Psyc 306

Power and Social Influence

Psych 306

· Topics Covered

· Obedience to Authority

· Why Do We Obey People in Power?

· Cult Behavior

· Cult Personalities

· Cult Indoctrination and Group Influence

· Obedience

· Milgram’s (1963) original study: participants administered “shocks” to another person on the orders of an experimenter.

· Results: over 60% obeyed fully, even upon hearing “learner” screaming in pain.

· Participants commonly protested mildly and showed many signs of distress, but continued anyway.

· Burger (2009) replicated Milgram’s results to the extent ethical practices will now allow.

· Results were similar—even with safeguards that should have made it easier to disobey.

· Variable factors that influence obedience:

· Proximity of victim

· Proximity of authority figure

· Legitimacy of authority figure

· Direct responsibility of “teacher”

· Presence of dissenters (?)

· Why Do We Obey People in Power?

· Mindlessness

· External cues

· cf. Bickman (1974)

· Role acceptance

· cf. Hofling et al. (1966)

· Illusion of invulnerability

· Denial of responsibility

· Why Do We Obey People in Power?

· Is obedience encouraged by modern mass media culture?

· Example

· People typically try to distance themselves from Milgram’s results:

· “That wouldn’t happen today.”

· “Those people were probably disturbed.”

· In fact, it is the situation, not character, that usually provides authority with its power.

· Cult Behavior—Overview

· Cult: an insular group of people devoted to a set of principles and subjected to exploitative social influence.

· Typically promise a “better life.”

· Highly isolated.

· Suppress alternative viewpoints.

· Devoted to a leader or other object of affection.

· Ex. Jonestown mass suicides (1978)

· Cult Behavior—Members

· Who leads?

· Leaders are highly charismatic.

· They play off likability and trustworthiness.

· They smartly utilize group social pressure.

· They may use fear appeals (and coercion).

· Who joins?

· Average-or-better intelligence

· High Social Dominance Orientation (SDO)?

· Cult Behavior—Indoctrination

· Indoctrination stages (see Baron, 2000):

· “Softening-up”

· Compliance

· Internalization

· Consolidation

· Examples of other (non-cult, or cult-ish) groups using indoctrination?