Social Psychology
Social Psychology: Studies how thoughts and behaviours are in uenced by others.
Social In uence: Studies how we in uence each others behaviour.
Attribution Error: We tend to attribute ones actions to their personality rather than the
situation, even when we are told otherwise.
Compliance:
• Behaviour following a request or a command
Obedience:
• behaviour following a request or a command from an authority gure
Conformity:
• Adjusting thinking/behaviour to coincide with a group norm
• Giving into social pressures
Milgram's Studies on Obedience
Milgram was a social psychologist that studied obedience and looked at factors that affected their
obedience. He was interested particularly as to why people obeyed Hitlers commands in WW11. His
famous shock study was particularly looking at experimenter proximity.
Factors affecting willingness to obey:
• Built into us as a species through evolution
• Socialized to follow directives
• Social norms
• Experimenter proximity
• Others defying the commands
• How direct the interaction is
Compliance Techniques in Everyday Life
Foot in the door technique: We are more willing to comply to a larger request after we rst agree to a
smaller request.
Door in the face technique: We are more willing to comply with a small request if we rst turned down a
larger one.
Low ball technique: After you agree to something the original terms are made more costly.
Conformity
Factors that affect conformity/make us more likely to conform:
• When we are made to feel incompetent or insecure
• When we are in a group with at least 3 people
• When we are in a group in which everyone agrees
• Admire the groups status or attractiveness
• Have not made a prior commitments to any response
• Know that the others in the group will observe our behaviour
• Are from a culture that strongly encourages respect for social standards
Group Behavior
Social Facilitation: The presence of others strengthens our most likely response.
Social Loa ng: People exert less energy in a group because they feel less accountable, this is especially
true when they share equal bene ts regardless of how much they attribute.
Deindividuation: Presence of others does both of the above (creating arousal and anonymity)
Social Psychology: Studies how thoughts and behaviours are in uenced by others.
Social In uence: Studies how we in uence each others behaviour.
Attribution Error: We tend to attribute ones actions to their personality rather than the
situation, even when we are told otherwise.
Compliance:
• Behaviour following a request or a command
Obedience:
• behaviour following a request or a command from an authority gure
Conformity:
• Adjusting thinking/behaviour to coincide with a group norm
• Giving into social pressures
Milgram's Studies on Obedience
Milgram was a social psychologist that studied obedience and looked at factors that affected their
obedience. He was interested particularly as to why people obeyed Hitlers commands in WW11. His
famous shock study was particularly looking at experimenter proximity.
Factors affecting willingness to obey:
• Built into us as a species through evolution
• Socialized to follow directives
• Social norms
• Experimenter proximity
• Others defying the commands
• How direct the interaction is
Compliance Techniques in Everyday Life
Foot in the door technique: We are more willing to comply to a larger request after we rst agree to a
smaller request.
Door in the face technique: We are more willing to comply with a small request if we rst turned down a
larger one.
Low ball technique: After you agree to something the original terms are made more costly.
Conformity
Factors that affect conformity/make us more likely to conform:
• When we are made to feel incompetent or insecure
• When we are in a group with at least 3 people
• When we are in a group in which everyone agrees
• Admire the groups status or attractiveness
• Have not made a prior commitments to any response
• Know that the others in the group will observe our behaviour
• Are from a culture that strongly encourages respect for social standards
Group Behavior
Social Facilitation: The presence of others strengthens our most likely response.
Social Loa ng: People exert less energy in a group because they feel less accountable, this is especially
true when they share equal bene ts regardless of how much they attribute.
Deindividuation: Presence of others does both of the above (creating arousal and anonymity)
