Conformity, Compliance and Obedience: Understanding the Psychology of Social Influence, Lecture notes of Behavioural Science

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CONFORMITY, COMPLIANCE,

OBEDIENCE

CONFORMITY & OBEDIENCE

Behavior is contagious,

modeled by one followed by

another. We follow the

behavior of others to conform.

Conformity: adjusting one’s

behavior or thinking to group

standard

• Chameleon Effect

CONDITIONS THAT INFLUENCE CONFORMITY

Size of the group

• More people, more likely to conform (3+) Status of the group
• Lower status in a group, more likely to conform Observation of the group
• If decision is private or anonymous, less likely to conform Unanimity of the group
• Greater conformity when all in group agree.

REASONS FOR CONFORMITY

Normative Social Influence

• Want to avoid rejected or gain social approval, so we

follow norms

Informative Social Influence

• B/c group may provide valuable info, want to accept

opinions of others– especially for tough decisions.

COMPLIANCE CONT..

Foot-in-the-door phenomenon

• Tendency for people who agree to a small request to comply with a larger one

Door-in-the-face phenomenon

• Asking first for a big favor then after being turned down, asks for something less.

Low-Ball Approach

• Obtain oral consent for low price then raise price

OBEDIENCE

Change in behavior in response to the command of someone in a position of authority Stanley Milgram Shock Experiment. (1961)

MILGRAM’S STUDY: RESULTS

Why did participants obey?

• Most rationalized their obedience because they felt that the experimenter was ultimately responsible for what happened

Influence on obedience

• Prestige
• Presence of others who disobey
• Personality characteristics