Psychology 2720A/B Chapter Notes - Chapter 7: Mass Psychogenic Illness, Social Proof, Psych

• School: Western University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: Psychology 2720A/B
• Professor: Isaacs

Document Summary

Conformity: a change in behaviour as a result of the real or imagined influence of other people. Not knowing how to act in a given situation. Being afraid of being punished or ridiculed. I(cid:374)for(cid:373)atio(cid:374)al so(cid:272)ial i(cid:374)flue(cid:374)(cid:272)e: the (cid:374)eed to k(cid:374)o(cid:449) (cid:449)hat"s right. Asking other what they think or watching what they do helps us reach a definition of the situation. Informational social influence: conforming because we believe that other"s interpretation of an ambiguous situation is more correct than ours and will help us choose an appropriate course of action. Autokinetic effect: if you stare at a bright light in a uniformly dark environment, the light will appear to waver because we have no stable reference to anchor the position of the light to. Pri(cid:448)ate a(cid:272)(cid:272)epta(cid:374)(cid:272)e: (cid:272)o(cid:374)for(cid:373)i(cid:374)g to other people"s (cid:271)eha(cid:448)iour out of a ge(cid:374)ui(cid:374)e (cid:271)elief that what they are doing or saying is right.