Social Influence and Group Processes
Conformity is changing behaviour to match group norms, studied by Asch’s line-judgement trials. Normative influence concerns belonging; informational influence concerns uncertainty. Unanimity, group size, and cohesion affect conformity. Asch showed that a unanimous majority can produce errors even on an obvious perceptual task. Obedience is following an authority command, studied by Milgram; legitimacy, proximity, and gradual escalation increase it. The exam tests these classic findings and group dynamics.
Compliance and group processes
Compliance techniques include foot-in-the-door, door-in-the-face, and low-ball. Groups have norms, roles, and cohesiveness. Social loafing is reduced effort in group tasks; groupthink (Janis) is defective decision-making under pressure for unanimity; deindividuation reduces self-awareness in crowds. Group polarisation shifts decisions toward the group’s initial tendency.
Conflict and cooperation
Realistic conflict theory (Sherif’s Robbers Cave) shows competition over scarce resources creates hostility. Superordinate goals, negotiation, mediation, and trust-building can promote cooperation.
Worked example
In a group project, members contribute less because individual effort is invisible. This is social loafing, not laziness. Making tasks identifiable and evaluating individual contributions reduces it.
Traps
Conformity is not obedience; a group is not always wiser; conflict is not always destructive. Milgram’s findings are about situational pressure, not proof that people are inherently cruel.