PersuasionS

ocia

l S

ocia

l In

flu

en

ce

Infl

uen

ce

Altruism and Helping Behavior

Group InfluencesGroup Influences

Becoming and Becoming and Assertive PersonAssertive Person

What is Social Influence?What is Social Influence?

• The area of social psychology that studies the

ways in which people influence the thoughts,

feelings, and behavior of other behavior.

PERSUASIONPERSUASION

Factors of PersuasionFactors of Persuasion

Factors involving in getting your message across.

Factors of PersuasionFactors of Persuasion

• Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM): The view that persuasion occurs through two routes, a central route involving careful evaluation (elaboration) of the content of a persuasive message, and a peripheral route involving attention to associated cues that are peripheral to the content of the message.

Persuasion: The MessagePersuasion: The Message

• Repeated Exposure: Repeated exposure to people and things (such as politicians and classical music) enhances their appeal.

• Emotional Appeal: Attempts to influence behavior on the basis of feelings that are aroused instead of rational analysis of the issues.

• Counter-arguments: People tend to believe arguments that run counter to the vested interests of the communicator.

Persuasion: The Persuasion: The Communicator and ContextCommunicator and Context

• Persuasive communicators are characterized by credibility, likeability, trustworthiness, attractiveness, and similarity with their audiences.

• We also tend to persuaded by the famous, health professionals and attractive individuals.

• Elements of the immediate environment, such as music can increase the likelihood of persuasion. Also, if the target of persuasion is in a good mood, they might be more receptive to a persuasive argument.

Sales PloysSales Ploys

• The Foot-in-the-Door: A method for inducing compliance in which a small request is followed by a larger request.

• Low-Balling: A method in which extremely attractive terms are offered to induce a person to make a commitment. Once the commitment is made, the terms are revised.

• Bait-and-Switch: The sales tactic of baiting customers with low-priced, but inferior merchandise and then switching them to a higher-priced item of more acceptable quality.

Group InfluencesGroup Influences

Obedience to AuthorityObedience to Authority

• Psychologists have long been concerned with the nature of blind obedience. Why are so many people willing to commit crimes against humanity when they are ordered to do so?

• Stanley Milgram also wondered about this and conducted an experiment to determine how many people would resist authority figures who made immoral requests.

The Milgram Studies:The Milgram Studies:

• Milgram recruited 40 men from all walks of life to take part in the study.

• These participants were then placed in the role of “teacher” and took part in an experiment in which they believed they were studying the effects of punishment upon learning.

The Milgram Studies:The Milgram Studies:

• The “teachers” were to punish the “learner’s” errors by pressing levers on an “aggression machine.” The voltage went from 15 volts up to a lethal level.

• The “learners” were never shocked, but did provide the “teachers” with emotional cues by playing sounds on a tape recorder at predetermined levels of voltage. For example, at 210 volts the “teacher” might hear a scream of pain.

The Milgram Studies:The Milgram Studies:

• When the “teacher” would become uncomfortable with going further, the “scientist” would simply respond with a statement such as “The experiment requires that you continue.”

The Milgram Studies:The Milgram Studies:

• Of the 40 men in the first phase, only 5 refused to go beyond the 300-volt level.

• Nine more men defied the scientist within the 300-volt range.

• 65% of the participants in the study went all the way to 450-volt shocks.

• Women and college students also showed similar results in later studies.

Factors in Blind ObedienceFactors in Blind Obedience

• Propaganda

• Socialization

• Lack of Social Comparison

• Perception of legitimate authority

• The foot-in-the-door technique

• Inaccessibility of values

• Buffers

CONFORMITYCONFORMITY

• Conform: To change one’s attitudes or behaviors to adhere to social norms.

• Social norms: Explicit and implicit rules that reflect social expectations and influence the ways people behave in social situations.

• The tendency to conform to social norms impacts us in many areas (covering your mouth when you sneeze, not cutting in line, etc.).

CONFORMITYCONFORMITY

• The tendency to conform to social norms can be positive (such as covering your mouth when you sneeze) or maladaptive (such as engaging in risky behavior because “everyone is doing it.”)

• Many like to think of themselves as non-conformists, but a classic study by Solomon Asch demonstrated that we are more likely to conform than we think.

Asch Study on ConformityAsch Study on Conformity

• Participants were asked to take part in a study on “visual discrimination.” The participant was one of eight people who judged line lengths on a card held by an individual facing the row of eight people.

• The participant was given the seventh of the eight seats. The other seven individuals were confederates working for the experimenter.

Asch Study on ConformityAsch Study on Conformity

• The participants were to match the comparison line with the standard line by saying “1”, “2” or “3”.

• On a “key trial”, the first six in the row answer incorrectly.

Asch Study on ConformityAsch Study on Conformity

• The participants experienced a fair degree of discomfort on these “key trials.”

• 75% of the participants went along with the group and gave the wrong answer on at least one “key trial.”

Factors Influencing ConformityFactors Influencing Conformity

• Belonging to a collectivist rather than an individualistic society

• Desire to be liked by other members of the group

• Low self-esteem• Social shyness• Lack of familiarity with the task• Group size• Social support

Mob BehaviorMob Behavior

• Deindividuation: The process by which group members discontinue self-evaluation and adopt group norms and attitudes.

• Diffusion of Responsibility: The dilution or loss of individual responsibility for behavior when members of a group act in unison.

Altruism and Helping BehaviorAltruism and Helping Behavior

Altruism and the Bystander Effect.Altruism and the Bystander Effect.

• Altruism: Unselfish concern for the welfare of others. Altruism is characterized by helping behavior.

• Bystander effect: The tendency for bystanders to fail to act to help a person in need.

Decision Making Decision Making ModelModel

• This model by Latane and Darley proposes

that for helping to occur, a bystander

must make five independent

decisions. Saying “no” at any of the steps leads to a failure to help.

The Helper: Who Helps?The Helper: Who Helps?

• Observers are more likely to help if they are in a good mood. Elevated mood might impart a sense of personal power.

• People who have a developed sense of empathy will be more likely to help as they will feel the distress of others.

• Women are more likely than men to be empathic and therefore, more likely to help.

The Victim: Who is Helped?The Victim: Who is Helped?

• People are more likely to help people they know. Especially with family and relatives.

• People are more likely to help others who are similar to themselves.

• Women are more likely than men to get help.

Becoming AssertiveBecoming Assertive

Steps to becoming more Steps to becoming more assertiveassertive

• Self-Monitoring: Self-monitoring of social areas can help you pinpoint problem areas.

• Confronting Irrational Beliefs: While monitoring behavior, pay attention to irrational beliefs that lead to unassertive or aggressive behavior.

• Modeling: Much of our behavior is modeled after that of people we respect and admire. A therapist can help an individual mold their new behaviors.

• Behavior Rehearsal: It is a good idea to try out new behaviors in non-threatening situations, such as before a mirror. This will accustom you to the sounds of assertive talk.

To the Instructor:To the Instructor:

• The preceding slides are intended to provide you a base upon which to build your presentation for Chapter 7 of Nevid’s Psychology and the Challenges of Life.

• For further student and instructor resources including images from the textbook, quizzes, flashcard activities and e-Grade plus, please visit our website: www.wiley.com/college/nevid

CopyrightCopyright

Copyright 2004 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, NY. All rights reserved. No part of the material protected by this copyright may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission of the copyright owner.