PSYC 308 Chapter 7: Chapter 7 Conformity.docx
Document Summary
Conformity: a change in behaviour as a result of the real or imagined influence of other people. People conform because of informational and normative social influences. Informational social influence: the need to know what"s right . People as a source of information, and choose appropriate courses of action for themselves. Auto kinetic affect: visual illusion; if you stare at a bright light ina uniformly dark environment, the light will appear to waver occurs because you have no stable reference point to anchor the position of the light. People are more likely to conform to informational social influence when the situation is ambiguous, a crisis or if experts are present. Contagion: a rapid transmission of emotions or behaviours through a crowd. Using other people as a source of information can backfire when they are wrong about what"s going on. For example, mass psychogenic illness the toxic bus case , Contagion: mass media plays an important role.
