Social Influence: How Groups Shape Behavior and Performance
School
McMaster University**We aren't endorsed by this school
Course
PSYCH 1X03 1X03
Subject
Sociology
Date
Dec 10, 2024
Pages
3
Uploaded by ChefSnowGazelle48
Influence of Others● Our thoughts and behaviours are influenced by the people around us ● Social psych is not as inuitive as it seems ● Behaviours performed in a group are different from behaviours performed induvidually Norman Triplett~noted that people perform better when being observed (1898)● observed cycling in groups led to performing better compared to doing it alone for timing ● asked children to wind string on a fishing rope for no rewards (occured in grroups or induvidually) ○ he noted children were winding the string faster when there were other childrne present● Components of Triplett’s Theory ○ Co-Actor■ another induvidual performing the same task○ Audience■ a group of people watching an induvidual perform a task● **Social Facilitation the increased performance that occurs in the presence of co-actors or an audience ● The presence of others can sometimes hinder, rather than help, a performance. (some studies portray this; when solving complex math problems, solving a maze, or learning somehting sylabls) Robert Zajonchis research offered a solution to the problem of Social Faciliation● presence of others increases arousal to improveperformance on well practicedtasks.● presence of others hindersperformance on complextasksGroup presence hinders complex task performance, but facilitates well-practiced ones.
Social Learning TheoryAlbert Bandura~ brought attention to this theory (1930s)● behaviours we learn from others does not always need reinforcement from others*We learn appropriate behaviours by modeling and imitating the behaviour of others.Study~ Bandura’s Bobo doll experiment● children mimic observed behaviours, even when afflicting harm to other peopleConformity~has powerful control over our behaviourZafa Sherif (1930s)● Used the autokinetic effect (causes us to imagine movement that never occured (light optical illusion- red dot in black screen in dark)● on avg. saw it move 5cm induvidually○ however, over a few days after discussing with other group members - showing conformity in action● Norms~ unwritten but commonly accepted rules for how to behave● Norm Formationleads to convergence in behaviour, even in the presence of outliers● in a follow up experiment, a confederate○ is also why T.V shows use audience laughter tracks to convince actual audience that the dialogue is acutally funnySolomon Ash~ investigated why people so easily converge toward a normStudy: a line test asking everyone which line matches the sample line provided● 5 people infront with a very wrong answer● 75% of participants conformed at least once● 37% of the responses conformed to a clearly incorrect answerOthers set our standard for conduct based on our fear of rejectionNormative Function~the role of others in setting standards for our conduct based on a fear of rejection● others set our standard for conduct based on our fear of rejection● the informational function of conformity acts in ambiguous situationsInformational function
~ the role of others in providing information about an ambiguous situation(It allows us to compare our ideas against information and perceptions from others around us)Deutsch & Gerard (1955)● similar line experiment● each participnt was isolated to made a judgement after seeing a set of lines● used lights to make anonymous answers● participants doubt their own perceptions when it conflicts with that of others● it was clear the participants conformed when they were unclear of the answer (doubted their own perceptions)●