Social Influence In Twelve Angry Men

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For this project we viewed the original 1957 version of Twelve Angry Men, an American Drama, adapted from the teleplay written by Reginald Rose with the same name starring Henry Fonda as the lead role. The film begins in New York City in a courthouse, it is clear by the expressions on everyone’s face including the judge that everyone is tired and it has been a long trial. The viewers are told that an unidentified, young Hispanic male originating from the slums is on trial for supposedly stabbing his father to death. The viewers are also given the final closing arguments, including the testimony of two witnesses; one an elderly man saying that he heard the father and son argue then heard a body drop, and the other a woman who lives across the …show more content…

This can occur when a person engages in some sort of behavior (such as promising, threatening, or persuading) that causes another person to behave in a manner they normally would not behave in. Further breaking down and categorizing social influence could be placed into 3 categories: conformity, compliance, and obedience. Conformity can be defined as altering your behavior to obey the norms of that particular group. Compliance can be defined as acting a certain way in a public to either gain a reward or avoid a punishment, and finally obedience, which is different from compliance. Obedience can be defined as obeying an authority figure, you believe that you have to obey and you have no other choice. In Twelve Angry Men, there are many scenes that depict social influence but the biggest one would be when Juror #3 finally in the end accepts the other 11 votes of not guilty. This scene illustrates social influence because throughout the entire film, up until the end, Juror #3 is clearly against voting not guilty. Juror #3 even states, “What 's the *matter* with you guys? You all *know* he 's guilty! He 's *got* to burn! You 're letting him slip through our fingers!” it is evident that Juror #3 would have voted guilty if not for social influence, social influence had him behave in a manner he normally would

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