Blog #8-No Means No!

I like to think of myself as a relatively independent and free from persuasion type of girl. But as I listened to the discussions on conformity, compliance, and obedience in class yesterday I found myself relating to the compliance construct and seeing that even though I am very independent person I do find myself to be very easily compliant, not necessarily persuaded, but compliant. Compliance is defined as acquiescing to a direct request/pressure from other(s) and the changes in behavior that come with this submission (Allen, 1965; Kelman, 1961).

For example, in one of the organizations that I am involved in I was approached by the president and two advisors for a position that I absolutely did not want (I could barely get my crap done for my current position and had just got done getting a nice little talking to by the advisors I might add, what the hell?) When they were talking to me I said that I wasn’t planning on taking a position next year because I wasn’t sure if I would have time and that I really wanted to just be a part of the organization instead of a leader for my senior year. They kept pushing and saying that I would be really good at this position and that I should fill out a candidate profile and sign up for an interview time. All the while, I’m trying to protest but my voice is getting smaller and smaller and I start to shake my head yes. When I left I found myself completely convinced that I had to comply with what they wanted because I felt pressured to do so. I felt almost as if I didn’t have a choice, but mostly I just didn’t want to cause any tension (I’m already awkward enough as it is, don’t need to add to it). At this moment I was normatively influenced to comply with what my advisors and president requested. Normative influence is any type of influence that produces behavior change because of a fear of the negative consequences of deviance (Schachter, 1951).

However, later that week as I was removed from the situation and some time elapsed I got to think about it and I decided that I was most definitely not going to run for any position. When I got a call from the Executive Vice President the day of interviews to come and interview for a position and she kept trying to influence my decision I was stronger at saying no, because as Milgram discovered in his study: the more removed an authority figure is, the less influence they exert (Milgram, 1974).

Allen, V. L. (1965). Situational factors in conformity. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 2, 133-175.

Kelman, H. C. (1961). Processes of opinion change. Public Opinion Quarterly, 25, 57-78.

Milgram, S. (1974). Obedience to authority: An experimental view. New York: Harper & Row.

Schachter, S. (1951). Deviation, rejection, and communication. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 46, 190-207.