CONFORMITY

CONFORMITY
is a change in ones belief behavior due to the real or imagined influence of other people.

WHEN DO WE CONFORM?

People conform when they are part of a group and go along with the norms. When people think that they are nonconformist.

WHY DO WE CONFORM?

People conform because we want to be accepted. People wish to avoid punishment. An individual can gather information from other people especially when we are in confusing or unusual circumstances. People conform because of their desire for security.

WHEN DO PEOPLE CONFORM?

GROUP SIZE A group size need not to be a big group, a group of 3 people is about as influential of group of 16 people. GROUP CONFORMITY When a member of a particular group conforms to an agreement, even though they may personally disagree with what the others are saying, they still conform. PUBLIC RESPONSE The greater the publicity and surveillance associated with the behavior, the greater the conformity. Where behavior is difficult to monitor, the effectiveness of social sanctions is weakened. In public settings, we are likely to experience pressures for compliance although private acceptance may be absent.

WHEN DO PEOPLE CONFORM?

STATUS
There are different theories regarding the effect of status on conformity: Stanley Milgram High Status those who feel themselves are competent are more likely to resist group pressure. Low Status those who see themselves as followers they tend to obey more easily.

WHEN DO PEOPLE CONFORM?

UNANIMITY When people agreed on something and/or voted for it. COHESION when people's ideas fit together then they form and form a united whole or group.

WHY DO PEOPLE CONFORM?

1. NORMATIVE INFLUENCE
the influence of other people that leads us to conform in order to be liked and accepted by them. often results in public compliance without private acceptance.

WHEN WILL PEOPLE CONFORM TO NORMATIVE SOCIAL INFLUENCE?

Depends on:
The strength of the groups importance Its immediacy (how close you are to the group) The number of people in the group

Social Impact Theory

SOCIAL IMPACT THEORY

Bibb Latan's Social Impact Theory states that the more important the group is, the closer the physical distance is between the group and oneself, and the number of people in the group all affect the likelihood that one will conform to the group's social norms.

RESISTING NORMATIVE SOCIAL INFLUENCE

What happens when people manage to resist normative social influence?
Other group members start paying attention to the deviant and trying to convince him or her to conform; if she/he doesnt conform, eventually the deviant will be rejected.

What can we do to resist inappropriate normative social influence?

become aware that we are doing it find an associate who thinks like you do *If you conform to group norms most of the time, you earn idiosyncrasy credits that give you right to deviate occasionally without serious consequences.

WHY DO PEOPLE CONFORM?

2. INFORMATIONAL INFLUENCE
the inuence of other people that leads us to conform because we see them as a source of information to guide our behavior; we conform because we believe that others interpretation of an ambiguous situation is more correct than ours and will help us choose an appropriate course of action. An important feature of informational social inuence is that it can lead to private acceptance. This type of conformity usually involves internalization where a person accepts the views of the groups and adopts them as an individual. Informational influence seems to be what happened during Sherif's study.

Solomon Aschs Studies of Group Pressure

Hypothesis When a situation was completely unambiguous (i.e. obvious answer to a question), people would act rational, objective problem solvers and would resist social pressure from the group that contradicted an obvious truth. Method 8 participants 7 false participants 1 real participant Real participant was told that it was an experiment on visual perception.

 Experimenter shows everyone 2 cards: one with a single line, another with 3 lines labeled 1, 2, and 3. Participants will individually announce aloud which of the 3 lines is closest to the line on the other card.

 Participants were arranged and real participant was placed econd to the last. On the first two sets of card, fake participants will say the correct answer. On the third, participants will all say the same wrong answer. On 12 out of the 18 trials, fake participants will say the same wrong answer. After the experiment, real participants were interviewed.
Results 75% of the participants conformed on at least 1 trial. Only 25% of the participants did not conform. On average, participants conformed on about third of the 12 trials.

Variation of the Study Written Response Result: On an average, participants conformed on only 1.5 of the 12 trials. Majority Size Result: Smaller size of opposing group, lower level of conformity Presence of True Partner Result: Decrease in level of conformity Withdrawal of True Partner Result: Increase in level of conformity
Conclusion Participants conformed for two reasons: 1. To fit in 2. Belief that the group is better informed

Informational Conformity Using the Autokinetic Effect

Sherifs Autokinetic Studies

Result After so many trials, the people who experienced the experiment decided to have a common estimate. Conclusion People rely on each other so much. Some think that what they know is not enough so they would try to conform to other people as source of information.

MINDLESS CONFORMITY
Obeying internalized social norms without deliberating one's actions. However, behaving and thinking automatically have a cost: By putting ourselves on automatic pilot, without carefully monitoring what we are doing, we sometimes end up following the wrong social norm and behave inappropriately.

NORM OF RECIPROCITY
The norm of reciprocity is the expectation that people will respond favorably to each other by returning benefits for benefits, and responding with either indifference or hostility to harms.

The social norm of reciprocity often takes different forms in different areas of social life, or in different societies. All of them, however, are distinct from related ideas such as gratitude, the Golden Rule, or mutual goodwill.

Differentiations in Positive and Negative Reciprocity Norms

A positive norm of reciprocity is "the embedded obligations created by exchanges of benefits or favors among individuals. The recipient feels indebted to the favour or benefit giver until he/she repays" (Chen, 2009). A negative norm of reciprocity represents the means by which individuals act against unfavourable treatments, and functions to keep balance in social systems" (Chen, 2009).

Private and Public Reciprocity

Private reciprocity, also known as internal reciprocity, emphasizes repaying favors because of personal morals and an inherent obligation. Failing to repay kind favors brings feelings of guilt.
Public reciprocity, also known as social reciprocity, emphasizes acts of reciprocity and kindness that are publicly acknowledged, where the receiver knows who the provider is, with no anonymity. There is less of a personal reward, as the individual now is rewarded for following the social norm.

FOOT-IN-THE-DOOR TECHNIQUE

FOOT-IN-THE-DOOR TECHNIQUE
compliance to a large request is gained by preceding it with a very small request. works by first getting a small yes and then getting an even better yes. a 'sequential request Freedman and Fraser (1966) asked people to either sign a petition or place a small card in a window in their home or car about keeping California beautiful or supporting safe driving. About two weeks later, the same people were asked by a second person to put a large sign advocating safe driving in their front yard. Many people who agreed to the first request now complied with the second, far more intrusive request. The Freedman and Fraser study showed significant effects. Later studies showed that the actual effect has been more often far less.

 Examples:
GAIN TARGETS COMPLIANCE WITH A SMALL REQUEST 1. People are first asked to wear a pin supporting a worthy cause MAKE A RELATED, LARGER REQUEST

They are asked to put a billboard on their lawn Then ask me to walk a little way with them to make sure they don't get lost. In the end, I take them all the way to their destination

1. A person in the street asks me directions, which I give.

1.

Dad, can I go out for an hour to see Sam? [ANSWER yes]

...I just called Sam and he's going to the cinema - can I go with him? ...I haven't got money -- could you lend me enough to get in? ...Could you give us a lift there? ...Could you pick us up after?

WHY IS IT EFFECTIVE?
Compliance with the initial request changes ones selfimage to be consistent with that first favor.
It would be in consistent with this image to refuse the second request.

DOOR-IN-THE -FACE TECHNIQUE

DOOR-IN-THE -FACE TECHNIQUE

Definition compliance method or persuasion technique.
1st REQUEST: excessive, too much 2nd REQUEST: easy to agree with, very small, compared with the first. MOST LIKELY RESPONSE: No /Refusal (natural response)

MOST LIKELY RESPONSE: Yes/Compliance

people mostly comply with 2nd request after presenting the 1st excessive request DITF Technique vs. Asking a small request first hand in contrast with FITD (Foot-in-the-Door) Technique

FACTORS THAT MAKE IT EFFECTIVE

Reciprocal concessions related to negotiating or bargaining, request is making an exchange of concession for belonging. Social responsibility/obligation relating to helping in a situation Self-presentation- fear of rejection Reducing guilt

DITF INTERACTION TO FOUR OTHER SITUATIONS

helping a friend negotiating with a friend helping a stranger negotiating with a stranger

Other DITF Factors: in-group-out-group biases In-groups- groups that a person feels that they belong to Out-groups - ones that a person does not belong to and might perceive negatively. Metacommunication