Social Influence

TRIPLETT &THE FISHING REEL

• gave participants a practice run at winding a fishing reel 150 times
• they then did the same in two conditions
• condition 1: in a pair
• condition 2: alone

• participants were around 1% faster when performing in a pair than when performing alone

SHOWS THAT THE MERE PRESENCE OF ANOTHER PERSON CAN FACILITATE PERFORMANCE OF A TASK.

MICHAELS & THE POOL PLAYERS

• chose 12 pool players
• 6 above average
• 6 below average
• were observed by an audience of 4 whilst playing

• above average players potted 80% of shots when observed and 71% when not observed
• below average players potted 25% of shots when observed and 36% when not observed

SHOWS THAT DOMINANT RESPONSES ARE ENHANCED BY THE PRESENCE OF AN AUDIENCE, SUPPORTING ZAJONC'S THEORY.

BARTIS ET AL. & THE KNIVES

• participants were placed in two conditions
• condition 1: participants were told their identity would be given
• condition 2: participants were told their identity would not be given
• both groups were asked to give both normal and creative uses of knives

• participants who were told that they would be idenitified performed better in the simple task
• participants who were told that they would be idenitified performed worse in the complex task

SHOWS THAT EVALUATION APPREHENSION INCREASES PERFORMANCE OF SIMPLE TASKS AND DECREASES PERFORMANCE OF COMPLEX TASKS.

SAUNDERS ET AL. & THE TASKS 

• participants given either a simple or complex task
• placed with a co-actor who either carried out the same task or a different one
• when performing the same task, the co-actor was a distraction as the participants would be comparing their own ability

• participants performed better on the simple task when in the presence of someone performing the same task
• participants performed worse on the complex task when in the presence of someone performing the same task

SUPPORTS DISTRACTION-CONFLICT THEORY

SHERIF & THE AUTOKINETIC EFFECT

• a small stationary spot of light appears to move when in a dark room
• when participants were in a room alone they made various judgements about how far it moved
• Sherif placed 3 participants in a room together
• 2 of the participants had similar estimates, the other very different 

• the participant who had a very different answer conformed

SHOWS CONFORMITY.

ASCH & THE LINES

• 1 participant
• 7 confederates
• asked to pick the line that was most similar to the target line
• confederates gave an obvious wrong answer
• 1 participant was placed at the end of the line and so gave answer last

• 78% of participants conformed with the incorrect answer

SHOWS CONFORMITY; SHOWS INFLUENCE OF GROUP PRESSURE ON CONFORMITY

ANDERSON ET AL. & THE BODY IMAGES

• 54 women from different cultures
• asked about their ideal body size
• 'slender', 'moderate' or 'heavy'
• the cultures had either unreliable, moderately reliable or reliable food sources

• where food supplies were unreliable, women were more likely to have a 'heavy' ideal body image
• where food supplies were reliable, women were more likely to have a 'slender' ideal body image

WHERE FOOD SUPPLIES ARE RELIABLE, NORMATIVE SOCIAL INFLUENCE IS PRESENT

BARON ET AL. & THE ASCH VARIATION

• used a drawing of a person instead of lines
• two conditions

1. picture shown for 1/2 a second

2. picture shown for 5 seconds

• heard the wrong judgements of 2 confederates
• participants then asked to match the picture to one it was most similar to

• conformity was higher when the picture was shown for only 1/2 second

PEOPLE ARE MORE LIKE TO CONFORM WHEN THEY ARE UNSURE OF THEIR JUDGEMENT; SHOWS INFORMATIONAL SOCIAL INFLUENCE

CRUTCHFIELD & THE BOOTHS

• placed in separate booths
• asked questions which they had to answer
• told their answer would be shown to other participants before those participants gave their answers

• conformity to the incorrect majority view was 50%
• this is 28% lower than in Asch's study where the other participants were actually present

SHOWS THE ACTUAL PRESENCE OF OTHER PEOPLE INCREASES CONFORMITY TO THEIR VIEW

FELDMAN & SCHIEBE & THE QUESTIONNAIRES

• asked participants to complete a personal questionnaire
• placed with confederates in 1 of 2 conditions:

1. Confederates disagreed to complete questionnaire

2. Confederates willingly completed the questionnaire

• more participants filled out the questionnaire in condition 2 than 1

SHOWS THAT PEOPLE ARE MORE LIKELY TO DEFY AUTHORITY WHEN WHAT IS ASKED IS HARMFUL OR UPSETTING, WHEN THEY HAVE SOCIAL SUPPORT

BICKMAN & THE LITTER

• individuals asked to pick up litter
• 2 conditions

1. person who asked dressed in military uniform

2. person who asked dressed casually

• obedience was higher when the asker was dressed in uniform

SUPPORTS LEGITIMACY OF AUTHORITY