PSGY1012: SOCIAL

PSYCHOLOGY
Lecture 4: Social Influence

Dr. Eun Hee Lee

[email protected]
Reading this
week…

Chapter 7 of

Social Psychology

Hogg & Vaughan

Today we will ….
Consider these questions about social influence:
 What is social influence?
 What are social norms and where do they come from?
 When do we conform to the group?
 What is obedience and what makes us obedient?
 Minority influence
Defining Social Influence

What is social influence?

Process whereby attitudes and behaviour are influenced by
the real or implied presence of other people.
-Hogg and Vaughan (2011)
Social Norms

What are social norms?

Rules and standards that are understood by members of a
group and that guide and/or constrain social behaviour
without the force of laws. These norms emerge out of
interaction with others, they may or may not be stated
explicitly, and any sanctions for deviating from them come
from social networks, not the legal system.

-Cialdini and Trost (1998), p.152

Social norms affect us all the time!
Social Norms
Discuss among yourselves:
 Which social norms are you aware of in the groups
to which you belong?
 How do they affect you?
  Social norms are essential to the successful
functioning of our society.
Why do we have  What do you think would happen without
social norms? them?
 But why might they be useful to the
individual?
 Why do we have social norms?
Sherif (1936):
 Social
norms emerge to guide behaviour in conditions of
uncertainty.
 Weuse the behaviour of others to establish the range of
possible behaviour – a frame of reference.
 We assume that central positions in the frame of reference
are more correct than fringe positions.
 Sherif tested his theory using autokinesis
Why do we have
social norms?
(1936):
 Autokinesis is an optical illusion in which a
pinpoint of light shining in complete darkness
appears to move.
 Sherif tested his theory using autokinesis
Why do we have
social norms?
(1936):
 People
are asked to estimate the light’s
movement.
 They are uncertain and try to find a frame of
reference.
 Ifa small group hears each others’ estimates
their estimates become more and more
similar.
Why do we have social norms?
Why do we have social norms?
Sherif tested his theory using autokinesis
(1936):
 The norm is internalised – they continue
using the group value even when they’re on
their own.
Would you sit in a burning room
because everyone else is?
Other people’s behaviour can influence ours even in an emergency:
http://youtu.be/vjP22DpYYh8?t=50s

Watch how these

participants respond as
smoke begins to fill the
room.
 How do they react if they
are alone?
 How do they react in a
group?
Would you sit in a burning room
because everyone else is?
 Another example…
Why people often go along with beliefs/practices they
know full well are wrong…
 What if there is no uncertainty?
What if there is no (or very little) ambiguity? What if the correct response is
obvious?
 Asch (1951) tested this by asking people to judge the length of lines.
 Alone only 1% of participants made errors. But …

In a group of 6 where 5 others

sometimes gave wrong answers:
25% stay independent (uninfluenced)
50% conform most of the time
5% conform all the time
Average conformity: 33% https://www.youtube.com/wat
ch?v=TYIh4MkcfJA
 Two Types of Conformity
Informational: Normative:
• Ambiguous / uncertain situations. • Need for social approval and
• Need to feel confident our acceptance.
perceptions/beliefs/feelings correct. • Avoid disapproval.
• Accept info from another as
evidence about reality. Surface compliance.

True cognitive change.

Sherif’s study: Asch’s study:

Informational influence Normative influence
• Ambiguous  uncertainty  • Unambiguous; go along with
use others’ estimates as group; especially when under
information to resolve subjective surveillance
uncertainty 19
What reduces conformity?
Asch conducted many variations of the same experiment:
 Ifhe asked the participant to write down their answers (which
meant they could avoid disapproval) conformity dropped to
12.5%
 If one other person in the group gives the correct response
conformity drops to ~5% (a lot)
 !!Participants deny the other person’s influence.!!
 If there is less unanimity (when there’s variation)
 Other group members saying they aren’t sure or giving a
different incorrect answer reduces conformity
What increases conformity?
Asch found conformity increased if:
 More people unanimously say the wrong answer (although
some researchers argue that conformity is already at
maximum with 5 people)
 If the decision/judgement being made is more uncertain.
Obedience
A Definition of Obedience:

Compliance with an order, request, or law or

submission to another’s authority.
- Oxford English Dictionary
Would you torture
someone to death if I
asked you to?
Obedience to authority
(Milgram, 1963): Milgram was
bored with studies like Asch’s.
He wanted to do something
big... and he did.

How many of you would torture

someone to death if you
weren’t forced to and the
victim’s only crime was
forgetting something?
 Milgram (1963) asked a panel of 110 experts including 39
Would you torture psychiatrists a similar question.

someone to death if I They predicted that only 10% of people would give a shock
above 180V and nobody would use 450V (kill).
asked you to?
Would you torture someone to death
if I asked you to?
Obedience to authority (Milgram, 1963):

So what did happen?

http://youtu.be/fCVlI-_4GZQ?t=31s

65% of participants
(regular 20-50 year old men
from the local community)
“killed” the person they
were teaching.
Would you torture someone to death
if I asked you to?
Adapted from Hogg & Vaughan (2014, p.243)

% participants obeying experimenter

Would you torture someone to death
if I asked you to?
Variations of Milgram’s (1963) study:
Immediacy of ‘victim’/’learner’:
 Ifthe learner could not be seen or heard (except for banging on
the wall), 100% of participants killed (high obedience).
 Ifthe participant had to force the learner’s hand onto the
electric shock pad, 30% killed (still very high!)
Immediacy of authority figure:
 If the authority figure instructed by phone, 20% killed.
 If no additional instructions were given, 2% killed.
Would you torture someone to death
if I asked you to?
Variations of Milgram’s (1963) study:
Obedient/disobedient peers (similar to Asch’s study)
 Iftwo peers refuse to give shocks after 150V, then 10% of
participants obey until they ‘kill’ the learner.
 Iftwo peers obey and kill the learner, then 92% of
participants kill.
Level of authority:
 Milgram used lab-coated scientists at prestigious Yale. He
ran one study in a run down inner-city office and said it was
a private firm; 48% killed.
But would that
happen today?
BBC replication

 http://youtu.be/0gPYCRfHg3
Q?t=7m25s

Psychologists can’t
repeat Milgram’s study
due to ethical concerns.

But TV shows can!

Why do people obey?
Agentic state (Milgram, 1963):
 People transfer responsibility to the person giving orders.

Socialisation
 People may have a natural tendency to respect authority, which can be amplified
by socialization.

‘Foot in the door’ Phenomenon

 Shocks start small – once committed to a course of action people continue even
if the costs increase dramatically (Fox & Hoffman, 2002).
Why do people obey?
An alternative explanation (Reicher, 2000):
 Peoplein a highly ambiguous situation try to frame their
behaviour as a positive good.
 They choose between two moral goals.
1) They were participating in a serious Yale experiment; they were
moving science forward.
2) Vs. the other participant’s safety
Are you immune
or at risk?
Individual characteristics
 Therehas been research into which characteristics
make you more likely to obey (e.g., authoritarian
personality, low group status, anxiety, etc.).
Cultural norms
 Thereis considerable intercultural variation.
Collectivist cultures and cultures that punish non-
conformity have higher conformity rates (Bond &
Smith, 1996). But even in cultures where non-
conformity is valued, conformity is high.
Exaggerating Obedience?
Exaggerating
Obedience?
• This doesn't debunk
the Milgram studies
exactly, but it does
suggest that they
exaggerate the extent
to which people
slavishly obey
authority.
Obedience vs. Conformity
Obedience Conformity
 Occurs within a hierarchy.  Regulates the behaviour among
those of equal status.
 Emphasis is on power.  Unanimity of majority is
 People believe authority figure important.
has right to tell them what to do.  Emphasis is on acceptance of
 Behaviouradopted is different group.
from behaviour of authority  Behaviour adopted is similar to
figure. peers
 People deny conformity is
 People
are aware they have
reason for behaviour.
obeyed.
Can minority groups
influence?
An individual or minority can change the views and
behaviours of the majority. How?
Most effective style is to be:
 Consistent across time and context
 Demonstrate investment (commitment) by
making sacrifices for their view & opinions
 Show autonomy (independence) by acting out of
principle (not for pay or other rewards)
 Do not act rigidly or dogmatically
Can minority groups influence?
Conversion theory (Moscovici, 1980)
Majority influence:
 Produces public compliance due to informational or normative
dependence.
 Majority views are accepted passively without much thought.
Minority influence:
 Deviant (different) ideas force people to carefully examine and think
over the validity of their beliefs.
 They may not publically agree with minority but they may be converted
and change their internal attitudes.
Summary We’ve just heard that we are at risk of:
 Conforming because we are uncertain
or because we want to avoid
disapproval.
 …andgiving away responsibility to
authority and obeying without question.
 Atthe same time, we’ve heard that
individuals and people with minority
views can make a difference.
 What are you going to do with this
information other than study it for an
exam?
Next Week: People in Groups