Question

a company invites josh to a large group interview. sitting in the room before the interview starts, josh gets to know a few of the candidates. one mentions that he is a firefighter and another mentions that she is a paramedic. halfway through the interview, josh notices smoke coming from a window across the street. no one else is reacting. considering what you know about the influence of others, what is most likely to happen next?

Answer 1

Josh is likely to follow the cues of other individuals present, especially those of the firefighter and paramedic. If no one reacts to the smoke, he may conform and ignore it, a result of informational social influence and the bystander effect. However, if the professionals act, others, including Josh, might follow their lead.

Step-by-step explanation:

Considering the influence of others, and in particular the concept of informational social influence, it is most likely that Josh will follow the cues of the other individuals in the room. If people in the large group interview, including the firefighter and paramedic,

show no concern for the smoke coming from the window across the street, Josh might be inclined to ignore it too, assuming it's not a threat or believing that someone more qualified will act if necessary.

This scenario also touches upon the bystander effect, which proposes that the presence of others can make an individual less likely to take action in an emergency, especially when no one else is reacting.

However, given that Josh is in the presence of a firefighter and a paramedic, professionals who are trained to respond to emergencies, he might expect them to notice and react to the smoke. If they take action, he and others are likely to follow their lead because of their expertise.

This assumption is based on the social roles and expected behavior that society attributes to such professionals.