PSYC 2000 Lecture Notes - Lecture 22: Group Polarization, Social Influence, Group Cohesiveness
Document Summary
Social psychology: branch of psychology concerned w how a person"s behavior, thoughts, and feelings are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. Social influence - how we are influenced by others. The ways in which a person"s thoughts, feelings, and behavior can be affected by others. Conformity - changing one"s own behavior to more closely match the actions of others. Asch"s classic study on conformity - comparing lines. Subjects often conformed (abt of the time) and gave the same wrong answer. Group size - increases as group size increases up to 4. Group is unanimous (lack of dissension) - even one dissenter significantly reduces conformity. Group observes one"s behavior - when behavior is not private, but publicly known. Culture - collectivist cultures tend to show more conformity than individualistic cultures. Other research has shown feelings of incompetence, insecurity, and low self- esteem all increase conformity. Normal social influence: a person"s desire to gain approval or avoid rejection.
