In a few sentences, please respond to each of the following questions. Up to 10 points can be earned for a completed assignment, with partial credit available for incomplete responses.

• Define the term social influence and explain how each of the following forms of social influence occur: conformity; compliance; symbolic social influence; obedience
• Define the term conformity, explain what took place during the Asch experiments conducted in the 1950's, and discuss the results and implications of this famous study on our understanding of social pressures
• Discuss the factors that are likely to result in an increase in conformity such as cohesiveness, group size, gender and culture
• Define the terms social norms and social roles. Discuss what took place during the Stanford prison experiment in 1971, and discuss the results and implications of this famous study on our understanding of social pressures
• Discuss your opinion on why the majority of us are likely to succumb to social pressures, yet most of us claim that we would be unlikely to fall victim to these pressures. Support your response
• Define the term compliance and describe the following underlying principles of compliance: friendship/liking; commitment; scarcity; reciprocity; social validation; authority
• Describe each of the following tactics for compliance: foot-in-the-door; door-in-the-face; low ball; that's-not-all; deadline; playing hard to get. Which tactic do think would result in the highest level of success and why? Support your response
• Define the term obedience, explain what took place during the Milgram obedience studies in the 1960's, and discuss the results and implications of these famous studies on our understanding of social influence. Why were these studies considered highly unethical, and how were more contemporary researchers able to demonstrate similar results without violating ethical guidelines?
• Define the term modeling and how it relates to the process of observational learning. How was this form of learning discovered, and what does it demonstrate to us about the power of social media? Support your response

 

Psychology Questions

1. Define the term social influence and explain how each of the following forms of social influence occur: conformity; compliance; symbolic social influence; obedience

Social influence denotes the process by which the actions or presence of others alter a person’s behavior, beliefs, or attitudes (Spears, 2021). Conformity occurs when a person’s behavior of belief changes in response to social pressure and majority influence. Compliance refers to instances people agree while in the presence of a group, but privately disagree with the viewpoint. Symbolic social influence occurs when an individual conforms to a social role and displays the qualities the society demands. Ultimately, obedience occurs when an individual does not want to be left out or appear foolish.

2. Define the term conformity, explain what took place during the Asch experiments conducted in the 1950s, and discuss the results and implications of this famous study on our understanding of social pressures

Conformity is changing perceptions, actions, attitudes, and beliefs to match with those held by groups an individual desire to join or groups they approve of. The Asch experiments sought to investigate the social pressures that would make an individual conform. The experiments involved asking respondents questions with obvious answers. Whenever the respondent gave a wrong answer, the researcher concluded it resulted from group pressure (Ye et al. 2019). Asch found that 32% of the respondents conformed with the majority on critical tasks. 75% complied and went with the majority at least once, while 25% did not conform. Where there was no group pressure, less than 1% of the participants conformed. The implication of the study is that people are more likely to conform under pressure than when they are left to decide on their own. People conform readily not because they believe in the group’s viewpoint, but they fear being left out or ridiculed.

3. Discuss the factors that are likely to result in an increase in conformity such as cohesiveness, group size, gender and culture

Factors that influence conformity include group strength and cohesiveness. People conform to the social influence of groups that are important to them and they feel valued and close to other members. Proximity and immediacy also influence the level of conformity. People are more likely to comply with groups closer to them and those made up of members the person cares about. Group size increases conformity because the more the number of group members, the more powerful the influence becomes. People in groups made up of the same gender or culture have a high affinity to conform because of similarity (Bartels, 2019). Shared characteristics induce more conformity, particularly when the shared feature is considered rare.

4. Define the terms social norms and social roles. Discuss what took place during the Stanford prison experiment in 1971, and discuss the results and implications of this famous study on our understanding of social pressures

Social norms are the standards and rules understood by group members. These standards constrain and guide social behavior without the nudge of the law. Social norms outline social pressures towards specific behaviors. Social roles are patterns of behavior defined by society (Bartels, 2019). Society expects people to belong to different social categories and occupy unique positions. The Stanford prison experiment sought to find out whether the ruthlessness reported in American prisons had something to do with the environment or the guards had violent, sadistic personalities. The researcher found it took a short time for both prisoners and guards to adapt to their roles. These results implied that people readily conform to the roles society expects them to play, especially roles that are strongly stereotyped like those of prison guards (Bartels, 2019). 

5. Discuss your opinion on why the majority of us are likely to succumb to social pressures, yet most of us claim that we would be unlikely to fall victim to these pressures. Support your response

Many people succumb to social pressure because of the need to fit in and avoid controversy. Others go along with the group because they are curious and want to try what others are doing. Even though most people claim they are immune to social pressure, some succumb because they want to be loved and crave attention from others.

6. Define the term compliance and describe the following underlying principles of compliance: friendship/liking; commitment; scarcity; reciprocity; social validation; authority

Compliance is the ability to follow a set of protocols or rules (Guadagno, 2017). Friendship is the state of being close to another person and having the feeling of endearment towards them. Commitment denotes dedication to a cause or an engagement that restricts actions. Scarcity means shortage or having limited consent. Reciprocity denotes exchanging privileges for mutual benefits. Social validation occurs when a passive individual conforms or follows the actions of others. Authority means the power to enforce obedience and make others conform.

7. Describe each of the following tactics for compliance: foot-in-the-door; door-in-the-face; low ball; that's-not-all; deadline; playing hard to get. Which tactic do you think would result in the highest level of success and why? Support your response

Foot-in-the-door is a tactic that urges an individual to make the first step towards achieving a goal. An individual gets to agree to a small request before moving to the large one. Door-in-the-face denotes asking for a large request that the respondent is likely to reject and more likely to accept the second offer. Low ball means offering a deceptively low bid the respondent will agree to hastily before increasing the bid. That's-not-all is a two-step technique. First, present a large request the respondent is likely to decline. Second, before they respond, the offer is made more attractive by offering additional benefits. The deadline technique provides the target person with a limited time to get an item or conform to some beliefs. Playing hard to get involves instilling uncertainty to make a request more desirable (Guadagno, 2017). I believe that the foot-in-the-door technique would return to the highest level of success because it revolves around consistency. People prefer to be associated with groups that do not contradict their beliefs and actions.

8. Define the term obedience, explain what took place during the Milgram obedience studies in the 1960s, and discuss the results and implications of these famous studies on our understanding of social influence. Why were these studies considered highly unethical, and how were more contemporary researchers able to demonstrate similar results without violating ethical guidelines?

Obedience in social influence involves acting under the direction of an authority figure. The Milgram obedience studies sought to find out the willingness of people to obey when instructed by authority figures to perform actions conflicting with their morals (Grzyb & Dolinski, 2017). The researcher let participants believe they were administering shock therapy to a learner. The study found that people were more inclined to obey instructions from an authority figure, although reluctantly. People considered the Milgram obedience studies unethical because participants did not have proper informed consent. Also, the experiments were conducted in highly stressful situations and participants found it difficult to withdraw at will. Contemporary researchers can conduct similar experiments but use stricter controls. For instance, modern ethical standards dictate participants should not be deceived.

9. Define the term modelling and how it relates to the process of observational learning. How was this form of learning discovered, and what does it demonstrate to us about the power of social media? Support your response

Modelling is a technique used to learn behavior. Modelling occurs when one person observes another and imitates their behavior. Albert Bandura discovered observational learning in 1961 during the Bobo Doll experiment (Hollis, 2019). Social media is a powerful influence because most people try to mimic what they see on social media. Most groups use social media to engage with members and to influence them using content that drives them towards making certain decisions.