PSYC10004 Lecture Notes - Lecture 16: Stanley Milgram, Normative Social Influence
28 Jun 2018
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LECTURE 16 – SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 7 – SOCIAL INFLUENCE
TYPES OF SOCIAL INFLUENCE
Normative – to conform with the expectation of others, to gain social approval or to avoid
disapproval
oBecause you HAVE to
oDoing it b/c people demanding you to FORCED
Informative – to accept information from others as evidence about reality
oWant to do it b/c people giving me info that convinces me to do it
oThe RIGHT thing to do
Majority – when a number of group members behave in a certain way, one tends to behave
in a similar fashion
oGreater number of people = stronger social influence
Minority – even if there is a strong majority, a consistent minority in group can affect
group members’ attitudes and behaviour
MAJORITY SOCIAL INFLUENCE
Conformity – social influence that involves a change in behaviour, in order to fit in/belong
into a group
Asch’s Experiment – perceptual discrimination experiment
o7-9 people chose one from three lines that has the same length as the standard
oOnly one true participant rest were confederates (made erroneous choices)
naïve subject conformed
oSituational characteristics = number of people MOST POWERFUL, STRONG EFFECTS
BUT hits a certain level and doesn’t increase
oCultural differences – collectivism – more conformity
oEven having an incompetent (i.e. visually impaired) supporter was enough to reduce
conformity
MINORITY SOCIAL INFLUENCE
Not all that powerful
If all social influence, is majority influence no social change is possible BUT obviously social
change does occur
Consistent minority
oDisrupts majority norm increases uncertainty
oDraws attention to minority as an entity
find more resources at oneclass.com
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Document Summary
Lecture 16 social psychology 7 social influence. Normative to conform with the expectation of others, to gain social approval or to avoid disapproval: because you have to, doing it b/c people demanding you to forced. Informative to accept information from others as evidence about reality: want to do it b/c people giving me info that convinces me to do it, the right thing to do. Majority when a number of group members behave in a certain way, one tends to behave in a similar fashion: greater number of people = stronger social influence. Minority even if there is a strong majority, a consistent minority in group can affect group members" attitudes and behaviour. Conformity social influence that involves a change in behaviour, in order to fit in/belong into a group. But hits a certain level and doesn"t increase: cultural differences collectivism more conformity, even having an incompetent (i. e. visually impaired) supporter was enough to reduce conformity.
