Psychological Reactance
Conformity is usually quite adaptive overall, both for the individuals who conform and for the group as a whole. Conforming to the opinions of others can help us enhance and protect ourselves by providing us with important and accurate information and can help us better relate to others. Following the directives of effective leaders can help a group attain goals that would not be possible without them. And if only half of the people in your neighborhood thought it was appropriate to stop on red and go on green but the other half thought the opposite—and behaved accordingly—there would be problems indeed.
But social influence does not always produce the intended result. If we feel that we have the choice to conform or not conform, we may well choose to do so in order to be accepted or to obtain valid knowledge. On the other hand, if we perceive that others are trying to force or manipulate our behavior, the influence pressure may backfire, resulting in the opposite of what the influencer intends.
Consider an experiment conducted by Pennebaker and Sanders (1976), who attempted to get people to stop writing graffiti on the walls of campus restrooms. In some restrooms they posted a sign that read “Do not write on these walls under any circumstances!” whereas in other restrooms they placed a sign that simply said “Please don’t write on these walls.” Two weeks later, the researchers returned to the restrooms to see if the signs had made a difference. They found that there was much less graffiti in the second restroom than in the first one. It seems as if people who were given strong pressures to not engage in the behavior were more likely to react against those directives than were people who were given a weaker message.
When individuals feel that their freedom is being threatened by influence attempts and yet they also have the ability to resist that persuasion, they may experience psychological reactance, a strong motivational state that resists social influence (Brehm, 1966; Miron & Brehm, 2006). Reactance is aroused when our ability to choose which behaviors to engage in is eliminated or threatened with elimination. The outcome of the experience of reactance is that people may not conform or obey at all and may even move their opinions or behaviors away from the desires of the influencer.
Reactance represents a desire to restore freedom that is being threatened. A child who feels that his or her parents are forcing him to eat his asparagus may react quite vehemently with a strong refusal to touch the plate. And an adult who feels that she is being pressured by a car sales representative might feel the same way and leave the showroom entirely, resulting in the opposite of the sales rep’s intended outcome.
Of course, parents are sometimes aware of this potential, and even use “reverse psychology”—for example, telling a child that he or she cannot go outside when they really want the child to do so, hoping that reactance will occur. In the musical The Fantasticks, neighboring fathers set up to make the daughter of one of them and the son of the other fall in love with each other by building a fence between their properties. The fence is seen by the children as an infringement on their freedom to see each other, and as predicted by the idea of reactance, they ultimately fall in love.
In addition to helping us understand the affective determinants of conformity and of failure to conform, reactance has been observed to have its ironic effects in a number of real-world contexts. For instance, Wolf and Montgomery (1977) found that when judges give jury members instructions indicating that they absolutely must not pay any attention to particular information that had been presented in a courtroom trial (because it had been ruled as inadmissible), the jurors were more likely to use that information in their judgments. And Bushman and Stack (1996) found that warning labels on violent films (for instance, “This film contains extreme violence—viewer discretion advised”) created more reactance (and thus led participants to be more interested in viewing the film) than did similar labels that simply provided information (“This film contains extreme violence”). In another relevant study, Kray, Reb, Galinsky, and Thompson (2004) found that when women were told that they were poor negotiators and would be unable to succeed on a negotiation task, this information led them to work even harder and to be more successful at the task.
Finally, within clinical therapy, it has been argued that people sometimes are less likely to try to reduce the harmful behaviors that they engage in, such as smoking or drug abuse, when the people they care about try too hard to press them to do so (Shoham, Trost, & Rohrbaugh, 2004). One patient was recorded as having reported that his wife kept telling him that he should quit drinking, saying, “If you loved me enough, you’d give up the booze.” However, he also reported that when she gave up on him and said instead, “I don’t care what you do anymore,” he then enrolled in a treatment program (Shoham et al., 2004, p. 177).
Key Takeaways
Although some person variables predict conformity, overall situational variables are more important.
There are some small gender differences in conformity. In public situations, men are somewhat more likely to hold their ground, act independently, and refuse to conform, whereas women are more likely to conform to the opinions of others in order to prevent social disagreement. These differences are less apparent when the conformity occurs in private.
Conformity to social norms is more likely in Eastern, collectivistic cultures than in Western, independent cultures.
Psychological reactance occurs when people feel that their ability to choose which behaviors to engage in is eliminated or threatened with elimination. The outcome of the experience of reactance is that people may not conform or obey at all and may even move their opinions or behaviors away from the desires of the influencer.
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Activity 8: Topic 2 – Conformity Practice Quiz
*This section of the open course textbook is designed to support PSYC 3271, and the activity numbering corresponds to Unit 2.
Introduction
Try these practice questions to see how well you have retained some key ideas from Topic 2.
Instructions
You can attempt these quiz questions as many times as you like. If you find you are having difficulty with a particular question, try checking the feedback and reviewing the recommended sections.
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According to Moscovici, those with a minority viewpoint are most convincing when they use a style of behavior that involves _____________.
Appearing to agree with the opposing view at first
Making those who disagree with them feel guilty
Maintaining consistency in their main views
Not allowing those who oppose them to express their opinions
[feedback for incorrect responses] Not quite! Try reviewing the section on minority influence.
Which of the following is true regarding age differences in conformity?
Older adults (age 65+) conform less than any other age group.
Teenagers and young adults are equally likely to conform to a group.
Middle-aged adults are the least likely to conform.
The tendency to conform does not differ according to age.
[feedback for incorrect responses] Not quite! Try reviewing the section on person differences in conformity.
Tom is playing a social psychology trivia game with a group of his classmates. According to research by Baron and colleagues (1996), in which situation is he MOST likely to conform to incorrect answers given by the majority his classmates?
The trivia game counts toward his course grade, and he finds the trivia questions to be very difficult.
The trivia game counts toward his course grade, and he finds the trivia questions to be very easy.
The trivia game does not count toward his grade, and he finds the questions to be very difficult.
He cares about the outcome of the trivia game more than his classmates, and he finds the trivia questions to be very easy.
[feedback for incorrect responses] Not quite! Try reviewing the section on informational social influence.
When we study the way our thoughts, feelings, and actions change in response to other people, we’re talking about:
Social influence.
Self-serving bias.
Incitement.
Conformity.
[feedback for incorrect responses] Not quite! Try reviewing the introduction to the conformity topic.
Conformity is:
Determined by person-situation interaction, and probably adaptive overall for society.
Entirely about human weakness, and always bad for society.
Entirely about circumstances, and always good for society.
Neither circumstantial nor personological.
[feedback for incorrect responses] Not quite! Try reviewing the introduction to the conformity section.
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For PSYC 3271, this marks the end of Unit 2, Topic 2: Conformity. Please go to Chapter 10 Working Groups: Performance and Decision Making to begin Topic 3: Group Influence.
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Exercises and Critical Thinking
Following this paragraph are some examples of social influence and conformity. In each case, the person who is conforming has changed his or her behavior because of the expressed opinions or behaviors of another person. In some cases, the influence of the others is more obvious; in other cases, less so. Using the principles discussed in “Chapter 1. Introducing Social Psychology“, first consider the likely role of the social situation versus the individual person. Did the person freely engage in the behavior, did the social situation force him to engage in the behavior, or was there some combination of both? Then consider the role of underlying human goals—concern for self and concern for others. Did the conformity occur primarily because the person wanted to feel good about himself or herself or because he or she cared for those around him or her? Then ask yourself about the role of cognition, affect, and behavior. Do you think the conformity was primarily behavioral, or did it involve a real change in the person’s thoughts and feelings?
Bill laughed at the movie, even though he didn’t think it was all that funny; he realized he was laughing just because all his friends were laughing.
Frank realized that he was starting to like jazz music, in part because his roommate liked it.
Jennifer went to the mall with her friends so that they could help her choose a gown for the upcoming prom.
Sally tried a cigarette at a party because all her friends urged her to.
Phil spent over $150 on a pair of sneakers, even though he couldn’t really afford them, because his best friend had a pair.
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