42 Therefore, a group exists when two or more people interact for more than a few moments, affect one another in some way, and think of themselves as “us.” Social Facilitation: How are we affected by the presence of others? Social facilitation has been defined as the tendency of people to perform simple or well-learned tasks better when others are present. At present, it is defined as the strengthening of dominant (prevalent, likely) responses in the presence of others. Norman Triplett (1898), a psychologist interested in bicycle racing, noticed that cyclists’ times were faster when they raced together than when each one raced alone against the clock. “The bodily presence of another contestant... serves to liberate latent energy,” concluded Triplett. This social facilitation effect also occurs with animals. In the presence of others of their species, ants excavate more sand, chickens eat more grain, and sexually active rat pairs mate more often. Evaluation Apprehension Evaluation apprehension is an individual’s concern for how others are evaluating us. Nickolas Cottrell surmised that observers make us apprehensive because we wonder how they are evaluating us. Social Loafing: Do individuals exert less effort in a Group? Social loafing is the tendency for people to exert less effort when they pool their efforts toward a common goal than when they are individually accountable. A team tug-of-war provides one such example. French engineer Max Ringelmann found that the collective effort of tug-of-war teams was but half the sum of the individual efforts. Contrary to the presumption that “in unity there is strength,” this suggested that group members may actually be less motivated when performing additive tasks. Maybe, though, poor performance stemmed from poor coordination—people pulling a rope in slightly different directions at slightly different times. In this group condition, people were tempted to free-ride on the group effort. Free riders are people who benefit from the group but give little in return. So, when people are not accountable and cannot evaluate their own efforts, responsibility is diffused across all group members. Thus, when being observed increases evaluation concerns, social facilitation occurs; when being lost in a crowd decreases evaluation concerns, social loafing occurs. Deindividuation: When do people lose their sense of self in groups? Groups can generate a sense of excitement, of being caught up in something bigger than one’s self. It is harder to imagine a single rock fan screaming deliriously at a private rock concert, or a single police officer beating a defenseless offender or suspect. It’s in group C. M. D. Hamo-ay  3 | Social Psychology 43 situations that people are more likely to abandon normal restraints, to forget their individual identity, to become responsive to group or crowd norms—in a word, to become what Leon Festinger, Albert Pepitone, and Theodore Newcomb (1952) labeled deindividuated. Deindividuation means loss of self-awareness and evaluation apprehension and usually occurs in group situations that foster responsiveness to group norms, good or bad. But at what circumstances elicit this psychological state? Read on the following. ✓ Group Size- a group has the power not only to arouse its members but also to render them unidentifiable. Brian Mullen (1986) reported a similar effect associated with lynch mobs: The bigger the mob, the more its members lose self-awareness and become willing to commit atrocities, such as burning, lacerating, or dismembering the victim. People’s attention is focused on the situation, not on themselves. And because “everyone is doing it,” all can attribute their behavior to the situation rather than to their own choices. ✓ Anonymity- in Philip Zimbardo’s deindividuation research, anonymous women delivered more shock to helpless victims than did identifiable women. The Internet offers similar anonymity. Internet bullies who would never to someone’s face say, “Get a life, you phony,” will hide behind their anonymity. Analysis of 60 deindividuation studies, concluded that being anonymous makes one less self-conscious, more group-conscious, and more responsive to cues present in the situation, whether negative (Klan uniforms) or positive (nurses’ uniforms). ✓ Arousing and Distracting Activities- aggressive outbursts by large groups are often preceded by minor actions that arouse and divert people’s attention. Group shouting, chanting, clapping, or dancing serve both to hype people up and to reduce self- C. M. D. Hamo-ay  3 | Social Psychology 44 consciousness. Moreover, impulsive group action absorbs our attention. When we yell at the referee, we are not thinking about our values; we are reacting to the immediate situation. Sometimes. At other times we seek deindividuating group experiences— dances, worship experiences, team sports— where we can enjoy intense positive feelings and closeness to others. ✓ Diminished Self-Awareness- self-awareness is a self-conscious state in which attention focuses on oneself. It makes people more sensitive to their own attitudes and dispositions. Group experiences that diminish self-consciousness tend to disconnect behavior from attitudes. Self-awareness is the opposite of deindividuation. Researches revealed that unself-conscious, deindividuated people are less restrained, less self-regulated, more likely to act without thinking about their own values, and more responsive to the situation. Group Polarization: Do groups intensify our opinions? Group Polarization is a group-produced enhancement of members’ preexisting tendencies; a strengthening of the members’ average tendency, not a split within the group. Many conflicts grow as people on both sides talk mostly with like-minded others. Police brutality and mob violence demonstrate its destructive potential. Yet support-group leaders, management consultants, and educational theorists proclaim group interaction’s benefits, and social and religious movements urge their members to strengthen their identities by fellowship with like-minded others. Studies of people in small groups have produced a principle that helps explain both bad and good outcomes: Group discussion often strengthens members’ initial inclinations. This phenomenon is a tendency for group discussion to enhance group members’ initial leanings. Among several proposed theories of group polarization, two have survived scientific scrutiny. One deals with the arguments presented during a discussion called informational influence (influence that results from accepting evidence about reality). The other is how members of a group view themselves vis-à-vis the other members, an example of normative influence (influence based on a person’s desire to be accepted or admired by others). The information gleaned from a discussion mostly favors the initially preferred alternative, thus reinforcing support for it. C. M. D. Hamo-ay  3 | Social Psychology 45 Groupthink: Do Groups Hinder or Assist Good Decisions? According to Irving Janis, Groupthink refers to “the mode of thinking that persons engage in when concurrence-seeking becomes so dominant in a cohesive in-group that it tends to override realistic appraisal of alternative courses of action.” In work groups, team spirit is good for morale and boosts productivity, but when making decisions, close-knit groups may pay a price. Janis believed that the soil from which groupthink sprouts includes ✓ an amiable, cohesive group. ✓ relative isolation of the group from dissenting viewpoints. ✓ a directive leader who signals what decision he or she favors. Symptoms of Groupthink Janis identified eight groupthink symptoms. These symptoms are a collective form of dissonance reduction as group members try to maintain their positive group feeling when facing a threat. The first two groupthink symptoms lead group members to overestimate their group’s might and right. 1. An illusion of invulnerability. The groups Janis studied all developed an excessive optimism that blinded them to warnings of danger. 2. Unquestioned belief in the group’s morality. Group members assume the inherent morality of their group and ignore ethical and moral issues. 3. Rationalization. The groups discount challenges by collectively justifying their decisions. 4. Stereotyped view of opponent. Participants in these groupthink tanks consider their enemies too evil to negotiate with or too weak and unintelligent to defend themselves against the planned initiative. 5. Conformity pressure. Group members rebuffed those who raised doubts about the group’s assumptions and plans, at times not by argument but by personal sarcasm. 6. Self-censorship. To avoid uncomfortable disagreements, members withheld or discounted their misgivings. C. M. D. Hamo-ay  3 | Social Psychology 46 7. Illusion of unanimity. Self-censorship and pressure not to puncture the consensus create an illusion of unanimity. What is more, the apparent consensus confirms the group’s decision. 8. Mindguards. Some members protect the group from information that would call into question the effectiveness or morality of its decisions. Groupthink symptoms can produce a failure to seek and discuss contrary information and alternative possibilities. Both in experiments and in actual history, however, groups sometimes decide wisely. These cases suggest ways to prevent groupthink: upholding impartiality, encouraging “devil’s advocate” positions, subdividing and then reuniting to discuss a decision, seeking outside input, and having a “second-chance” meeting before implementing a decision. Research on group problem solving suggests that groups can be more accurate than individuals; groups also generate more and better ideas if the group is small or if, in a large group, individual brainstorming follows the group session. 3.3 References Apruebo, Roxel. (2009). Social psychology.Educational Publishing House, Inc. Macapagal, M.J., Ofreneo, M.P., Montiel, C.J. & Nolasco, J.M. (2017). Social psychology in the Philippine context. Ateneo de Manila University Press. Delamater, J. (2011). Social psychology (7th ed.). Cengage Learning. Franzoi, S. L. (2010). Social psychology. Brown and Benchmark Publishers, Inc. Watson, D. L., deBortali-Tregerthan, G., & Frank, J. (2010). Social psychology: science and application. Scott, Foresman, and Company. 3.4 Acknowledgment The images, tables, figures and information contained in this module were taken from the references cited above and google.com. C. M. D. Hamo-ay  3 | Social Psychology 47 Quiz No. 3: Social Influence Date: _______________ Name: _____________________________________Course, Year & Section: _____________ A. Identification. Please identify the concept/person/event being described in each item. 1. He argued that all groups have one thing in common: Their members interact. 2. This pertains to playing new role allows people change themselves or emphatize with people whose roles differ from their own. 3. This occurs when interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts. 4. It is highest when the group has three or more people and is unanimous, cohesive, and high in status. 5. This refers to refers to the psychological merging of the masculine and feminine principles. 6. It pertains to the characteristics, whether biologically or socially influenced with which people define the state of being male and female. 7. It is a change in behavior or belief as the result of real or imagined group pressure. 8. A quality of a communicator which is perceived as both expert and trustworthy. 9. It is a delayed impact of a message that occurs when an initially discounted message becomes effective, such as we remember the message but forget the reason for discounting it. 10. This is an individual’s concern for how others are evaluating us. 11. A team tug-of-war is a common example of ___________. 12. This means loss of self-awareness and evaluation apprehension and usually occurs in group situations that foster responsiveness to group norms, good or bad. 13. In work groups, it is good for morale and boosts productivity, but when making decisions, close-knit groups may pay a price. 14. A face-to-face appeal, a written sign or document, a media advertisement is an example of ________. 15. This creates the recency effect. B. Synthesize the following items below. Use short but concise explanation for each item. 1. State some persuasion and group influence principles that have been harnessed by new religious movements (“cults”). Extreme Persuasion: How Do Cults Indoctrinate? 2. Students working individually in a computer room would not be considered a group. Why or why not? 3. Discuss how group polarization happens in everyday life, school, community and even in the internet. C. M. D. Hamo-ay