6: Influencing and Conforming
- Page ID
- 257096
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Chapter Overview
Social influence is a powerful part of everyday life. Our thoughts, decisions, and behaviors are often shaped by the people around us, sometimes without our awareness. In this chapter, you will examine conformity, why people adjust their behavior to match others, and how informational and normative social influence contribute to this process. You will also explore how majority and minority groups can influence behavior and how different social situations affect our willingness to conform. The chapter then considers obedience, power, and leadership. You will examine Stanley Milgram’s influential research on obedience to authority and explore French and Raven’s different bases of social power. You will also investigate what makes leadership effective and how successful leadership depends on characteristics of the leader, the situation, and the interaction between them. Finally, you will explore how individual, gender, and cultural differences influence conformity. You will consider why people and cultures may respond differently to social pressure and examine psychological reactance, which can occur when people feel that their freedom to choose or act is being threatened. Throughout the chapter, you will be encouraged to think like a social psychologist by recognizing social influence in everyday situations and considering when we conform, obey, lead, resist, or choose to act independently.
Chapter Learning Objectives
1. The Many Varieties of Conformity
- Describe some of the active and passive ways that conformity occurs in our everyday lives.
- Compare and contrast informational social influence and normative social influence.
- Summarize the variables that create majority and minority social influence.
- Outline the situational variables that influence the extent to which we conform.
2. Obedience, Power, and Leadership
- Describe and interpret the results of Stanley Milgram’s research on obedience to authority.
- Compare the different types of power proposed by John French and Bertram Raven and explain how they produce conformity.
- Define leadership and explain how effective leaders are determined by the person, the situation, and the person-situation interaction.
3. Person, Gender, and Cultural Differences in Conformity
- Summarize the social psychological literature concerning differences in conformity between men and women.
- Review research concerning the relationship between culture and conformity.
- Explain the concept of psychological reactance and describe how and when it might occur.
- 6.1: Prelude to Influencing and Conforming
- This page addresses the Holocaust as a genocide perpetrated by the Nazis against Jews and other marginalized groups. It explores psychological factors that led ordinary people, exemplified by Reserve Police Battalion 101, to commit violence despite initial reluctance. The page highlights social influence and conformity, illustrating how individuals modify beliefs or behaviors for social acceptance, noting that conformity can yield both positive and negative societal implications.
- 6.2: The Many Varieties of Conformity
- This page explores the dynamics of social influence, emphasizing majority and minority impacts on individual behavior. It highlights how majority groups can lead to public compliance through conformity, influenced by group size and unanimity. Studies, such as Sherif's and Asch's, illustrate how conformity shifts beliefs in ambiguous and clear situations. Minority influence can prompt significant change when consistently presented.
- 6.3: Obedience, Power, and Leadership
- This page discusses the significant influence of authority and situational dynamics on human behavior and leadership. It highlights Stanley Milgram's obedience studies, demonstrating compliance under pressure, and contrasts Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Study, showing how environments can challenge moral beliefs.
- 6.4: Person, Gender, and Cultural Differences in Conformity
- This page examines the factors influencing conformity, including personality, gender, and cultural differences. It reveals that situational effects are significant but individual traits like self-esteem and group identification matter. While men tend to seek independence, women often conform for harmony, with few gender differences noted in leadership effectiveness. Additionally, collectivistic cultures display higher conformity than individualistic ones.
- 6.5: Thinking Like a Social Psychologist about Social Influence
- This page examines the significance of social influence in everyday life, detailing forms such as conformity, obedience, and leadership. It discusses both the advantages, like better decision-making and social acceptance, and the potential downsides. The text encourages self-reflection on personal motives related to conformity and obedience, providing insights into behavior and relationships.
- 6.6: Chapter Summary
- This page explores conformity and social influence, defining conformity as changes in beliefs and behaviors due to social pressure. It differentiates between informational social influence (leading to private acceptance) and normative social influence (resulting in public compliance).
- 6.7: Additional Learning Opportunities
- This page details application activities to enhance student understanding of social influence, conformity, and obedience theories. Activities include observing social norms, analyzing obedience scenarios, and comparing influences through examples. Role-playing exercises highlight individual differences in conformity, while strategies to resist negative influences are also designed.
Thumbnail: Following the Flock? (CC BY-SA 4.0; via Wikimedia Commons).