Social Influence

• Compliance


  Agreeing with the group externally but keeping personal opinions, a temporary change in behavior
• Identification


  Behaving according to group membership, private values change only when with the group
• Internalization


  Personal opinions genuinely change to match the group, a permanent change
• Informational social influence (ISI)


  Looking to the majority for guidance on how to behave correctly, results in internalization
• Normative social influence (NSI)

  Wanting to appear normal and be approved by the majority, results in compliance
• Asch 1951 study found 32% of participants conformed to the incorrect group response</b>
• Jenness 1932 study found individuals' second private guesses moved closer to the group's guess, providing evidence for ISI
• Some people are more able to resist social pressure to conform


  • Those with an internal locus of control
• Conformity increases with group size and decreases with the presence of a dissenting voice
• Conformity increases when the task is more difficult, due to the role of ISI
• Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment showed how situational factors can cause people to conform to social roles
• Milgram's obedience studies showed how people will obey an authority figure, even when asked to do something morally wrong
• Agentic state


  The individual believes they don't have responsibility for their behavior as they are just following orders
• Legitimacy of authority


  The individual accepts that those higher in the social hierarchy should be obeyed
• Milgram found obedience decreased when the authority figure was not in a lab coat or uniform
• Bickman 1974 field study found 39% of people would pick up litter if asked by someone in a security guard uniform, but only 14% if asked by someone in regular clothes
• Milgram's study caused distress to participants and lacked ecological validity
• Adorno argued those with authoritarian personalities are more likely to obey
• Factors that help resist social influence

  • Social support, challenging authority, internal locus of control
• Minority influence


  Minorities attempt to change majority opinion through informational social influence, a slow process that can speed up through the snowball effect
• Characteristics of effective minority influence

  • Consistency, flexibility, commitment
• Social change often occurs due to minorities gradually converting the majority through the snowball effect
• In-group members are more influential than out-group members in changing opinions
• Governments can quickly drive social change by changing and enforcing laws