Social Influence

Social Influence Please sit with the desks that match your number. • Today’s Learning Outcome • The students will be able to identify & define compliance & conformity techniques. • The students will perform tasks to show compliance techniques. • Please read the handout on compliance techniques.

Group Behaviour • The last two classes dealt with the Social Learning Theory. • In your group, refresh your memories on SLT. What is it? What studies support SLT? Today, we look at Social Influence.

Compliance Techniques • Each of you has received a number and it coincides with the following information: • Authority • Commitment • Liking • Reciprocity • Scarcity • Social Proof • Success Criteria: • You will now create a short skit that demonstrates the compliance technique. You will have 15 minutes to prepare and then we will draw, at random, the order the groups will present next class • GO!!!

Door-in-the-face TechniqueReciprocity • Cialdini et al (1975) • Experimenters posed as reps for a false organization & asked students on the street to volunteer • Initially asked to volunteer chaperone juvenile delinquents to the zoo for a one day trip-83% refused • Experimenters then asked if students would volunteer to work 2 hours a week for 2 years-100% refusal • However, after asking for 2 years, experimenters than asked the bit about the zoo-50% agreed to chaperone In your group: think of real life examples?

Foot-in-the-Door TechniqueCommitment • Dickerson et al (1992) • Students wanted to see if they could get other students to conserve water in the dorm showers • Subjects were asked to do 2 things: • Sign a poster (“Take shorter showers. If I can do it, so can you!”) • Take a survey designed to make them think about their own water wastage. • Students shower times were then monitored • Those who signed the poster and took the survey took shorter showers on average by 3.5 minutes • The times were significantly shorter than others in the dorm In your group discuss the problems with this study.

Commitment Goal Gradients Longer people are committed to something, the less likely they are to abandon War in Afghanistan a good example? Low-Balling Cialdini et al (1974) • First year psych students were asked to be in a study that began at 7 AM-76% refused • A second group was asked to participate but not told a time-44% refused • When they were told it was at 7 AM (they could back out if they wanted)-95% showed

Hazing What is hazing? Turn to page 119 in handout and read the last paragraph before the blue subheading together.

Solomon Asch (1951) DISCUSS the use of the compliance technique for which you created a skit. hint: The command term “discuss” requires you to offer a balanced review of two compliance techniques . You must include research as evidence in your argument, which should be based on discussing the power of the explanation.

practice • Read pages 126-130 in the text on conformity. • Write notes on the studies of conformity • Write notes on how conformity is explained • Write notes on the factors that influence conformity

Social Influence