2 Obedience : Social Identity Theory (SIT)

Question 1

What are the components of SIT? O : SIT

Answer 1

• Sources and Targets
• Strength, Immediacy & Number
• Multiplicative and divisional effects
• The law of diminishing returns

Question 2

What are Sources and Targets? O : SIT

Answer 2

Latané (1981) developed social impact theory to describe how we behave in society, and our impact on each other.

• Source : Person doing the influencing.
• Targets : People who are influenced.

Question 3

What is Strength, Immediacy & Number? O : SIT

Answer 3

SIN predicts how much the target will be affected by authority.

• Strength (S) = Perceived power/authority and the messages that they convey (e.g. physical strength, or socioeconomic status).
• Immediacy (1) = Closeness of the source in terms of space and time.
• Number (N) = How many sources the authority is coming from.

Question 4

What are Multiplicative and divisional effects? (lightbulb analogy) O : SIT

Answer 4

Multiplicative effect is explained by the lightbulb analogy:

• S : the ‘strength’ of the bulb (100 watts compared with 70)
• I : how far away the light source is (‘immediacy’)
• N : the amount of bulbs.

Divisional effect:
- Social impact is reduced if there are more targets than there are sources of authority (e.g. bigger room means less light from the bulbs).

Question 5

What is The law of diminishing returns? O : SIT

Answer 5

The law of diminishing returns states that each source after the third has less of an effect (Latané).

• The 4th authoritative figure will cause less obedience than the 3rd.