Ch 25 Social Influence and Group Processes

7/31/2019 Ch 25 Social Influence and Group Processes

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Ian P. Albery Complete Psychology published by Hodder Education

Social influence and group

processes


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Social influence

How thoughts, feelings and behaviours of oneperson are influenced by imagined, implied oractual presence of others.

Compliance: When external behaviour does not reflect

internal real opinions.

Conformity: Changing inner opinions as result of non-

direct pressure from other people.


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Power and influence

Source of influence should be thought of aspowerful for compliance to operate.

Power the ability to exert influence over

others and not be influenced oneself. Ravens sources of power.


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Ravens sources of power

Reward power The ability to promise rewards for being compliantCoercive power The ability to give or to threaten punishment for

not be compliantInformational power The belief of the person being influenced that the

person doing the influencing has more

information than themselvesExpert power The belief of the person being influenced that the

person doing the influencing has greaterexpertise and knowledge than themselves

Legitimate power The belief of the person being influenced that theperson doing the influencing is authorised by arecognised power to command and makedecisions

Referent power The person being influenced identifies with, isattracted to or has respect for the person doingthe influencing


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Conformity or majority influence

Majority influence:

When attitudinal or belief change occursafter exposure to the majority opinion of a

group you are a member of. Sherifs autokinetic effect experiment.

Aschs linesexperiment:

Fear of social disapproval central to majoritygroup influence.


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Aschs lines stimuli


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Explanations of conformity

Informational social influence:

Support information received from others becauseremoves ambiguities in social situation

Sherifs social reality hypothesis.

Normative social influence:

Desire to be liked and accepted by others in thegroup

Increased dependency among group membersleads to increased conformity rates.


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Explanations for conformity

Referent informational influence:

Conform because we are group members,and not to avoid social disapproval

Social identity perspective Conform to group norms through self-

categorisation:

Seek out group norm to minimise differencewithin the in-group and maximise differencewith out-group.


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Conversion or minority

group influence Moskovicis genetic model of minority group

influence:

Minorities do not have access to normativeinfluence

Rely on behavioural style and primarilyconsistency in beliefs across time and

consensus with other members of theminority

Minority influence greatest when consistent.


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Moskovicis coloured slides

experiment


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Minority and majority influence

Moskovicis dual-process model:

Majorities lead to direct public compliance due tonormative and informational influence

Minorities lead to indirect private change due to the

majority having to think about the minority theconversion effect

Leads to cognitive conflict and greater cognitiveresource allocation.

Latan and Wolfs single process model: Influence differs quantitatively not qualitatively.


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Social facilitation and inhibition

People get better at well-learned tasks andworse at difficult tasks when in the presence ofothers.

Zajoncs drive theory: Presence of others puts us in state of

arousal

Arousal acts to make a persons most likely

response the one produced.


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Zajoncsdrive theory


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Group decision making

The risky shift phenomenon:

Decisions made by groups are more riskythan individual decisions

Group decisions can be more conservative. Group polarisation:

Decisions become more polarised

Tendency to shift opinions towards moreextreme views and in the same direction asthe perceived original group opinion.


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Group polarisation


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Explanations of polarisation

Polarisation through persuasive arguments

Polarisation through social comparison

Polarisation through self-categorisation


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Janis and Manns groupthink

Based on actual accounts of poor decisionmaking (e.g. the Bay of Pigs fiasco in 1961).

Type of thinking among very cohesive groups.

Based on members wanting an unanimousdecision.

Motivation to be correct and rational appears to

be suspended.


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Groupthink


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Obedience to authority

Milgrams shock generator studies: Majority of participants gave highest-

intensity shock

Replicated in many countries.

Key factors in obedience:

Persuasion

Immediacy of the victim

Immediacy of the authority figure Group pressure.


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Milgrams shock generator


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Leadership

The trait approach:

Leadership qualities inheritedbornleaders

Only weak associations between personalitytype and effective leadership.

Leaders behaviour:

Lippitt and Whites leadership styles studies

Group performance and productivitydependent upon leadership type.


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Intergroup behaviour

Actions of one groups members towardsmembers of another group.

Prejudice and discrimination dependent upon

three factors: Personality typeAdornos authoritarian

personality

Environmental factorsSherifs realisticconflict theory

Group membershipTajfels social identitytheory (minimal group paradigm).

Documents

Ch 25 Social Influence and Group Processes