Social Influence

• Conformity


  A form of social influence where we change our beliefs and behaviours to fit in with others.
• Obedience


  Behaving as instructed.
• Situational factors


  External factors that influence the way we behave and how likely we are to conform.
• Majority influence


  The behaviour of a large group of people affects the behaviour of small groups of people. The behaviour of the larger group is adopted by the smaller group.
• Minority influence


  A small group of people can create a change in beliefs or behaviours of a larger group of people.
• Pro-social behaviour


  A social behaviour that benefits others.
• Anti-social behaviour


  A social behaviour that causes harm or upset to others.
• 3 types of conformity


  Compliance, identification, internalisation.
• Compliance


  Conforming publicly but continuing privately to disagree. It is the shallowest form of conformity.
• Identification


  A moderate form of conformity where they act the same as a group and share their beliefs and values to be accepted. It is temporary.
• Internalisation


  A deep form of conformity where they conform publicly and privately because they have internalised the beliefs and behaviours of the majority. It is permanent.
• Crowd behaviour


  Refers to people who have come together for a common purpose. They have a common identity and lose their sense of individuality and responsibility.
• Collective behaviour


  Refers to the behaviour of two or more people working together; more sophisticated and more pro-social.
• Crowd


  An assembly of individuals who take on the characteristics of others in the group to create one identity.
• Anonymity


  The individual acquires anonymity and yields to instincts they wouldn't normally if they weren't in a crowd. Because they are anonymous they lose their sense of self.
• Contagion


  Crowd behaviour is contagious, so much so that an individual sacrifices their personal interests.
• Suggestibility


  A weak version of brain washing. A loss of personal opinion as the individual becomes easily persuadable, and listens to and becomes fascinated by the leader of the group.
• The upside of a crowd

  e.g. in war where actions are seen as heroic. A large group can accomplish more things.
• Explanations for conformity


  Normative social influence and information social influence.
• Informational social influence


  When you believe the majority to be right so you look to them for information when you are unsure how to behave.
• Normative social influence


  When you want to be liked by the majority group so you change your behaviour to fit in, even if you don't agree with them.
• Deindividuation


  Where you lose your sense of individuality and become less aware of your own responsibility for your actions.
• Why might a crowd turn violent?

  Individuals experience deindividuation. They lose their sense of responsibility because they know the whole crowd will be judged for their actions rather than just them; so they may act violently.
• Effect of culture


  Social norms within a culture can affect collective behaviour.
• Collectivist culture


  The needs of a group are seen as more important than the needs of the individual, and the individuals in the society view themselves as interdependent.
• Individualist culture


  The needs of the individual are seen as more important than the needs of the group, and the individuals in the society view themselves as independent.
• Altruism


  Helping or showing concern for others without expecting reward. It could end up disadvantaging the person offering the help. People in collectivist cultures are generally more altruistic.
• Why do people obey unkind orders?

  They have been moved from an autonomous state (where they have power over their actions) to an agentic state (where they are acting as 'agents' for the authority figure and are therefore not responsible for their actions).
• Criticisms of situational factors - Free will vs determinism


  Themes focused on situational factors suggest our behaviours are simply determined by what is around us and we don't resist this. It doesn't take into consideration our ability to think and use our free will to make a decision about whether we follow the crowd.
• Criticisms of situational factors - Deindividuation


  Deindividuation does not always lead to violence. Research has shown that crowds don't necessarily become mindless and violent. People can feel part of a crowd and enjoy the atmosphere. It can lead to pro-social behaviour.
• Criticisms of situational factors - Obedience

  The situational theories don't explain why some people don't obey. The argument is deterministic because it assumes that everyone, given the right situation, would obey.
• Criticisms of situational factors - Conformity

  Not everyone conforms the same way. Psychologists often generalise results to all cultures. However research has shown that people in individualist cultures are less likely to conform than in collectivist cultures.
• Criticisms of situational factor - Cultural differences in pro- and anti-social behaviours


  Too much research into cultural differences in pro- and anti-social behaviour is done on children. As adults, they may act in a very different way and it could be that children's pro-social behaviour develops at different times in different cultures.
• Bickman's experiment 1 - Aim

  To examine if uniformed people acting out of role have more power than non-uniformed people.
• Bickman's experiment 1 - Sample

  153 adult pedestrians, average age 39. Opportunity sample. 57% female, 43% male.
• Bickman's experiment 1 - Design


  Field experiment on the streets of Brooklyn NY.
• Bickman's experiment 1 - Variables

  IV - uniform: civilian, milkman, guard

  DV - % obedience related to uniform

  IV - scenario: paper bag, dime, bus stop

  DV - % obedience related to scenario
• Bickman's experiment 1 - Procedure

  4 white males all aged 18-20, all similar physique. Conducted on week days. All wore the 3 uniforms and behaved the same way in each. The tasks: pick up a bag, give a dime, bus stop task.
• Bickman's experiment 1 - Results

  In every situation, participants more obedient to guard uniform. No significant difference between milkman and civilian.
• Bickman's experiment 1 - Conclusions

  Wearing a uniform gives people more power over other people's behaviour. The higher status a uniform is, the more power it has. Situational factors (uniform) have an effect of obedience.