Psychology 160 Readings 4

A change in one’s behavior due to the real or imagined influence of other people

influence of other people that leads us to conform because we see them as a source of information to guide our behavior, we conform because we believe that others interpretation of ambiguous situation is more correct than ours and will help us choose an appropriate course of action

conforming to other people’s behavior out of genuine belief that what they are doing or saying is right

conforming to other people’s behavior publicly without necessarily believing in what we are doing or saying

The ways in which people perceive, comprehend, and interpret the social world

occurrence in  a group of people of similar physical symptoms with no known physical cause

influence of other people that leads us to conform in order to be liked and accepted by them; this type of conformity results in public compliance with the group’s beliefs and behaviors but not necessarily private acceptance of those beliefs and behaviors

implicit or explicit rules a group has for the acceptable behaviors, values, and beliefs of its members

something more important to you, less likely to conform to social norms- important to be right if being paid 20$ to tell which line is right- if situation is more ambiguous- go along with the group more

how normative social influence work- what happens when someone goes against the norm- had participants in group- this person committed a crime- most people wanted to give him a moderate punishment- confederate wanted harshest punishment ever- how did participants treat confederate- if you could nominate someone to get rid of in group- choose confederate- assigned him menial tasks but not actually participating- if you don’t follow normsà face social punishment

influence of other people that leads us to conform in order to be liked and accepted by them; this type of conformity results in public compliance with the group’s beliefs and behaviors but not nec private acceptance- norm conform is the tendency to go along with the group to gain acceptance and fulfill expectations*

effect that words, actions, or mere presence of other people have on our thoughts, feelings, attitudes, or behavior*

idea that conforming to social influence depends on the strength of the group’s importance, its immediacy, and the number of people in the group- immediacy- whether group trying to get you to do something is close to you in space and time- harder to say no in person rather than by e-mail or something

the tolerance a person earns, over time, by conforming to group norms; if enough idiosyncrasy credits are earned, the person can, on occasion, behave deviantly without retribution from the group

case where minority of group members influences behavior/beliefs of the majority using social influence to promote beneficial behavior