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 Defining Social Psychology
• The scientific study of how a person’s
behavior, thoughts and feelings are
influenced by the real, imagined or implied
presence of others
 What differentiates Social Psychology
from other disciplines?
• Focus on social nature of
the individual person
Two assertions:
• Person is influenced by
social environment
• Individual actively construes
social situations – we do not
respond to environments as
they are but as we interpret
them to be
Defining Social Psychology
Social Influence
• The ways in which a person’s
behavior can be affected by
the presence of others
Social Cognition
• The ways in which people
think about other people
Social Interaction
• The positive and negative
aspects of people relating to
others
 Social Influence
• Social influence is the
process by which
attitudes, perceptions and
behaviours can be
affected by the real or
implied presence of
others.

Is social influence negative?

 Categories of Social Influence
Social Norms
• Rules or standards that are
understood by a group and that
guide behavior without the force
of laws
Conformity
• Changing one’s behavior to match
the responses or actions of others
(no pressure necessarily)
Compliance
• Changing one’s behavior in
response to a direct request
Goals of Social Influence
People yield to social
influence to achieve
one or more of three
basic goals:
1. to choose correctly and
behave effectively (to
be right)
2. to gain social approval
(to be liked)
3. to manage self-image
Social Norms
Social norms – rules and
standards that are understood
by a group and that guide
behavior without the force of
laws
– Emerge out of interaction
with others
– May or may not be stated
explicitly
– Sanctions are not legal but
come from disapproval within
social networks
What are examples of
social norms in the
Philippines?
Can norms be
maladaptive?
 Formation and Transmission of Norms
Formation
1. Value to society – importance
of reinforcement
e.g., dress code for JG SOM
2. Function – survival
e.g., sibling incest avoidance
Transmission
• Active instruction
• Demonstrations
• Storytelling, rituals
• Nonverbal behavior
Research on Social Norms
2 Muzafer Sherif (1935)
Autokinetic paradigm/effect
(how groups form norms)
• “the group must be right”
• Contact with others influences
our immediate perceptions of
reality
 Conformity
• Change own position to
a contradictory position
because of presence of
others
• Perceived or real
pressure
Asch’s Research on Conformity
Which of the lines on the left most closely
matches line A on the right?

What would you say if

you were in a group
of 6 others, and all
agreed the answer
was 3?
1 2 3 A
Asch’s Research on Conformity
• When alone, 95% of
participants got all the
answers correct
• But 75% went against their
own eyes at least once if the
group gave a wrong answer
• People faced with strong
group consensus sometimes
go along even though they
think the others may be
wrong
 Why do people conform?
• To be right
– Consensus implies
correctness
• To be liked
– Easier to get along with
the group
• To clarify who we are
– Being different from
group makes us feel bad
about ourselves
Factors that influence Conformity
1.Unanimity of majority
2.Group cohesion (may lead
to groupthink)
3.Private responses
4.Prior commitment
5.Task difficulty
6.Size of group
 Groupthink
• Thinking that occurs
when people place
more importance on
maintaining group
cohesiveness than on
assessing the facts of
the problem with
which the group is
concerned
Characteristics of Groupthink
• Invulnerability
• Rationalization
• Lack of introspection
• Stereotyping
• Pressure
• Lack of disagreement
• Self-deception
• Insularity
 Compliance
• Particular kind of
response –
acquiescence - to a
request
• Changing one’s
behavior as a result of
other people directing
or asking for change
• May be implicit or
explicit
Principles that increase Compliance

1. Authority
2. Social validation and
Social Proof
3. Scarcity
4. Affiliation
5. Reciprocity
6. Consistency and
Commitment
 Milgram’s Authority-Obedience
Experiments
• Most published experiment
in obedience studies in
social psychology
• 65% of participants gave
maximum voltage (450
volts)
• Results demonstrate the
influence of orders from
authority
Increasing Compliance
• Authority Rule: one should be
more willing to comply to the
suggestions of a legitimate
authority
• Social Validation rule: one
should be more willing to
comply to a request if it is
consistent with what similar
others are thinking or doing.
– “List Technique”
 Increasing Compliance
• Scarcity Rule: One should try to
seek those opportunities that are
scarce or dwindling
– Psychological reactance
– Censorship
• Affiliation Rule: one should be
more willing to comply to a
request of friends or other liked
individuals
• Physical attractiveness,
similarity, liking, compliments,
cooperation
Increasing Compliance
• Reciprocity: effective societies
depend on the obligation of an
individual returning the form of
behavior that he or she has
received from another
– “That’s not all Technique”
• Consistency Rule: after making
a commitment to a position,
one should be more willing to
comply to a request that is
consistent with that position
 Choose a current issue in the
Philippines 
How is social influence played out
in this particular issue?
Cite negative and positiove
consequences of social influence
in relation to this issue 
 Commitment Techniques
• The Foot-in-the-Door Technique
• The Low-Ball Technique
• The Bait and Switch Technique
• Labeling Technique
TACTIC FIRST STEP SECOND
STEP
Foot-in-the-
Door Gain Target’s
Compliance With a
Small Request

example:
“Would you sign a
petition to support
Gawad Kalinga
build homes?
 TACTIC FIRST STEP SECOND STEP

Foot-in-the-
Door Make A
Gain Target’s
Compliance With Related,
a Small Request Larger
Request

“Would you
Would you sign
work for 2
a petition to
wks. For GK
support GK
to build
build homes?
homes?”
 TACTIC SECOND
FIRST STEP
STEP

Get an
Agreement to a
Specific
Low-Ball Arrangement

Get Customer to
Agree to Buy a
New Car for P
800,000
TACTIC FIRST STEP SECOND STEP

Get an
Agreement to a Change The
Specific Terms of The
Arrangement Arrangement
Low-Ball

Get Customer to “Oh, you

Agree to Buy a wanted tires
New Car for P and seats?
800,000 Then that’ll be
P 1 M.”
TACTIC FIRST STEP SECOND STEP

Advertise a Low
Price on a New
Cellphone

Bait and
Switch
Spur The Target
to Take a Course
of Action
TACTIC FIRST STEP SECOND STEP

“That cellphone
Advertise a Low is junk, but
Price on a New just P 9000
Cellphone more buys this
beauty!”

Bait and
Switch Describe
Spur The Target Course as
to Take a Course Unwise, Sugg
of Action est
Alternative
TACTIC FIRST STEP SECOND STEP

“You Are A
Very Generous
Person!”

Assign The
Target a Trait
Label
Labeling
TACTIC FIRST STEP SECOND STEP

“Say, Can You

“You Are A Very Contribute to
Generous Gawad
Person!” Kalinga ?”

Seek
Assign The Compliance
Target a Trait With a Label-
Labeling Label Consistent
Request
Effects of Others on Task Performance
SOCIAL FACILITATION
• The tendency for the presence of
other people to have a positive
impact on the performance of an
easy task
– Social impairment: negative
influence
SOCIAL LOAFING
• The tendency for people to put less
effort into a simple task when
working with others on that task
Bangun Lingkungan Lebih baik
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