NaimExplain

Define and distinguish between conformity, obedience, compliance, and persuasion. Obedience: changes in behaviour elicited by the command of an authority figure Compliance: agreeing to a behaviour based on a request Conformity: changing perceptions, opinions, or behaviour in order to be more consistent with the real or imagined group norms. --> Obedience: changes in behaviour elicited by the command of an authority figure Compliance: agreeing to a behaviour based on a request Conformity: changing perceptions, opinions, or behaviour in order to be more consistent with the real or imagined group norms. Persuasion: attitude change

What is cognitive dissonance? What are some types of cognitive dissonance effects? Give examples. Cognitive dissonance is tension that arises when one is simultaneously aware of two inconsistent cognitions, as when we realized that we have, with little justification, acted contrary to our attitude. Cognitive dissonance theory proposes that we act to reduce such tension, as when we adjust our attitude to correspond with our actions. Cognitive dissonance is perhaps the most studied form of attitude change. In general, cognitive dissonance is that uncomfortable feeling we get when our attitudes and behaviours don't match (or when we have conflicting attitudes). This feeling of dissonance is not fun, and we are motivated to reduce it. To reduce the feeling, we can either change our attitudes, change our behaviours, or we can reduce the importance of the attitudes. It is interesting because fundamentally cognitive dissonance leads to self-persuasion -- you recognize a disjoint ...

List and explain Cialdini's 6 principles of compliance tactics. How do we get people to do what we want them to do? Robert Cialdini asked this question and, in the true sense of adventure, took a variety of different jobs to try to understand how salespeople convinced us to do and buy things that we would otherwise never have done. Cialdini identified a core set of principles employed by marketers and salespeople to gain our compliance. Cialdini's six principles of compliance 1. Commitment and Consistency: once we commit to something we want to stick with that commitment 2. Scarcity: we are more attracted to things if they are scarce, either in terms of how long they will be available, or in terms of how many there are. 3. Reciprocity: if someone does something nice for us we want to do something nice for them 4.Social proof: when I am trying to decide what to do, I look to others in the same situation to see what they are doing. 5. Liking: I am more likely to ...

How does role-playing influence the attitude-behaviour relationship? Now you should have a good understanding of when and why attitudes predict behaviour, but can our behaviour predict our attitudes? There has been a significant amount of research that looked at how role-playing (that is playing a particular role) can influence our behaviour. In particular researchers have been looking at how the actions expected of those who occupy a particular social position influence their attitudes. Perhaps the most famous of these studies is Zimbardo's Prison Experiment. Philip Zimbardo created a mock prison in the basement of the psychology building at Stanford University in the 1970s. In this study, healthy young men who were psychologically normal on all tested dimensions were randomly assigned to act as "prisoners" or "guards" in a mock jail study. Over the course of 6 days, the behaviour of prisoners to the guards became so aggressive that the study had to be e...

When do attitudes predict behaviour? Attitude Strength: It turns out that not all attitudes are created equally. Some attitudes are stronger than others. They have features that make them more impactful in our lives that others are missing. For example, some attitudes are based on a lot of compelling knowledge, whereas others aren't. Some attitudes are based on direct experience which allows us to have a much more reliable evaluation than attitudes that are not based on direct experience. Some attitudes are held with confidence, whereas others are not. Having insights into the features of attitude strength has allowed researchers in this field to create much more accurate and nuanced predictions about when attitudes will predict behaviour.

Describe one of the three studies discussed in class suggesting that attitudes do not predict behaviour. Do attitudes predict behaviour? Although you might think the answer is obviously "yes". There are researchers who would disagree. For example in 1930, LaPierre published a now classic study on racial attitudes and behaviours. LaPierre wanted to see if people's attitude towards Chinese immigrants (who had been brought over en masse to work on the railroads across Canada and the US) translated into behaviours. In general, it would be fair to say that Chinese immigrants were viewed very negatively by the American population. LaPierre visited hundreds of establishments in his travels, accompanied by a young and well-dressed Chinese couple. LaPierre, a 50-ish man who was a university professor, went with this couple to restaurants and hotels and asked to be served. They were served in all but one establishment. Later, LaPierre sent letters to the same establishm...

Define and give an example of each of the following: Behavioural confirmation. A similar effect is called behavioural confirmation -- a type of self-fulfilling prophecy where people social expectations need them to act in ways that cause others to confirm those expectations. Also known as self-fulfilling prophecies, it can be a series of learned behaviors that people use to elicit expected reactions is social situations. For example: A person learns that flattery or good manners can deflect anger in some people.