Sociocultural Level of Analysis: Social and Cultural Norms Part II

Social Influence: compliance Compliance – the result of direct pressure to respond to a request. Robert Cialdini outlined compliance techniques (ways in which individuals are influenced to comply with the demands or desires of others.) Compliance techniques are used for advertising and marketing, where sales tactics are examined in the basis of what would most likely to persuade consumers to buy specific products.

Compliance Techniques Authority: people comply more often with those in positions of some authority. Commitment: once people have agreed to so something, either by their behavior or by a statement of belief, they are more likely to comply with similar requests. Liking: people comply with requests from people they like. Reciprocity: people often feel they need to “return a favor” Scarcity: opportunities seen more valuable to people when they are less readily available. This is why there are so many “last chance” and “limited time only” sales. Social proof: people view a behavior as correct if they see others performing it.

The result of direct pressure to respond to a request.

conformity compliance commitment

People view a behavior as correct if they see others performing it.

social proof liking authority

Once people have agreed to so something, either by their behavior or by a statement of belief, they are more likely to comply with similar requests.

commitment authority reciprocity

People often feel they need to “return a favor”.

People often feel they need to “return a favor” reciprocity scarcity liking

Opportunities seen more valuable to people when they are less readily available. This is why there are so many “last chance” and “limited time only” sales.

reciprocity scarcity liking

Reciprocity Reciprocity principle – the social norm that we should treat others the way they treat us. Arousal of feelings of guilt plays a key role in reciprocity. Many cultures offer gifts, free travel, or free time in hotels to potential customers, this makes the person feel guilty into purchasing their product. Lynn and McCall (1998) found that when restaurant customers are given a mint or sweet with their bill, the size of the tip they leave increases.

Reciprocity Reciprocity does not always involve giving gifts. It can also be because the other person has already compromised on what he or she wanted, and that this compromise should be acknowledged with some behavior. Door-in-the-face-technique – a request is made which will surely be turned down. Then a second request is made which asks less of someone. People are more likely to accept the second request because they feel the person has already lowered the request in order to accommodate them.

Reciprocity Door-in-the-face technique study by Cialdidni et. Al (1975) – Cialdini asked students to volunteer to counsel juvenile delinquents for two hours a week for two years. – After their refusal, they were asked to chaperone juvenile delinquents on a one-day trip to the zoo. – 50% agreed to chaperone the trip to the zoo as compared to 17% of participants who only received the zoo request. – Additionally, Cialdini created a control group where the experimenter described both the extreme and the smaller favor, and then the participant was requested to perform either one. – Only 25% of the students agreed to the zoo request. This demonstrates that exposure to the more extreme task is irrelevant and does not greatly affect compliance. – Door-in-the-face technique will only affect compliance rates if the extreme request is rejected first.

Commitment Cialdini argues that once people make a choice or take a stand, they will encounter personal and interpersonal pressures to behave consistently with that commitment. Kurt Lewin (1951) argued that behavior is motivated by goal gradients. The longer people commit themselves to something, the less likely they are to abandon the goal.

Commitment Foot-in-the-door technique – getting people to make a commitment to something small, with the hope of persuading them to agree to something larger. Dickerson et. Al (1992) – had students sign a poster committing to take shorter showers, and they gave them a survey that made them think about their water usage. Students who signed the poster and completed the survey had average shower times of about 3.5 minutes. Much lower than other university students in the same dorms.

Commitment Cialdini (1974) demonstrated the low-balling technique by asking students to participate in an experiment. 56% agreed, before being told that the experiment started at 7:00 AM. They then told the volunteers that the study was scheduled at 7:00 AM, and the volunteers could withdraw if they wished. None did so, and 95% turned up at the scheduled time (the Low-Ball group). When a control group was asked to participate and were told the unsocial timing of the experiment up front, only 24% agreed to participate.

Commitment The low-ball is a persuasion and selling technique in which an item or service is offered at a lower price than is actually intended to be charged, after which the price is raised to increase profits. If a person is already enjoying the prospect of an excellent deal and the future benefits of the item or idea then backing out would create cognitive dissonance, which is prevented by playing down the negative effect of the "extra" costs.

Commitment Hazing- a series of initiation rites in order to join an exclusive group, such as a sports team, or university fraternity. – The individual must first choose to join the group, recognizing that there will be some imitation rite which her or she will have to endure. – During the hazing, the participant must rationalize that this is “worth it” in order to be part of the group. – Having completed the hazing, the individual has a sense of accomplishment, having proven his/her loyalty.

Commitment Hazing – Aronson and Mills (1959) investigated dissonance using an effort justification paradigm. Female participants, who were joining a discussion group about the psychology of sex, were either accepted into the group (control condition), had to go through a mild initiation, which involved reading aloud sex- related words, or had to go through a severe initiation by reading aloud explicit sec words (Aronson 1959). When the participants were later asked the rate the discussion and the group members, those who went through severe initiation rated both categories much higher than both the control and mild initiation groups. Because the female participants had to justify the effort and humiliation they experienced to enter the group, they rated the group as more attractive than the other conditions. – Gerard and Mathewson (1966) women received electric shocks. Those who endured pain as part of their initiation were more likely to find their group interesting, intelligent, and desirable.

This study found that when restaurant customers are given a mint or sweet with their bill, the size of the tip they leave increases.

Gerard and Mathewson Aronson and MillsLynn and McCall

A request is made which will surely be turned down. Then a second request is made which asks less of someone. People are more likely to accept the second request because they feel the person has already lowered the request in order to accommodate them.

Door-in-the-face-technique Foot-in-the-door technique Face-in-the-door-technique

A persuasion and selling technique in which an item or service is offered at a lower price than is actually intended to be charged, after which the price is raised to increase profits.

High-ball Mid-ball Low-ball

Getting people to make a commitment to something small, with the hope of persuading them to agree to something larger.

Door-in-the-face-technique Foot-in-the-door technique Face-in-the-door-technique

Commitment involves a series of initiation rites in order to join an exclusive group, such as a sports team, or university fraternity. TRUE OR FALSE?

Commitment involves a series of initiation rites in order to join an exclusive group, such as a sports team, or university fraternity. True False

In this study women received electric shocks. Those who endured pain as part of their initiation were more likely to find their group interesting, intelligent, and desirable.

Gerard and Mathewson Aronson and MillsLynn and McCall