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Block 2 Unit 1 The Concepts of Social Influence

1. What are the current research in social influence? 

Current research in social influence includes the study of minority influence, conformity, compliance, and obedience. Asch’s experiment showed how individuals conform to group pressure, even when the group is clearly wrong, and research has continued to explore the types of social influence.

2. Describe and discuss each of the four compliance strategies. FIDT, DIFT, LBT.

The sources mention one compliance strategy explicitly, the foot-in-the-door (FITD) technique. The FITD technique involves making a small initial request that is likely to be accepted, followed by a larger request. This works well when the larger request is a pro-social one. The sources do not describe DIFT or LBT. (Note that if you want to know more about DIFT or LBT, you may want to independently verify information on that subject from other sources.)

3. Define the term Social Influence and discuss its various types. 

Social influence refers to the ways in which people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviours are affected by others. Types of social influence include conformity, compliance, and obedience.

4. Describe the factors associated with conformity. 

Factors include the size of the majority, the importance of accuracy, and the presence of social disapproval.

5. Describe in detail the Asch’s study on conformity. 

Asch’s study involved participants judging the length of lines. In the study, participants were placed in a group where confederates gave incorrect answers, leading participants to conform to the group's wrong judgment, even when the correct answer was obvious.

6. What do you mean by compliance? Discuss various factors leading to compliance. 

Compliance is when people change their behaviour in response to a direct request. Factors that influence compliance include the desire to reduce guilt, intimacy within relationships, and the use of techniques like the foot-in-the-door approach.

7. What kind of studies have been conducted to understand minority influence?

Studies on Minority Influence

• Research on minority influence has shown that a minority subgroup can influence the majority, particularly when the minority group is consistent in its views.
• Nemeth and Kwan (1987) demonstrated that when a minority within a group presented a novel response to a task, it led to more creative thinking and better solutions overall compared to when a majority presented the novel response.
• Studies have indicated that minority influence can lead to more creative thinking and better overall solutions in group tasks.
• Minority influence is most likely to occur when people make a clear and consistent case for their point of view.
• Minority members who are perceived as experts, are high in status, or have benefited the group in the past are also more likely to succeed.

8. Give with suitable examples some of the studies conducted in persuasion.

Studies on Persuasion

• Persuasion is defined as a change in attitudes or beliefs based on information received from others. Current research in persuasion focuses on written or spoken messages sent from a source to a recipient.
• The elaboration likelihood model suggests that the amount and nature of thinking a person does about a message affects the kind of persuasion produced. This model considers factors like the source, message, recipient, affect, channel, and context, particularly the relevance of the message to the recipient.
• Studies using the elaboration likelihood model have shown its utility in persuading people to make healthier choices.
• Heuristic-systemic models also explore how people process messages to form attitudes.

9. Discuss elaboration likelihood and heuristic systemic models in regard to social influence.

Elaboration Likelihood and Heuristic-Systemic Models

• The elaboration likelihood model proposes that the level of thinking or "elaboration" about a message determines the type of persuasion. If individuals are motivated and able to process the message, they will engage in central route processing which involves careful consideration of information. Otherwise, they will engage in peripheral route processing, which is influenced by other factors such as the source's credibility.
• Heuristic-systemic models offer a framework that looks into how individuals process messages, using both systematic and heuristic approaches. They suggest that people use shortcuts (heuristics) when they are not motivated or do not have the cognitive resources for detailed information processing.

10. What do you understand by social impact theory and how it has contributed to understanding social influence?

Social Impact Theory

• Social impact theory has three components: number, strength, and immediacy.
• Number refers to the number of people in the influencing group. As the number of people increases, each person has less of an individual impact.
• Strength refers to how important the group is to a person. Groups that are valued are more influential.
• Immediacy refers to the group's closeness in time and space when the influence is taking place.
• Social psychologists have created a mathematical model based on these three factors and can predict the amount of conformity with reasonable accuracy.
• Social impact theory explains normative influence, which is the pressure to conform in order to be liked and accepted by a group.

11. Discuss social influence network theory and the expectation states theory of social influence.

Social Influence Network Theory and Expectation States Theory

• Social influence network theory looks at how influence spreads through networks of individuals. It examines how the structure of the network affects the extent and type of influence.
• Expectation states theory provides a model for understanding how inequalities in influence develop within groups. It suggests that even when group members are equal in status initially, some members become more influential based on expectations about their abilities. This theory originated from the work of Bales (1950) who found inequalities in the amount of influence group members had over one another, even when they started with equal status.
• Researchers in this tradition have developed models to predict the relative influence of task-oriented actors within group settings.

12. Discuss the various areas of social influence .

Areas of Social Influence

• Social influence is broadly categorized into three main areas: conformity, compliance, and obedience.
• Conformity involves changing one’s behaviour to be more like others to gain acceptance and belonging. This can affect deeply held beliefs and values.
• Compliance is when a person agrees to do something that they have been asked to do, although they may have a choice to refuse. Compliance can be influenced by social rewards and punishments.
• Obedience occurs when a person obeys an order from someone they consider an authority figure and believe they don't have a choice.

13. Put forward the experiment by Asch on conformity and indicate its significance for social influence.

Asch's Experiment on Conformity

• Solomon Asch's (1951) experiment studied conformity by having participants judge the length of lines in a group setting.
• Participants were asked to match the length of a line segment to one of three comparison lines.
• The majority of participants were confederates of the experimenter and were told to give incorrect answers.
• The study found that approximately 76% of participants conformed at least once by giving a wrong answer to match the group.
• The experiment highlights the power of group pressure and shows how individuals may deny the evidence of their own senses to fit in with a group.
• It showed that some people displayed 'stubborn independence' by refusing to conform.

14. In regard to Compliance, what are principles observed by Cialdini? Support your arguments with research findings.

Cialdini's Principles of Compliance

• Robert Cialdini identified several principles that increase the likelihood of compliance. These include:
  • Reciprocation: People feel obligated to return favors.
  • Credibility: People are more likely to comply with requests from experts or credible sources.
  • Liking/Friendship: People are more likely to comply with requests from those they like.
  • Scarcity: Items or opportunities that are scarce are perceived as more valuable.
  • Social Validation: People are more willing to take a recommended step if they see evidence that many others are doing it.
  • Commitment: Once people commit to something, they are more likely to comply with related requests.
• Research supports these principles, showing, for example, that people induced with guilt are more likely to comply with requests.

15. What is credibility? Discuss credibility factor as influencing compliance. Give evidence in terms of research findings.

Credibility and Compliance

• Credibility refers to the trustworthiness and expertise of the source of a request.
• People are more likely to comply with requests from individuals who are perceived as experts, knowledgeable, or skilled.
• Bochner and Insko (1966) demonstrated this by having university students give their opinions on sleep. When students received advice from a physiologist (a highly credible source) they were more likely to change their answers than when they received advice from a YMCA instructor (a less credible source).
• This principle explains why advertisements often feature experts.

16. How does liking or friendship affect a person’s compliance? Give suitable evidences and examples.

Liking/Friendship and Compliance

• People are more likely to comply with requests from those they like or consider friends.
• This is because liking can create a sense of obligation, and because people are motivated to maintain positive relationships.
• Friendships and mutual dependencies can increase conformity.

17. What is meant by scarcity factor? How does it contribute to compliance?

Scarcity and Compliance

• The scarcity principle suggests that people value things that are scarce or rare.
• When opportunities or products are presented as limited in availability, people are more likely to want them.
• This principle is often used in marketing.

18. What are the various forms of obedience?

Forms of Obedience

• Obedience involves following orders from an authority figure.
• Forms of obedience include obedience to:
  • Laws.
  • Social norms.
  • Monarchs, governments, organisations, religions, or churches.
  • God.
  • Self-imposed constraints (e.g., vows).
  • Spouses or parents.
  • Management in the workplace.

19. How are humans trained to obey?

Training Humans to Obey

• Humans are trained to obey through various methods, starting in childhood.
• Learning to obey rules is a major part of the socialisation process.
• Techniques used by adults modify the behaviour of children, training them to obey adult rules.
• Armies provide extensive training to make soldiers capable of obeying orders, including in dangerous situations.
• Soldiers begin with seemingly trivial orders that become progressively more demanding until obedience becomes an automatic response.

20. What factors influence obedience? Put forward experimental studies on humans in regard to obedience.

Factors Influencing Obedience and Experimental Studies

• Stanley Milgram's experiments are some of the most well-known studies on obedience.
• Milgram found that people tend to obey authority figures even when it means inflicting harm on others.
• In Milgram's experiments, participants were ordered to administer electric shocks to another person. Many continued administering shocks even when they believed that person was unconscious or dead.
• Milgram's experiments demonstrated that many ordinary people would obey orders to harm another person. He also found that obedience increased when the authority figure was physically present.

21. Describe the Milgram experiment . What did you learn from it in regard to obedience?

Milgram Experiment

• In Milgram's experiment, participants were told they were taking part in a study of memory and learning.
• Participants were assigned the role of "teacher" and were instructed to administer electric shocks to a "student" (who was actually a confederate) each time the "student" made a mistake.
• The shocks increased in intensity with each mistake.
• The experiment showed that many participants were willing to administer what they believed were lethal shocks, despite the obvious distress of the "student". Milgram suggested that people followed orders from superiors and did not feel directly responsible for their actions.
• The experiments demonstrated the power of authority in eliciting obedience.

22. What factors increase obedience?

Factors That Increase Obedience

• Milgram found obedience increased when:
  • Commands were given by an authority figure rather than another volunteer.
  • Experiments were conducted at a prestigious institution.
  • The authority figure was present in the room with the subject.
  • The learner was in another room.
  • The subject did not see other subjects disobeying commands.
• Factors causing people to obey include the desire for reward, avoidance of negative consequences, and the belief in the legitimacy of the authority.
• Entrapment occurs when people obey easy commands first and then feel compelled to obey more difficult commands.
• People also justify behaviour by assigning responsibility to the authority rather than themselves.

23. Describe the Stanford Prison experiment and indicate its contribution in understanding obedience.

Stanford Prison Experiment

• The Stanford Prison Experiment studied the behaviour of people in groups and how they would adapt to different roles of dominance and submission.
• Participants were assigned roles as either "prisoners" or "guards" in a simulated prison environment.
• The experiment demonstrated how readily people adopt the behaviours associated with their role.
• The experiment had to be stopped early because the "guards" became abusive, and some "prisoners" became emotionally disturbed.
• The Stanford experiment showed not only obedience, but also high levels of compliance and conformity.

24. What is the significance of Hofling Hospital experiment? Discuss the same in the context of obedience.