1. Module 44 – Social Influence1

2. The Power of the Situation
Social Influence: the process by which the actions of an individual or group affect the behavior of others.
Conformity
Obedience/Compliance
Group Behaviors
Behavior is contagious

3. The Power of the Situation
Social constraints on individual behavior:
Norms: Expectations a group has for its members. Regulate human life, including social conventions, explicit laws, and implicit cultural standards.
Mostly acquired through social interactions
Makes social interaction with others predictable
Roles: A given social position that is governed by a set of norms for proper behavior.
Gender roles, occupational roles, family roles
Ex: Women in managerial positions develop, over time, more confident and assertive personalities.
Social Role
Socially-defined pattern of behavior
Social Norms
Expectation a group has for its members
Include social conventions, explicit laws, and implicit cultural standards
Roles are sets of expectations about social positions.
Roles define how those in a certain position ought to behave.
Roles affect our attitudes.
SOCIAL ROLES:
Shared expectations about how particular people in the group are supposed to behave...
Like division of labor
Often improve group dynamics and performance.
Among friends one may play the role of the supporter/listener, the other entertainer...
SOCIAL NORMS:
Expected standards of behavior and belief established and enforced by a group.
Often conveyed informally within a group.
Sometimes written protocols, but mostly learned through interactions
Once formed relatively stable
Norms increase conformity to the group (clarify ambiguity- increase cohesiveness)

4. Social Causes of Behavior
Social roles and norms and situations may have strong effects on behavior
Asch: Conformity
People adopt others’ values, ideas due to a desire to be liked by them.
Milgram: Obedience study
How many people would obey the authority when directly ordered to violate their own ethical standards?
Philip Zimbardo: The prison study
How do social roles affect our behavior?
Classical studies

5. People try to conform Definition: Conformity
is adjusting one’s thinking
or behavior toward the
group standard 5

6. Asch’s conformity experiment (1955) Video
Subjects in a group were asked which comparison line is the same length as the standard line.
Confederates in the group picked the wrong line.
Subjects went along with the wrong answer on 37% of trials.
The experimenter asks to choose which of the three lines on the right matches the length of the one on the left

7. Why do we conform?
Normative social influence: We understand the accepted and expected behavior and we avoid violating those rules.
We want to gain social approval and avoid rejection.
Informational social influence: We accept others’ opinions about reality.
We want to be right /accurate
Especially when we feel uncertain about what to do 7

8. When is conformity more likely?
If you are made to feel insecure
If the group has at least three people
If the group is unanimous
If the group is of high status
If the individual has no prior commitment to a response
If one’s behavior is observed by the group
If one’s culture supports social norms 8

9. Milgram’s Obedience Study (video) (Yale University, 1961-62)
How many people would obey the authority when directly ordered to violate their own ethical standards?

10. Cross-cultural example for obedience
Vakit kalırsa diye...

11. Do these effects occur in "real life"?
Hofling et al. (1966)
Nurses were telephoned by a doctor they didn't know.
They were ordered to administer a nonprescribed drug in double the maximum dosage to a patient.
22 nurses were called.
Results: 21 out of 22 nurses (95.5%) followed the doctor's orders.
More info

12. Stanford Prison Study

13. Stanford Prison Study (video)
Subjects: physically and mentally healthy young men who volunteered to participate for money.
They were randomly assigned to be prisoners or guards.
Those assigned the role of prisoner became distressed, helpless, and panicky.
Those assigned the roles of guards became either nice, “tough but fair,” or tyrannical.
Study had to be ended after 6 days, although planned as a 2-week experiment.

14. Stanford Prison Study
Subjects: physically and mentally healthy young men who volunteered to participate for money.
They were randomly assigned to be prisoners or guards.
Those assigned the role of prisoner became distressed, helpless, and panicky.
Those assigned the roles of guards became either nice, “tough but fair,” or tyrannical.
Study had to be ended after 6 days, although planned for 2 weeks.