Exam 8: Conformity and Obedience: Influencing Behavior

Explain what two conflicting norms operated in Stanley Milgram's classic obedience experiments. Also explain why one norm was more likely to be obeyed than the other.

After checking into a hotel, Emma suddenly hears pounding on her door. A man in a uniform is standing there telling her that there is smoke on a lower floor and the electricity is possibly going to shut off. She should prop her door open and evacuate as quickly as possible. Later, she returns to find her laptop and jewelry have been stolen. She has fallen victim to informational social influence. Explain why she conformed.

To avoid __________, people will agree to a second, even unattractive, request as part of the foot-in-the-door technique.

Research by Baron et al. (1996) on the importance of accuracy indicates that the more important it is for people to be accurate, the __________.

In the past ten years, the popular American holiday Halloween was "imported" to France by retailers hoping to increase revenues. Essentially, the French learned the traditions such as trick-or-treating and wearing costumes from Americans. This is an example of __________ on an international scale.

An individual in a group can influence the behavior or beliefs of the majority. This is known as __________.

Not all members of the radio audience of Orson Welles's War of the Worlds broadcast panicked immediately. Indeed, some didn't panic until they looked out of the window and saw empty streets; others didn't panic until they saw streets full of traffic. It was after checking out the situation that these citizens decided that the Martians had indeed invaded Earth. This example illustrates that contagion __________.

Changing one's behavior due to the real or imagined influence of others is called __________.

Recall that in a field experiment described in the text, participants were more likely to properly dispose of a handbill left on their windshields when they saw a confederate pick up and dispose of a fast food bag. Results of this experiment reveal the power of __________ to reduce littering behaviors.

Sillain is participating in a fMRI study replicating Asch's study on conformity. When she performed alone at judging the figures, what area of her brain was most likely active?

You need to give a presentation in your class about Bibb Latané's social impact theory (1981). You want to focus on the three variables that influence the likelihood that people will conform to social influence pressures. Your lecture will include __________.

Mr. Anderson needs someone to work the very undesirable Fourth of July shift in his restaurant. If he uses the door-in-the-face technique, how should he approach his staff?

People are motivated to impose clear definitions on ambiguous situations. Which of the following processes is NOT used to resolve ambiguity of information?

Discuss the role of both informational and normative influence in Nazi Germany and the Holocaust.

Dr. Emile is trying to replicate Asch's study in a collectivist culture. He's not seeing the degree of conformity in the lab that Asch saw. Which of the following is the most likely reason why?

In which of the following cases is conformity due to information social influence LEAST likely to occur?

Researchers (Bond & Smith, 1996) conducted a meta-analysis of 133 Asch line-judgment studies conducted in seventeen countries. They found that conformity was higher in __________ because normative social influence __________.

Solomon Asch conducted a series of studies in which confederates publicly gave an obviously wrong judgment about the length of several lines, and then a participant was asked to make a judgment about what he or she saw. What was the result of this study? Describe how participants behaved. Additionally, state if they were subject to normative or informational social influence.

In Japan, some teens become hikikomori, often after being the victims of severe bullying. Someone who is hikikomori can be described as __________.

In an alternative version of his original experiment, Milgram used two experimenters, who began to disagree with each other when the participants administered 150 volts and the learner began to complain. In this variation, participants refused to continue. According to the authors of your text, this variation demonstrates the importance of __________ in influencing obedience.