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