Social Influence (Chapter 8)

Transcription

1 Social Influence (Chapter 8)

2 The lighter side of conformity

3 And the darker side. Reverend James Jones David Koresh

4 Fundamental attribution error, redux.

5 Critical issue: internalized vs. non-internalized influence

6 Three historic distinctions Conformity Compliance Obedience

7 Classic studies Sherif (1935) Autokinetic effect Saccadic eye movements Method: Phase I (private) Phase II (public)

8 Private trials Public trials Trial 1 Trial 110

9 Important aspects of Sherif (1935) Highly ambiguous Guessing Compromise Re-test FULL YEAR later (in private) Suggests internalization

10 Asch (1951) Original goal: to critique Sherif (1935)

11 TEST A B C

12 Details of results for 12 critical trials Percentage of total sample 24% 33% 15% 17% 11% Number of times (out of 12) Ss conformed

13 Implications/summary conformity surprisingly high given Unambiguous Strangers Low stakes for being wrong Asch s original hunch WRONG

14 What about individual differences? 24% participants in Asch (1951) NEVER conformed why? social vs. personality psychology

15 Informational vs. normative social influence Informational social influence Need to know what s right Arises when correct answer ambiguous (e.g. Sherif, 1935) Crisis situation (e.g. War of the Worlds) Importance of task should generally increase conformity Normative social influence Need to be accepted Correct answer relatively unambiguous (e.g. Asch, 1951) Importance of task should generally decrease conformity

16 Baron, Vandello, & Brunsman (1996) Person A Person A* Person B Person C Person D Actual perpetrator line-up presented on computer Task difficulty: 5 seconds (EASY) vs. 500 milliseconds (HARD) Task Importance (high vs. low) PA PB PC PD.

17 Number of conforming trials 5 Results Hard task (fast exposure) 0 Easy task (slow exposure) LOW HIGH IMPORTANCE OF CORRECT IDENTIFICATION

18 Summary of Baron et al. When correct answer unclear (ambiguous) Informational social influence Conformity higher when important When correct answer clear (unambiguous) Normative social influence Conformity lower when task is important

19 Milgram (1965) Slight (0-240) Intense ( volts) Extreme intensity ( volts) Danger: severe shock ( volts) XXX ( volts) Initial prediction study Psychiatrists: predict that 1 out of 1,000 would go to highest level Results of main study: In actuality, 65% go to highest level

20 Why did American soldiers commit abuses at Abu Ghraib and record their crimes on film? For "psy-op reasons," according to Private Lynndie England (above), who insists that she was following orders from "persons in my higher chain of command." Psychological, moral, and legal implication of Milgram study: abuses at Abu Ghraib

21 Social influence and body image Two issues #1 Variance in societal standards for beauty 1a. Variation across cultures 1b. Variation over time, within culture

22 Variation across 54 cultures (Anderson, 1994) high Preference for heavy body Preference for thin body low Low (unreliable) Food supply in that culture High (reliable)

23 Variation over time, within culture: United States

24 Mean bust-to-waist ratio (high #s = heavier, more voluptuous body type)

25 Issue #2: Do idealized images of feminine beauty have a causal (negative) impact on your body satisfaction?

26 Allison Hinkamper s dissertation priming manipulation thin ideal images control images (1) control images (2)

27 Self-reported mood after exposure to images 1.7 ratings of dejection/negative affect 1.6 Estimated Marginal Means inanimate objects people "thin ideal" PRIME

28 r =.00.28* Dejection -.21* Priming /negative manipulation mood Self-rated satisfaction with body A classic mediated effect: (a) presentation of thin ideal leads to increase in dejection, (b) higher levels of dejection associated with lower levels of body image

29 Research on culture ideals for male body type

30 Much less attention Research on men More heterogeneous ideal compared to women, but.. Evidence for increased emphasis on musculature Clever study by Pope et al. (2000)- The Adonis Complex +28 lbs muscle computer-generated image of self Actual Self-ideal Image that they guessed women would find attractive In actuality, women tended to prefer actual/typical physique Other studies show parallel effects for women, in terms of thinness.

31 Power of propaganda

32 propaganda vs. ordinary advertising

33 Some techniques of propaganda generation Appeal to fear Conditioning (association) Stereotyping/scapegoating Direct order

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35 When will people show normative social influence? Social impact theory Strength, immediacy, number Collectivist vs. individualist cultures Self esteem Gender

36 Resisting normative social influence

37 Minority influence Tyranny of the Asch position among American psychologists? Serge Moscovici Mechanisms

38 A closer look at norms Injunctive vs. descriptive norms Reno, Cialdini, & Kallgren (1993)

39 Parking Garage initial state: already littered vs. clean Participant s car (with handbill attached to windshield) confederate One of three types of behavior (nothing, drops fast food bag, picks up fast food bag) participant

40 Summary of design Two independent variables 1. Behavior of confederate Control Descriptive norm activated (drop bag) Injunctive norm activated (pick up bag) 2. General Cleanliness of setting Littered vs. clean Dependent variable what do Ss do with handbill attached to windshield?

41 Probability of littering (handbill) Prior condition of environment clean littered Control Descriptive (litters) Injunctive (picks up) Norm made salient by confederate

42 More complex issue National park anecdote Non-linear relation between amount of preexisting litter and probability that you will litter Suggests that strong injunctive norms can, ironically, be triggered by small amounts of litter But as litter increases, this trend is reversed

43 Probability that participant will litter high low control One piece of litter in otherwise pristine setting Lots of litter