One possible explanation for regional differences in

One possible explanation for regional differences in the culture of honor involves the kind of
activities typically engaged in by men in the different regions. While people in the northern parts
of the United States were usually farmers who grew crops, people from southern climates were
more likely to raise livestock. Unlike the crops grown by the northerners, the herds were mobile
and vulnerable to theft, and it was difficult for law enforcement officials to protect them. To be
successful in an environment where theft was common, a man had to build a reputation for
strength and toughness, and this was accomplished by a willingness to use swift, and sometimes
violent, punishment against thieves.

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Conformity and Obedience: How Social Influence Creates Social Norms
When we decide on what courses to enroll in by asking for advice from our friends, change our beliefs
or behaviors as a result of the ideas that we hear from others, or binge drink because our friends are
doing it, we are engaging in conformity , a change in beliefs or behavior that occurs as the result of
the presence of the other people around us. We conform not only because we believe that other
people have accurate information and we want to have knowledge ( informational conformity ) but
also because we want to be liked by others ( normative conformity ).
The typical outcome of conformity is that our beliefs and behaviors become more similar to those of
others around us. But some situations create more conformity than others, and some of the factors
that contribute to conformity are shown in Table 14.4 "Variables That Increase Conformity" .
Table 14.4 Variables That Increase Conformity
Variable Descrip±on Example
Number
in
majority
As the number of people who are
engaging in a behavior increases,
the tendency to conform to those
people also increases.
People are more likely to stop and look up in the air when
many, rather than few, people are also looking up
(Milgram, Bickman, & Berkowitz, 1969).
Unanimity Conformity reduces sharply when
any one person deviates from the
norm.
In Solomon Asch’s line-matching research, when any one
person gave a different answer, conformity was
eliminated.
Status
and
authority
People who have higher status,
such as those in authority, create
more conformity.
Milgram (1974) found that conformity in his obedience
studies was greatly reduced when the person giving the
command to shock was described as an “ordinary man”
rather than a scien±st at Yale University.
Sources: Milgram, S., Bickman, L., & Berkowitz, L. (1969). Note on the drawing power of crowds of
different size. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 13 , 79–82; Milgram, S. (1974).
Obedience to authority: An experimental view . New York, NY: Harper and Row.