Deck 7: Influence

Question 1

Which source of group influence explains why we do not cut in line,interrupt others,or invade people's personal space? In what ways does this source of influence differ from the others?

Answer 1

Answers will vary.

Question 2

How does modifying jury size affect a jury's decision? Identify at least processes that may change when the jury's size is change from 12 to a smaller or larger size.

Answer 2

Answers will vary.

Question 3

Draw on Schachter's study of people's reactions to deviation to explain what happens in a group when one of the members disagrees with the others.

Answer 3

Answers will vary.

Question 4

Summarize the methods used and results obtained by Asch in his studies of conformity.

Question 5

In the play and movie Twelve Angry Men,one juror persuades all the others to change their verdicts.Draw on studies of social influence to explain how juries make decisions-and when an outcome like that described in Twelve Angry Men is likely to occur.

Question 6

Is the pressure to conform the same or different in online groups? What do researchers believe is behind these similarities or differences?

Question 7

Why is a unanimous majority so influential?

Question 8

Describe the Crutchfield apparatus.What was the purpose behind its use? How does it relate to Asch's conformity studies?

Question 9

Using the concept of idiosyncrasy credits,explain how groups would react to a a)deviant: b)leader,c)older member,and d)new member.

Question 10

You know that Edgar disagrees with your decision to support plan A over plan B,and you plan to meet with him and several other members of the work team to discuss the plans.How will you structure the meeting to maximize the chances that Edgar with give in to your demands?

Question 11

Social influence emanates from both the majority and the minority.

Question 12

Illustrate,through a hypothetical example,these four tendencies documented by Latané and his colleagues in their studies of social impact: consolidation,clustering,correlation,and continuing diversity.

Question 13

Drawing on studies of cultural factors,eras,gender,and personality,explain your personal tendency to conform or to remain independent.

Question 14

Compare and contrast implicit,informational,normative,and interpersonal influence,and give an example of each.

Question 15

How does the size of a group affect members' willingness to help? Name three factors that influence members' decision to help.What advice do you suggest to remedy the situation?

Question 16

Harry is meeting with his group and all the other members share an opinion that he does not agree with.Harry argues his position and the group tries to change his mind.Name at least four possible different ways in which Harry can react to the group's pressure.

Question 17

Explain the dual process theory of influence.How does it relate to informational influence? Provide two different examples using dual process theories of influence.

Question 18

Why do groups and the members of groups change their opinions over time?

Question 19

Summarize the methods used and the results obtained by Moscovici in his studies of minority influence.

Question 20

Summarize the methods used-and the results obtained-by Langer in her study of conformity and photocopying.

Question 21

For minority individuals to influence the majority,they must remain inconsistent to keep the majority from ignoring them.

Question 22

The decision favored by majority of the jury taken on the very first ballot is the final decision over 60% of the time.

Question 23

If Bob decides to conform after seeing the group react negatively to another member diverging from the norm,Bob has succumbed to informational influence.

Question 24

Conformity may be more prevalent,rather than less prevalent,in online situations if individuals' collective identities are salient.

Question 25

The most common response of participants in the Asch situation was independence.

Question 26

Majority influence works more quickly than minority influence,but Moscovici argues that minority influence,given time,creates more permanent change.

Question 27

Conversion theory,developed by Moscovici,suggests that the impact of a minority on the majority is more indirect,but may more enduring,than the impact of a majority on the minority.

Question 28

Asch,using a simple line-judging task,discovered that individuals will agree with an incorrect majority nearly all the time

Question 29

Social ___ is an interpersonal process that changes the thoughts,feelings,or behaviors of another person.

A)motivation
B)influence
C)comparison
D)divulgence
E)majority

Question 30

It is generally agreed that Asch's experiments in conformity that occurred in the 1950s could not be replicated today because people are now significantly less traditional.

Question 31

Schachter found that in most cases a deviant within a group is ostracized and totally ignored.

Question 32

As groups increase in size,conformity tends to increase,but at an ever-decreasing rate.

Question 33

Hung juries are juries that vote to sentence a defendant to death.

Question 34

Evidence driven juries tend to make its decision only after hearing all the facts in a case.

Question 35

People's personalities were less influential in the Crutchfield situation than in the Asch situation,because the Crutchfield situation was a "strong" rather than weak social situation.

Question 36

Decreasing jury size to reduce the chances of dissent is a way to improve the jury system and increase its fairness.

Question 37

Anticonformists privately agree with the group (or have no opinion),but disagree publicly.

Question 38

In face-to-face settings,women conform more than men.

Question 39

Idiosyncrasy credits explain why leniency is extended to minority dissenters who are eclectic and free spirited,and therefore not a threat to the group.

Question 40

One reason people in groups are not helpful as lone individuals is group members may feel that others share responsibility for helping.

Question 41

Moscovici found that ___ changed when they faced a minority who was mistaken.

A)no one
B)about 90% of the subjects
C)about 8% of the subjects
D)approximately 1/3 of the subjects

Question 42

Asch's findings are noteworthy in that he found that

A)the minority influenced the majority.
B)people were very obedient.
C)a substantial number of people conformed and gave the wrong answer.
D)conformity increased at a constant rate as new members joined the group.
E)people complied,but they did not conform.

Question 43

Asch studied influence by

A)measuring how much students' attitudes changed during college.
B)asking people to judge the movement of a pinpoint of light in a dark room.
C)watching how people in groups responded to the commands of an authority.
D)having people make judgments about the length of lines.
E)asking groups to simulate juries making decisions.

Question 44

Which of the following statements is true?

A)The shape of the relationship between group size and influence depends on several situational factors.
B)People conform more in the Asch situation when they can keep their opinions to themselves.
C)People conform more when facing a group of four sources,particularly if they believe the four sources discussed the issue among themselves.
D)Because of the supportive nature of cohesive groups,people conform less in as conformity increases.

Question 45

When people change their opinions,judgments,and actions to match the group,they are

A)conforming.
B)forming.
C)performing.
D)reflecting.
E)leading.

Question 46

The typical person conformed on about ___ of the trials in Asch's experiment.

A)1 in 20
B)one-third
C)two-thirds
D)nearly all

Question 47

Roy believes that Gone with the Wind is the best movie ever made.Which scenario is most consistent with research findings on influence?

A)When James disagrees with Roy,saying Citizen Kane is better,Roy changes his mind and agrees with James.
B)When James disagrees with Roy,Roy remains unpersuaded.But when Dianne joins with James,Roy's confidence is greatly shaken,and when Dean supports James and Dianne,Roy caves in completely.
C)When James,Dianne,and Dean disagree with Roy,he sticks by his choice and refuses to change.
D)James,Dianne,and Dean can't change Roy's opinion,but when five more people argue against him (bringing the total of majority members to eight)Roy changes his opinion.

Question 48

Which of the following is NOT one of the key variables stressed in Latané's social impact theory?

A)strength
B)immediacy
C)legitimacy
D)number

Question 49

In Moscovici's experiments,

A)subjects were seated in individual cubicles.
B)confederates gave wrong answers on some trials.
C)the problems facing the group had no "right" answer.
D)subjects' judgments were made anonymously.

Question 50

Drawing on Asch's findings involving group judgments of line-lengths,how big must a group be before the influence processes reach the "usual" or "typical" level?

A)2
B)4
C)8
D)10
E)12

Question 51

Meta-analytic reviews of conformity research indicate that

A)people are becoming more conforming with each passing year.
B)the Millennial generation is more conforming than the generation that grew up in the 1950s.
C)conformity is higher in such countries as the U.S.and England than it is in Japan and South America.
D)people may conform at higher rates than those initially reported by Asch.

Question 52

Which of the following statements is true?

A)Women conform more than men in both public and private group situations.
B)Even when women have high status,they conform more than low status men.
C)Men often refuse to conform in face-to-face settings to demonstrate their independence.
D)Women's conformity springs from their biological need to belong.

Question 53

According to social impact theory,conformity pressures ___ at a(n)___ rate as more people join the majority.

A)increase;decreasing
B)decrease;increasing
C)decrease;constant
D)increase;constant

Question 54

Asch is to Crutchfield as

A)conformity is to compliance.
B)no confederates are to confederates.
C)experimental study is to field study.
D)low conformity is to high conformity.
E)face-to-face is to separated.

Question 55

The Crutchfield situation is to __ as the Asch situation is to ___.

A)public;private
B)weak;strong
C)minority;majority
D)task focused;relationship focused
E)normative;informational

Question 56

In the Asch experiment

A)subjects were seated in individual cubicles.
B)confederates conformed by giving the wrong answers on some trials.
C)the problems the group worked on had no one "right" answer.
D)subjects made their judgments anonymously.

Question 57

Fred decides that other group members are right,so he changes his mind and comes to believe in the group's position.This change is BEST described as

A)compliance.
B)conversion.
C)anticonformity.
D)independence.
E)conformity.

Question 58

Looking only at the 12 trials in which the participants faced an incorrect majority,the most frequent response of people across these 12 trials was

A)compliance.
B)anticonformity.
C)independence.
D)conversion
E)congruence

Question 59

Studies suggest that conformity pressures are ___ in online groups compared to offline groups.

A)negligible
B)lower
C)the same or even higher
D)reversed

Question 60

You do not like pizza but you like soup.But you go ahead and agree to eating pizza when the group pressures you to order pizza and not soup.After the meal,you still dislike pizza,but don't tell the group.This response is BEST described as

A)compliance.
B)conversion.
C)anticonformity.
D)independence.

Question 61

Which of the following statements is true?

A)Chimpanzees conform more to group norms than do humans.
B)Informational influence only works when it instigates a moral,injunctive norm.
C)Most people enjoy being the one person in the group who is the nonconformist.
D)Focus group theory contrasts injunctive norms and descriptive norms.

Question 62

Judy conforms because she cannot withstand the verbal harassment from the other group members.Her conformity results from ___ influence.

A)normative
B)personal
C)informational
D)interpersonal

Question 63

Synthesizing the findings of Asch's work and Moscovici's conversion theory,we can conclude that influence in groups generally results from

A)strong,determined leadership.
B)the majority influencing the minority.
C)mutual influence between the majority and minority.
D)the minority influencing the majority.

Question 64

Schachter found evidence of a curvilinear relationship between time and communication

A)whenever a deviant was in the group.
B)whenever the deviant refused to conform.
C)in some groups in the relevant,cohesive condition.
D)in the time pressures,cohesive condition only.

Question 65

Which of the following is NOT one of the basic sources of influence examined in the text?

A)personal influence
B)informational influence
C)interpersonal influence
D)normative influence
E)implicit influence

Question 66

When will a group NOT listen to the minority?

A)When group members are meeting for the first time and discussing ideas.
B)If minorities consistently argue and stand strong on their point of view.
C)When the group members identify strongly with the group and fear the minority may undermine their social identity.
D)If the minority tries to present a non-obvious solution to the problem at hand.

Question 67

Moscovici's findings are noteworthy in that he found that

A)the minority influenced the majority.
B)people were very obedient.
C)nearly 35% of the subjects conformed and gave the wrong answer.
D)conformity increased at a constant rate as new members joined the group.
E)people complied,but they did not conform.

Question 68

Dynamic social impact theory,unlike social impact theory,strives to explain

A)minority influence.
B)majority influence.
C)change over time.
D)geographically distributed groups.

Question 69

Which of the following fits in least well with the others?

A)mindlessness
B)mimicry
C)social comparison
D)implicit influence

Question 70

According to Moscovici's conversion theory,

A)minority influence directly affects individuals and the influence is seen almost instantaneously.
B)minorities pressure group members into changing their judgments without thinking.
C)minorities are only influential when they consistently present their arguments,regardless of how they are viewed.
D)minority influence can eventually produce lasting effects that generalizes across different settings and tasks.

Question 71

Moscovici believes majority influence leads to ___ whereas minority influence leads to ___.

A)individuality;diversity
B)originality;similarity
C)consensus;innovation
D)unification;harmony
E)variety;novelty

Question 72

Minorities influence group members through ___ influence.

A)indirect
B)normative
C)direct
D)bilateral
E)determinational

Question 73

Asch is to ___ as Moscovici is to ___.

A)majority;minority
B)empirical;theoretical
C)innovation;democratic
D)humanistic;objective
E)European;American

Question 74

The ___ effect states that group members view a disliked group member more negatively than an outgroup member who performs the same behavior.

A)black sheep
B)scapegoat
C)outgroup attribution error
D)target individual
E)loafing

Question 75

After the group discusses a topic,the number of the members expressing a specific view increases while the number of members expressing the dissenting view decreases.This is an example of

A)consolidation
B)correlation
C)clustering
D)continuing diversity
E)merging

Question 76

Compared to normative influence,informational influence

A)is vastly more effective.
B)tends to be most influential within a given situation and less likely to generalize.
C)gradually becomes more powerful over time.
D)causes individuals to act more in accordance to group norms.
E)generalizes across tasks and settings

Question 77

Ron,the groups' leader,did not pay his membership fee on time but he could pay it late and did not have to pay the "late fee" that other members must pay.The group did not impose a penalty because Ron has more ___ than other members.

A)diversity
B)idiosyncrasy credits
C)immediacy
D)consolidation
E)leadership recognition

Question 78

Sociometric rankings taken in the Schachter study indicated that the ___ was the least liked group member.

A)slider
B)deviant
C)mode
D)independent

Question 79

Which key ingredient to minority influence did the single holdout in the 12 Angry Men jury NOT demonstrate?

A)The juror consistently argued his position.
B)He offered strong evidence that supported his position.
C)He first conformed to the group before expressing his view (idiosyncrasy credits).
D)The juror managed to convert another group member early in the deliberations.

Question 80

You must convince your five colleagues that your company should get involved in Project X.According to Moscovici,you should

A)try to form a coalition with at least one member of the majority.
B)argue your position consistently,without wavering.
C)point out your agreement with the group's prior decisions.
D)increase your power base in some way.