Psychology 1000 Lecture Notes - Lecture 47: Peer Pressure, Robert Cialdini, Firefighter

• School: Western University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: Psychology 1000
• Professor: Dr.Mike

Document Summary

Conformity and obedience refer to different, but related things. Conformity peer pressure how we adjust our behaviour/thinking (cognition) to match group: can be positive. Ex: if you see a bunch of people running out of a building, that you are just about to enter, you would probably conform to this behavior and run away as well: can lead to negative behavior. In teenagers peer pressure can lead to negative behaviors. If your friend jumped of a bridge, would you too . Obedience describes how we follow orders/obey authority. I"m just following orders : can be positive. Ex: firefighter tells you to not enter a building because it"s on fire you would probably acknowledge authority and obey: can be negative: ex. normal people committed such negative acts during the holocaust due to obedience. Both conformity and obedience can be positive (useful/helpful/important aspects) or negative in their effects on social behavior in society.