PSY 321
Conformity and Compliance
Dr. Sanchez
1
Today’s Outline
• Compliance
– Techniques and Experiments
• Conformity
– Techniques and Experiments
• Majority vs. Minority Influence
2
Compliance
• Changes in behavior that are elicited by
direct requests.
3
The Language of Requests
• Talking fast and catching people off guard
can improve compliance rates.
• People can be disarmed by the simple
phrasing of the request.
4
The language of requests: Experiment
Langer et al., 1978
• IV: Request did or did not include a
reason
o “I have five copies. May I use the Xerox
machine?”
o “I have five copies. May I use the Xerox
machine, because I’m in a rush?”
o “I have five copies. May I use the Xerox
machine, because I have to make copies?”
5
Langer et al. (1978)
Percentage
That Complied
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
No Reason
Reason Given
Irrelevant
Reason
May I Use the Xerox Machine?
6
Breaking the Mindless Routine
(Santos et al. 1994)
80
70
60
Percentage
That Complied
50
40
30
20
10
0
25Cents
17Cents
Spare Change???
7
Norm of Reciprocity
• The powerful norm of reciprocity dictates
that we treat others as they have treated
us.
 Example: writing “thank you” on back of
check increases tip
 Coca-Cola study
• Norm of reciprocity is relatively short-lived.
8
Sequential Request Strategies:
Foot-in-the-Door Technique
• Person begins with a very small request;
secures agreement; then makes a
separate larger request.
• Why is it effective?
9
Foot-in-the-Door: Experiment
Freedman & Fraser, 1966
• IV: Small request first, or not
• Initial request (small):
– By phone, asked women to complete short survey on
household products
• Intrusive request (big):
– 3 days later, asked women to allow a few men into
the house for 2 hours to rummage through drawers
10
Freedman & Fraser (1966)
60
50
40
Percent That
Complied
30
20
10
0
Intrusive Only
Initial, then Intrusive
Request Made
11
Sequential Request Strategies:
Low-Balling
• Person secures agreement with a request
and then increases the size of that request
by revealing hidden costs.
• Why is it effective?
12
Low-balling: Experiment
Cialdini et al., 1978
• Asked intro psych students to participate
in experiment
• IV: low-balling or upfront
– half were told in advance that it would start at
7am;
– half were told after agreeing that it would
start at 7am
13
Cialdini et al. (1978)
60
50
40
Percent That
30
Volunteered
20
10
0
Told 7 a.m. First
Told 7 a.m. Later
14
Sequential Request Strategies:
Door-in-the-Face Technique
• Person begins with a very large request
that will be rejected; then follows that up
with a more moderate request.
• Why is it effective?
15
Door-in-the-Face Technique: Experiment
Cialdini et al., 1975
• IV: Large request first?
• Asked students to volunteer for 2 hrs/week for 2 yrs
to work with juvenile delinquents
• Or no large request first
• Followed by smaller request: Will you escort
juvenile delinquents to zoo?
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Cialdini et al. (1975)
50
40
Percent That
30
Agreed
20
10
0
Real Request Only
After Declining Initial
Request
Willing to Take Delinquents to the Zoo?
17
Sequential Request Strategies:
That’s Not All, Folks!
• Person begins with a somewhat inflated
request; then immediately decreases the
apparent size of the request by offering a
discount or bonus.
• Why?
18
That’s-Not-All Technique: Experiment
Burger, 1986
• IV: Did the deal get “sweeter”?
– ½ of Ps told cupcakes cost 75 cents
– ½ of Ps first told cupcakes cost $1, then told
the price would be reduced to 75 cents
19
Burger (1986)
80
70
60
50
Sales
40
30
20
10
0
75 Cents
Reduced to 75 cents
Price of Cupcakes
20
Sequential Request Strategies
21
Assertiveness: When People
Say No
• To be able to resist the trap of compliance
techniques…..
22
Conformity
• Tendency to change perceptions, opinions,
or behavior in ways that are consistent
with group norms.
23
The Chameleon Effect
24
Conformity: Autokinetic Phenomenon
• Sherif (1935, 1937)
• Study of “norm formation”
• Dark room, pinpoint of light appears 15
feet in front of you
• Asked, “How far did light move?”
• First time, you’re alone
• Subsequent times, you’re with others (this
is the IV)
25
A Classic Case of Suggestibility
26
Conformity: Asch Line-Matching
• P surrounded by 6 confederates
• Asked to judge length of a line
• IV: Confederates give correct or incorrect
answer
27
Line Judgment Task Used in Asch’s
Conformity Studies
Asch, 1955.
28
What Did Asch’s Participants Do?
• Participants went along 37% of the time.
• 25% of the participants NEVER conformed
• Of the conformists, 50% conformed for at
least half of the critical presentations.
29
Sherif’s vs. Asch’s Studies
• Sherif: Because of ambiguity, participants
turned to each other for guidance.
• Asch: Found self in awkward position.
30
Why Do People Conform?
• Informational Influence: People conform
because they believe others are correct in
their judgments
– Sherif autokinetic effect
– 2 heads better than one?
– Implications for eyewitness testimonies
31
Why Do People Conform?
• Normative Influence: People conform
because they fear the consequences of
appearing deviant.
– Asch line-matching
– Effects of Ostracism
• Cyberball
• “Minority Slowness Effect”
32
Types of Conformity
• Private Conformity: Changes in both overt
behavior and beliefs.
– Sherif autokinetic effect
– Enduring conformity
• Public Conformity: Superficial change in overt
behavior only.
– Asch line-matching
– If wrote answers privately, effect went away
33
Distinguishing Types of Conformity
From Robert Baron et al., (1996) Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 915-927. Copyright (c) 1996
by the American Psychological Association. Adapted with permission.
34
Model of the Types of Conformity
35
Majority Influence: Group Size
• Conformity increases with group size -but only up to a point.
• Why?
– Law of “diminishing returns”?
– Perception that others are either in “collusion”
or “spineless sheep”?
36
Majority Influence:
Having an Ally in Dissent
• When there was an ally in Asch’s study,
conformity dropped by almost 80%.
• Why does having an ally reduce majority
influence on our behavior?
37
Majority Influence and
Gender Differences
• IV: Masculine, Feminine, or Stereotype
Neutral Q’s
• DV: Percent agreeing w/majority response
• Results?
– Men conformed more to feminine qs
– Women conformed more to masculine qs
– No difference on neutral items
38
Majority Influence and
Gender Differences
• Conceptual IV: Social Pressure
• IV: Public v. Private
• DV: Percent agreeing w/majority response
• Results?
– Men conformed less
– Women conformed more
• Why?
39
Majority Influence and
Gender Differences
• Sex differences appear to depend on:
– How comfortable people are with the
experimental task.
– Type of social pressure people face.
40
Majority Influence and Culture
• Cultures differ in the extent to which
people adhere to social norms.
• What determines whether a culture
becomes individualistic or collectivistic?
41
Individualistic / Collectivistic
•
•
•
•
•
US
Australia
Great Britain
Canada
Netherlands
• Asia
• Africa
• South America
42
Non-Conformists
• Asch’s study = 63% did not conform!!!
43
Minority Influence
• Def. Process by which dissenters produce
change
• Moscovici: Nonconformists derive power
from the style of their behavior.
– “Consistent dissent” approach
– “The color study”
• Why?
44
Minority Influence
• Hollander: Minorities influence by first
accumulating idiosyncrasy credits.
– “First conform, then dissent” strategy.
• Why?
45
Obedience
• Behavior change produced by the
commands of authority
• Remember:
– Compliance is a behavior change elicited by a
direct request
– Conformity is a change of perceptions,
opinions, or behaviors in ways that are
consistent with group norms
46
Milgram’s Research: Forces of
Destructive Obedience
• Conducted his experiments during the
time that Adolph Eichmann was being
tried for Nazi war crimes.
• Symbols of authority
• His unorthodox methods have been the
subject of much ethical debate.
47
The Prods Used in Milgram’s
Experiment
• “Please continue (or please go on).”
• “The experiment requires that you
continue.”
• “It is absolutely essential that you continue.”
• “You have no other choice; you must
go on.”
48
Milgram’s Baseline Results
49
The Obedient Participant
• No gender differences observed in level of
obedience.
• Milgram’s basic findings have been
replicated in several different countries
and among different age groups.
• Milgram’s participants were tormented by
experience.
50
Are We All Nazis?
• No, an individual’s character can make a
difference.
• Authoritarian Personality: Submissive
toward figures of authority but aggressive
toward subordinates.
51