...|Movies Illustrating Social Psychological Phenomenon: | | | |Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory | |[pic] | |Issues dealing with prejudice, discrimination, attitudes, attitude change, person perception, self, social influence, helping behavior, | |empirical methods, parenting styles commentary, competition | | | |Lord of the Rings | |[pic] | |Issues dealing with attitudes, violence, deception, compliance, obedience, person perception, self, altruism, interpersonal attraction, | |personal relationships, helping behavior, aggression ...
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...Social influence is the change in the way that an individual behave, think or comport themselves that occur when they relate or interact with another individual or groups of individuals (Rashotte, 2007, p.562). These changes may be deliberate or sometimes occur subconsciously and the individual in question may not be aware of them (Wood, 2000). There are various forms of social influence among which the most important and widely recognised ones are conformity and obedience. They are concepts that put into perspective how individuals’ behaviours are affected or influenced in a group or social circumstances. This essay looks to explore compliance and obedience in detail. It may seem sometimes these two concepts might be slightly similar in how they affect behaviour in such situations; however they are not to be confused for each other. This essay aims to clarify such perception and distinctively point out the similarities and differences between these two concepts by exploring how they come about and factors that influence them using relevant research evidence. Conformity can be defined as the inclination by individuals to modify their attitudes or manner of behaving to suit that of the social standards. It simply means to succumb to pressures of the society (Crutchfield, 1955) However, it does not necessarily mean that their opinion or perception has changed; it simply means that they have changed their behaviour just for the purpose of being considered acceptable by the society...
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...Social influence occurs when one's emotions, opinions, or behaviors are affected by others.[1] Social influence takes many forms and can be seen in conformity, socialization, peer pressure, obedience, leadership, persuasion, sales, and marketing. In 1958, Harvard psychologist, Herbert Kelman identified three broad varieties of social influence.[2] 1. Compliance is when people appear to agree with others, but actually keep their dissenting opinions private. 2. Identification is when people are influenced by someone who is liked and respected, such as a famous celebrity. 3. Internalization is when people accept a belief or behavior and agree both publicly and privately. Morton Deutsch and Harold Gerard described two psychological needs that lead humans to conform to the expectations of others. These include our need to be right (informational social influence), and our need to be liked (normative social influence).[3] Informational influence (or social proof) is an influence to accept information from another as evidence about reality. Informational influence comes into play when people are uncertain, either because stimuli are intrinsically ambiguous or because there is social disagreement. Normative influence is an influence to conform to the positive expectations of others. In terms of Kelman's typology, normative influence leads to public compliance, whereas informational influence leads to private acceptance. [edit] Types Social Influence is a broad term...
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...[pic] Definition “Conformity is a type of social influence in which individuals change their attitudes, beliefs or behaviours to adhere to existing social norms” Baron et al, 2006 Explanation of social norms (you must learn this for small mark answer) ➢ Social norms are one of the key causes of why people conform to the majority view. ➢ Social norms (group norms) are the standard rules of behaviour for individuals in any given society/culture. ➢ Unspoken rules develop spontaneously, unconsciously usually through force of habit and if you do not conform to these rules you will be excluded… ➢ For example, behaviour at a bus stop, the type of clothes that are popular, the type of drinks to be drinking, the type of music to listen to, the places to travel in the world Jenness (1932) The first informal experimental study of conformity where participants were asked to estimate how many beans the bottle contained. When asked for a group estimate they almost all changed their individual guesses closer to the group estimate. This persisted when asked again individually. They conformed. NB: Remember for every study in this topic and obedience try to give a methodological and ethical issue (or advantage) for each study |Methodological issues |Ethical issues | | ...
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...Sociology 1 Castelli Due Tuesday, Feb. 9 Overview In addition to entertaining us, movies offer detailed portrayals of human social behavior. Your task in this assignment is to analyze -- from a social-psychological perspective -- the behaviors and events depicted in one of the films listed below. You are not being asked to critique the film in terms of its value as a work of art or as entertainment. Rather, you should think carefully about the human actions and events portrayed in the film. Assignment Choose one of the films listed below. Most should be available at any video rental store. View the film you choose at least once. (Two viewings may offer an advantage). Then, after reviewing your notes and readings, identify 2 different social-psychological principles that appear to be operating in the events or individuals depicted in the film . For each principle that you identify: (a) Provide a clip to show in class. You may assume that we will have internet access, or you can bring in a DVD (or even a VHS tape), or you may create the entire presentation on DVD to show in class. (b) describe in detail the social-psychological principle you believe is relevant. Your job here is to demonstrate that you understand the principle or theory, and that you can describe it in your own words. You don’t need to do library research for this – using your text or your lecture notes as resources is fine. You need you to show us that you have a good understanding of the concept/principle...
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...Influences of Conformity and Obedience Jamie Tyler University of Phoenix Social Psychology Psych555 Prof. Kimberly Kinsey May 7, 2012 Influences of Conformity and Obedience “Social influence broadly encompasses any changes on beliefs, attitudes, or behavior that result from interpersonal interaction” (Fiske, 2010). There are several concepts that aid in the analysis of social influence. Two of these concepts are conformity and obedience. Conformity is the influence of the majority on an individual and obedience is the influence authority has on subordinates. Conformity and obedience are related in the fact that they both have the ability to persuade an individual or group of individuals to change his or her thoughts, actions, and behaviors, regarding a particular situation. Conformity and obedience are also related in that they can change the way individuals view others within a certain community, culture, ethnic group or environment. This paper will evaluate the effect of group influence on the self using both classical and contemporary literature, compare and contrast concepts of conformity and obedience and analyze individual and societal influences that lead to deviance from group norms. Conformity and obedience are important factors in groups because they command members of a group to follow societal norms. Conformity is a needed concept of social influence because it can enhance members of a group sense of belonging, as well as, self esteem. Conformity can be...
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...Influence of Conformity and Obedience “Social influence broadly encompasses any changes on beliefs, attitudes, or behavior that result from interpersonal interaction” (Fiske, 2010). Humans are known as social beings that live together forming diversity of groups forming and improving relationships within their groups. Social influence, which is very natural, is the result of communication and interaction in between groups. Conformity and obedience are concepts that support the analysis of social influence. Conformity and obedience both can persuade and change an individual(s) thoughts, actions, and behaviors. They also can change the individual(s) views of others within the community, culture and/or ethic group. In this paper I will discuss the issues of conformity and obedience; I will compare and contrast the concepts of conformity and obedience, analyze a classical study concerning the effect of group influence on the self, analyze a contemporary example of the effect that group influence has on the self and analyze individual and societal influences that lead to deviance from dominant group norms. Compare and contrast the concepts of conformity and obedience. Conformity is an important concept of social influence for it increases individuals or groups sense of belonging and self-esteem. Conformity is clearly observed when people are in groups that pressures individuals to say or do things that they normally would not do to be compatible with the group, to fit in...
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...How can we explain conformity? Draw on at least two examples Scott and Marshall (2005) explain conformity with people’s attempts on complying with other’s norms and rules in order to fulfill their expectations. But is it really that simple? Conformity is one of these terms in sociology that have too much different tones and shades, and thus requires deep examination. This essay looks at in detail at a number of classical studies on the subject of conformity as well as it analyzes a particular type of conformity, i.e. gender conformity. Examples and case studies given from both academic experiments and everyday life help this essay in arguing that conformity is a complex process happening to all of us most of the time even without our knowledge. Moreover, this essay provides information about why people actually conform. Every person is an individual. However, every person belongs to a group. The nationality of a person, their sex, their age, the colour of their skin, and even their hobbies are all different kinds of groups to which this person belongs to. Group membership helps building a type of social identity, while applying its norms and rules upon the individual (Brown 2000). Moreover, even in cases in which a clear hierarchy and roles are absent because of the instant development of the group, social influence remains existent. Social influence definition given by Allport (1968) is as it follows, ‘an attempt to understand and explain how the thought, feeling, and...
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...Two Social Psychology Social Influence Student workbook Name: .................................................................................. Form: ................................................................................... Teacher: .............................................................................. Specification requirements Social psychology Candidates will be expected to demonstrate: • Knowledge and understanding of concepts, theories and studies in relation to individual differences • Skills of analysis, evaluation and application in relation to individual differences • Knowledge and understanding of research methods associated with this area of psychology • Knowledge and understanding of ethical issues associated with this area of psychology. |Content outline | |Social influence |Conformity (majority influence) and explanations of why people conform, including informational | | |social influence and normative social influence | | | | | |Types of conformity, including...
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...What is Conformity? Conformity is a type of social influence involving a change in belief or behavior in order to fit in with a group. This change is in response to real (involving the physical presence of others) or imagined (involving the pressure of social norms / expectations) group pressure. Conformity can also be simply defined as “yielding to group pressures” (Crutchfield, 1955). Group pressure may take different forms, for example bullying, persuasion, teasing, criticism, etc. Conformity is also known as majority influence (or group pressure). The term conformity is often used to indicate an agreement to the majority position, brought about either by a desire to ‘fit in’ or be liked (normative) or because of a desire to be correct (informational), or simply to conform to a social role (identification). Jenness (1932) was the first psychologist to study conformity. His experiment was an ambiguous situation involving a glass bottle filled with beans. He asked participants individually to estimate how many beans the bottle contained. Jenness then put the group in a room with the bottle, and asked them to provide a group estimate through discussion. Participants were then asked to estimate the number on their own again to find whether their initial estimates had altered based on the influence of the majority. Jenness then interviewed the participants individually again, and asked if they would like to change their original estimates, or stay with the group's...
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...Outline and evaluate explanations of conformity. (12 marks) Normative social influence says people conform because they feel they need to be accepted and belong to the group. They accept the majorities’ views publicly, but privately they disagree – this type of conformity is compliance. The majority control the other group members, and use the fear of rejection to get others to conform. This is because humans are a social species and need companionship and are afraid of rejection. Research to support this explanation comes from Asch’s experiment, where participants knew the group was wrong privately but chose to conform in order to be accepted. This suggests that normative social influence is a valid theory of why people conform as it states we conform to be part of a social group, not because they believe the group to be right. On the other hand, in real life they aren’t part of that social group so don’t fear rejection, so factors other than the group may influence conformity. Another explanation of why people conform is informational social influence, where the individual changes their opinion both publicly and privately, which is described as internalisation. They do this as they believe the group are right. Conformity tends to increase when the situation is ambiguous, in matters of crisis or if they feel others are better qualified to make decisions. Fein et al found that participant’s opinions of political candidates in a debate were influenced by the reaction...
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...The Power of Conformity Conformity refers to an individual’s behavior that is performed because of group pressure, even though that pressure might not involve a direct request. Many people want to think that they are conformist enough so that they are not looked upon as strange to others and nonconformist enough to demonstrate that they are capable of thinking by themselves. For many years, psychologists have been interested in human conformity. Usually when people are in groups, they behave according to how those in the group behave. That indicates that conformity can affect a person’s behavior and make a person do things that may be against their ethics, attitudes, and morals. The study of conformity was first studied in the 1950s by Solomon Asch. His experiments were very important to the study of conformity. Asch wanted to find out how conformity could influence behavior. He did not want to focus on the general concepts like ethics, morals, attitudes, and belief systems. Instead, he focused on a more obvious concept which was perceptional conformity. Since he performed the experiment on a simple task, he was able to study conformity in a controlled environment. Asch wanted to apply group pressure to the experiment so he could manipulate a person’s behavior. For the experiment, he made three pairs of cards with three different lengths of vertical lines on one side. On the other side, there was a single line that was the same length ... Conformity and Obedience in Society...
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...Social Influences on Behavior Donnie Toms PSY 200 Feb 24 2013 Dr. Hawkins Social Influences on Behavior Introduction Everybody has their normal day to day life, whether that is going to work, going to school, staying at home, or doing whatever that day. Most of us have some type of social interaction on a daily basis and depending on what your day consist of dictates the type of social influences around us. We all have our own thoughts, feelings and actions, but when we are around other people those same thoughts, feelings and actions could be different. When you are at work the atmosphere is professional and work related, but if you are out with friends having some fun the atmosphere is more party like. The change in social influences dictates our behavior and what we deem to be appropriate. Social influence is defined as “the process wherein one person's attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors are changed as a result of interaction with another individual or with a group” (Stavrositu 2011). Social Behaviors There are various types of social behaviors that people exhibit depending on the influences around us. These influences can be conformity, the act of matching our attitude, beliefs and behaviors with a group of people. Conformity is when we would adapt what the culture deems normal and include that into our daily lives even when alone. Peer pressure is the influence put on us by a peer group or any individual to change our attitude, beliefs, or behaviors. Peer...
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...following research personal derives from Solomon Asch's conformity study. The study reflects how human subjects conform to the majority social influence of their peers. The study design was in a controlled laboratory experiment. The following proposal is to determine if subjects will decrease or increase the level of conformity outside a controlled environment. Psychology in Action Part V There are benefits of a controlled laboratory experiment which researches control the variables such as Asch's Opinions and Social Pressures study. The study does have further questions and follow-up studies to determine the magnitude of conformity as a social phenomenon. The social phenomenon of group conformity in a controlled environment has provided further issues to examine. Even though conformity may not increase outside a controlled environment, subjects may conform more outside a controlled environment because subjects conform easily inside a controlled environment. Research Proposal To: From: Date: Subject: Research proposal Research Question: Will subjects be more willing to conformity outside a controlled environment? Thesis: Even though conformity may not increase outside of a controlled environment, subjects may conform more outside a controlled environment because subjects conform easily inside a controlled environment. Proposed Research Topic: Will subjects be more willing to conformity outside a controlled environment? Purposes Asch...
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...Conformity and Obedience in the 20th Century The desire to be accepted and belong to a group is an undeniable human need. But how does this need affect an individual? Social psychologists have conducted numerous experiments and concluded that, through various forms of social influence, groups can change their members' thoughts, feelings, and behavior. In her essay "Group Minds," Doris Lessing discusses our paradoxical ability to call ourselves individuals and our inability to realize that groups define and influence us. We, as humans, hold individualism in the highest regard yet fail to realize that groups diminish our individuality. Lessing writes, "when we're in a group, we tend to think as that group does... but we also find our thinking changing because we belong to a group" (p. 334). Groups have the tendency to generate norms, or standards for behavior in certain situations. Not following these norms can make you stand out and, therefore, groups have the ability to influence our thoughts and actions in ways that are consistent with the groups'. Lessing's essay helps set the context to understand the experiments that social psychologists Solomon Asch, Stanley Milgram and Philip Zimbardo conducted to explain conformity and obedience. Solomon Asch's experiment in "Opinions and Social Pressure" studied a subject's ability to yield to social pressure when placed within a group of strangers. His research helped illustrate how groups encourage...
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