7 factors that influence individual and group behaviour Flashcards
Define social groups
two or more people who interact with and influence one another and who share a common purpose
Define aggregation
people in a location who have no obvious social structure and have minimal shared purpose
Define culture
the way of life of a particular group that sets it apart from other groups
Define status
the importance of an individual’s position in the group, as perceived by members of the group
Define power
an individual’s ability to control or influence the thoughts, feelings or behaviour of another person
Define social power
use of power in a social interaction to control or influence another person (or group)
Types of social power
Reward power: Power through control over rewards
Coercive power: Power through control over punishments or other force
Legitimate power: Power through a right to require and demand obedience
Referent power: Power through respect
Expert power: Power through superior abilities
Informational power: Power through access to and use of informational resources
Influence of status and power
Role: the behaviour adopted by an individual or assigned to them that influences the way they act in different situations and life in general
Stanford Prison Experiment
Zimbardo wanted to find out the effects of roles, labels and social expectations of being either a prison guard or a prisoner to investigate status and power.
Define groupthink
a way of thinking by group members characterised by a strong tendency to seek agreement when decision-making or problem-solving
Ways to prevent groupthink
- Inform group members of groupthink, its causes and consequences
- Appoint an impartial leader to encourage constructive criticism, objections and doubts
- Use subgroups that meet separately and then come together to compare views
- Group members discuss the group’s work with a third party and report reactions back
- Treat the group’s decision as a preliminary decision and have a follow-up meeting to raise any remaining doubts
- Experts attend meetings on a staggered basis and challenge the group’s views
Define group polarisation
a group member, following group discussion, shifts their initially held views to a more extreme position (in the same general direction)
Define deindividuation
reduced self-awareness, inhibition, feelings of personal responsibility and inner restraint that can occur in a group
Explain anonymity in a group or crowd
In groups or crowds when people feel anonymous and less accountable for their actions, they may conform to the majority which is behaving in ways they would not.
Explain shift in attention
When in a group, a member’s attention is focused on group activities that are external to themselves and have fewer opportunities to focus on internal thoughts. People are more likely to act impulsively and conform to a group or situation.
Define obedience — constructive and destructive
Obedience: Following the commands of someone with authority
- Constructive: Compliance with an authority figure’s orders results in a positive outcome
- Destructive: Compliance with an authority figure’s orders results in a negative outcome
Milgram’s experiments on obedience
Milgram investigated factors that can influence obedience to an authority figure.
Factors affecting obedience
Social proximity: closeness between two or more people
Legitimacy of authority figures: when an authority figure is perceived as legitimate and has power
Group pressure: when there is little to no group support for resisting the authority figure
Ethical issues in Milgram’s experiments
- Did not obtain informed consent
- Used deception because participants were misinformed
- Mental health and well-being of participants were not safeguarded
- Unclear of the right to withdraw
- Very few were debriefed
Define conformity
to adjust one’s thoughts, feelings or behaviour so they become consistent with others or social norms
Asch’s experiments of conformity
Asch investigated factors that influence group pressure to conform
Factors affecting conformity
- Group size
- Unanimity
- Informational influence: Whether the group is viewed as being a valuable source of information
- Normative influence: Awareness of accepted standards about how one should behave
- Cultural background
- Social loafing
Influences of media on behaviour
- Social comparison
- Social interaction
- Addictive behaviour
- Information access
