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Social Influences on Behavior
Schrita L. Brooks
University of Phoenix
PSY 300
Pamela Parks
June 30, 2014
















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How we view ourselves in correlation to the rest of the world plays a key role in our beliefs,
choices, and behaviors. What other people think or believe can also influence our behavior and how we
look at ourselves. Social psychology is a part of psychology whose main focus is with how social
phenomena influence us and how people mesh with one another (Cherry, K., 2013). Social influence
happens when ones emotion, options, or behaviors are effected by other people. Social influence takes
many forms and can be seen in conformity, socialization, peer pressure, obedience, leadership, and
persuasion. The two examples I have chosen to discuss are obedience and conformity.
Obedience: A form of social influence that involves performing an action under the orders of an
authority figure. An example of obedience is the Hofling Hospital Experiment. In 1966, Charles K. Hofling
conducted an experiment on obedience in the nurse-physician relationship in a real hospital setting
involving 22 nurses, an unknown doctor named Dr. Smith, called the nurses at the hospital 22 different
times and asked them to check and see if they had the drug Astroten on hand. When one of the nurses
checked, she saw that the maximum dosage for Astroten was supposed to be 10mg. When she repeated
the dosage amount to Dr. Smith, the nurses were told to give patient Mr. Jones, 20mg. of the drug. Dr.
Smith then stated he was in a real hurry and he would sign the authorization form when he came to see
Mr. Jones later in the day. The nurses were then watched to see what they would do. The medication
was not real, even though the nurse believed that it was. If the nurses had administered the drug, they
would have broken three hospital rules: 1. they are not allowed to take instructions over the phone. 2.
The dosage of the medication was double the maximum limit stated on the box. 3. The medication
itself was an unauthorized medication, as it was not on the ward stock list. The fake drug was nothing
more than a sugar pill created specifically for this experiment. The end result was 21 out of the 22
nurses were easily influence into following through with the order. They were not supposed to take
instruction over the phone as well as exceed the recommended dosage. Hofling showed that people will
not question supposed authority, even when they may have a very good reason to do so (McLeod, S.,
2008)
Conformity: Changes in ones behavior to fit in or go along with the people around you this
particular influence might involve a agreeing with or behaving like the majority of people in a certain
group, or it may cause one to behave in a certain way in order to be looked at as being normal by the
group (Cherry, K., 2013). An example of conformity is the Zimbardo Stanford Prison Experiment. In 1971,
Philip Zimbardo and his colleagues set out to create an experiment that looked at the effect of becoming
a prisoner or a prison guard. Researchers then set up a mock prison in the basement of Stanford
Universitys psychology building, and then they chose 24 undergraduate students to play the roles of
both prisoners and prison guards these particular participants were selected from a pool of 70 people
because they had no criminal background, had no psychological issues and also had no major medical
conditions. The participants also agreed to the study for a one to two week period in exchange for $15
per day. The fake prison had 6 by 9 foot prison cells. Each prison cell could house three inmates and
three cots the other rooms that were across from the prison cells were used for the prison guards and
also the warden. There was a small space that was used for solitary confinement and another small
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room was used as the prison yard. The participants were then assigned in no particular order to the
prison group or to the guard group. The prisoners were to stay in the fake prison 24 hours a day for the
remainder of the study. The guards on the other hand, were broke up to work in three man teams for
their 8 hour shifts. After their shifts were complete, the prison guards were allowed to go home until the
start of their next shift. The researchers were able to watch the behavior of the prisoners and the prison
guards through hidden cameras and microphones. The study was schedule to last two weeks, but it had
to be abruptly stopped after just 6 days because of what was going on with the student participants. The
prison guard became abusive and the prisoners started to show signs of extreme stress and major
anxiety. While the prisoners and prison guards were able to interact however they wanted to, their
interactions were hostile or dehumanizing. The prison guards started to act in ways that were aggressive
and even abusive towards the prisoners, whereas the prisoners became very passive and depressed.
Because some prisoners became negative emotions such as crying and acute anxiety, 5 prisoners were
released from the experiment early the researchers lost focus of the reality of the study, and Zimbardo
was the warden. Zimbardo ignored the abusive behavior of the prison guards until graduate student
Christina Maslach objected to the conditions of the mock prison and the morality of continuing with the
experiment. According to Zimbardo, the Stanford Prison Experiment showed the powerful role that the
situation can play in human behavior. Because the prison guards were put in a position of power, they
started to act in ways they never would have normally behaved in their normal every day lives. The
prisoners were place in a dilemma where they had zero real control, and became passive and depressed.
Associated Phenomenon: Social facilitation is where ones presence can facilitate or inhibit
individual performance. My favorite football team is of course the Saint Louis Rams because I live here
in Saint Louis, Missouri. I have been to several games and I have noticed that the more encouragement
they received from the crowd, the better they played. Which in turn we gave them more support.











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References: www.psychology.about.com
www.simplypsychology.org