SOCIAL INFLUENCEMary Anne A. Portuguez

Masters in Industrial Psychology

IN SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, It is defined as the process

whereby attitudes and behavior are influenced by the real or implied presence of other people.

Area of social psychology that explores how people are affected by the real or imagined pressure of other individuals or groups

The process by which the actions of an individual or group affect the behavior of others

CATEGORIES/FORMS OF SOCIAL INFLUENCE

Obediencecompliance that occurs as a result of a direct request

Compliancebehavior change that occurs as a result of a direct request

Conformitybehavior change designed to match the actions of others

Persuasion refers to change in private attitudes and beliefs and which may not necessarily lead to behavior change.

SOCIAL INFLUENCE VS. PERSUASION

 CONFORMITY: WHEN AND WHY

My Lain Massacre in VietnamUnder strong social pressure, individuals will conform to the group, even when this means doing something immoral.

Steve HassanDevoted himself to the Unification Church

INFORMATIONAL SOCIAL INFLUENCE

The need to know what is right the influence of other people that leads us

to conform because we see them as a source of information to guide our behavior; we conform because we believe that others’ interpretation of an ambiguous situation is more correct than ours and will help us choose an appropriate course of action

Muzafer Sheriff’s Experiment

Private acceptance, conforming to other people’s behavior out of a genuine belief that what they are doing or saying is right

Public compliance, conforming to other people’s behavior publicly, without necessarily believing in what we are doing or saying

WHEN WILL PEOPLE CONFORM TO INFORMATIONAL SOCIAL INFLUENCE?

When the situation is ambiguous

When the situation is a crisis When other people are expert  Resisting informational social

influence

 NORMATIVE SOCIAL INFLUENCE

The need to be accepted occurs when the influence of other people

leads us to conform in order to be liked and accepted by them

Social Norms The implicit or explicit rules a group has

for the acceptable behaviors, values, and beliefs of its members

CONFORMITY AND SOCIAL APPROVAL  Why did people conform so much

of the time?

Normative Social Influence It usually result in public

compliance without private acceptance—people go along with the group even if they do not believe in what they are doing or think it is wrong.

 NORMATIVE SOCIAL INFLUENCE IN EVERYDAY LIFE

When will people conform to normative social influence?

Bibb Latané’s (1981) social impact theory

(1)Strength(2) immediacy(3)number

CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH PEOPLE WILL CONFORM TO NORMATIVE SOCIAL PRESSURES:

When the group is three or more When the group is important When one has no allies in the

group When the group’s culture is

collectivistic When people have low self-esteem Gender differences in conformity

USING SOCIAL INFLUENCE TO PROMOTE BENEFICIAL BEHAVIOR 

The Role of Injunctive Norms and Descriptive Norms

Injunctive norms are people’s perceptions of what behaviors are approved or disapproved of by others.

Descriptive norms are people’s perceptions of how people actually behave in given situations, regardless of whether the behavior is approved or disapproved of by others.

COMPLIANCE: REQUESTS TO CHANGE YOUR BEHAVIOR

Compliance a change in behavior due to a direct

request from another person

Mindless Conformity obeying internalized social norms

without deliberating about one’s actions

OBEDIENCE TO AUTHORITY

Victims of HolocaustStanley Milgram ExperimentThe Role of Normative Social

InfluenceThe Role of Informational Social

Influence 

OTHER REASONS WHY WE OBEY

Conforming to the wring norm Self-justification It is not about aggression