PSYC 100 Chapter Notes - Chapter 19: Social Exchange Theory, Groupthink, Scott Beach

• School: Queen's University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 100
• Professor: Caroline F Pukall

Document Summary

Conformity- adjusting one"s attitudes and behaviours to coincide with a group norm. Answering people in the language they used to address you, obeying traffic laws, and waiting in line are all instances of conformity that seem necessary for normal social interaction. People often conform because they believe that several people are more knowledgeable than one, or because they fear the consequences of appearing deviant. We calculate costs and benefits, and may decide that getting along in a group of strangers might be more important than being correct about the length of a line. Informational influence- a form of social influence that leads a person to conform because he or she believes others are credible and have more information. Normative influence- a form of social influence that leads a person to conform because he or she fears the consequences of deviating from group norms. We need to understand the reasons people conform because they often lead to different types of conformity.