Social Influence Dynamics in Aptitude Tasks

Learning and, more generally, the development of cognitive processes in children has been thought to depend on the nature of the conflict induced by confrontation with others (i.e., socio-cognitive conflict). The aim of this article is to extend this notion to social-influence situations involving adolescents and young adults through the presentation of a model that explains social influence in aptitude tasks. This model takes into account the differences or similarities of the competencies of the source and target. It conceptualizes the social versus epistemic regulations of conflict in terms of an identity threat that can be induced by social comparison. To illustrate parts of the model, several experiments are briefly summarized. One demonstrates the conflict regulation dynamics involved in the similarities or differences of the sources' and targets' competencies, while the others show how social-influence dynamics are modified by the presence or absence of a threat to self-competenc

The social transmission of knowledge at the University: Teaching style and epistemic dependence

It is argued that an epistemic authority would induce greater influence in transmitting knowledge to students when there is a correspondence between the (authoritarian vs. democratic) style of the authority and students' perceptions of their relation to the authority (high vs. low epistemic dependence). In two studies it was predicted, and found, that students who perceived themselves in a state of low epistemic dependence towards their teachers were more influenced by a democratic than by an authoritarian teaching style. This difference in appropriation was not found for students who perceived themselves in a state of epistemic dependence towards the epistemic authorit

When teaching style matches students' epistemic (in)dependence: The moderating effect of perceived epistemic gap

In a 2×2×2 factorial design, 3rd year Romanian psychology students (N=94) were assigned into 2 groups according to the extent to which they acknowledged an epistemic dependence (lowvs. high) toward their professor. They then compared the competence of 3rd year students to that of 1st year or 5th year students. Finally, they were exposed to a persuasive counter-attitudinal message from an epistemic authority, framed in an authoritarian vs. democratic style. The main dependent variable was the influence of the counter-attitudinal message. Results show an interaction between the three variables. No effects were found among students in the upward social comparison condition in which they felt particularly incompetent. The expected interaction between style and dependence was significant in the down ward comparison condition where participants felt more competent than 1st year students. Students high in perceived epistemic dependence were more influenced by the authoritarian style than those low in epistemic dependence. The reverse tended to be true for participants exposed to the democratic styl

Epistemic constraint and teaching style

An experimental study investigated the influence of informational dependence on information appropriation as a function of epistemic authority's styles. In a 2×2 design, university students were informed that acknowledging epistemic dependence was related either to academic success or to academic failure, and were exposed to controversial information from an epistemic authority that used either an authoritarian or a democratic style. The main dependent variable was the extent to which participants appropriated the controversial information. Firstly the results showed that students were more inclined to admit that their own academic competence depended on the information delivered by the teachers when epistemic dependence was related to success rather than to failure. Secondly, the admittance of dependence had a different impact on information appropriation according to the authority's style. Admittance increased appropriation under a democratic style whereas it decreased appropriation under an authoritarian styl

Consistencia y rigidez de las minorías : reinterpretación

A partir de las aportaciones teóricas de estos últimos años sobre el tema de la influencia de las minorías, se ha vuelto a analizar una experiencia realizada por MUGNY en 1975 relativa a la influencia de discursos concordantes o discordantes con las actitudes de los sujetos, según que la fuente presentara un estilo de comportamiento consistente o inconsistente. En este trabajo se ha conceptualizado la variable concordancia/discordancia en términos de fuente mayoritaria/minoritaria; el análisis de la influencia ejercida por dichas fuentes, teniendo en cuenta su estilo consistente/ inconsistente, se ha realizado a dos niveles: directo/indirecto. Asimismo se ha analizado el efecto de las variables experimentales sobre la imagen de la fuente elaborada por los sujetos, no solo en lo que concierne a las dimensiones consistencia/inconsistencia,sino también sobre las dimensiones flexibilidad/rigidez. Los resultados confirman los efectos mayoritarios/minoritarios, al obtener la mayoría una influencia directa pero no indirecta, contrariamente a lo que sucede con la fuente minoritaria que solamente obtiene influencia indirecta. Por otra parte, se perfila el rol de la consistencia minoritaria como elemento mediador de la situación de influencia, al incidir directamente sobre la aprehensión de la imagen de la fuente, percibiéndose en términos de rigidez. Diversos datos convergen para que se explique la influencia de las minorías en base a un conflicto de identidad psicosocial.Starting from the theoretical contribution of the last few years on the subject of minority influence, an experiment carried out by MUGNY in 1975 has been reanalysed. This dealt with the influence of concordant or discordant discourses with the attitudes of the subjects, according to which the source showed a consistent or inconsistent behavioral style. In this new analysis, the variable concordance/discordance has been expressed in terms of majority/minority source. The influence that the said sources exert on the four experimental conditions has been analysed at two levels, direct and indirect, as well as the effect of the experimental variables on the image of the source generated by the subjects, not only that wich concerns the dimensions of consistency/inconsistency, but also those of flexibility/rigidity. The results confirm the majority/minority effects; the majority obtains a direct influence but not indirect, contrary to what happens with the minority source that only obtains an indirect influence. On the other hand, minority consistency is outlined as a mediating element of the influence situation,since it acts directly on the apprehension of the image of the source and is perceived in terms of rigidity. Severa1 facts converge in order to interpret the influence of minorities based on a conflict of psychosocial identity