Chapter 8 - Individual and Group Behaviour Flashcards
Social influence
how people change their behaviour or attitudes due to the direct or indirect influence of others
Group
two or more people who interact with and influence one another and work towards a common goal
Collective
a collection of people who exert minimal influence on each other and don’t interact with every other person in the collection
Status
the level of importance (real or imagined) that group members perceive regarding another group member’s position in that group
Power
an individual’s ability to control or strongly influence the thoughts,
feelings and behaviour of another person or group
Role
the behaviour adopted by an individual or assigned to them that influences how they function or act in different situations
Groupthink
when group members’ desire to maintain group loyalty becomes more important than making the best choices
Group shift
when discussion leads a group to adopt attitudes or actions that are more extreme than the initial attitudes or actions of the individual group members
Deindividuation
when people act a certain way because of the anonymity (loss of identity) that a group provides
Culture
the many characteristics of a group of people, including their attitudes, behaviours, customs and values that are transmitted from one generation to the next
Collectivist cultures
cultures that emphasise the needs and goals of the group as a whole over the needs and desires of each individual
Individualist cultures
cultures that stress the needs of the individual over the needs of the group as a whole
Obedience
the act of people changing their behaviour in response
to direct commands from an authority figure
Confederate
in an experiment, someone who is part of the team of experimenters but pretends to be the subject of the experiment (or neutral)
Social proximity
in the field of psychology, how physically close one or more people are to each other
Legitimacy of the authority figure
a concept referring to an authority figure who has a higher position or
status in a social hierarchy
Group pressure
an occurrence in which other members reveal whether they are obedient to the authority figure or not
Conformity
the process by which people modify their ideas, attitudes, behaviours or perceptions to more closely reflect those held by groups to which they belong or aspire to belong
Normative influence
the occurrence in which we conform with others because we want to
be liked by them – and we assume that our conformity will make them like us more
Informational influence
an occurrence in which a person conforms because they want to be right, so they look
to others they believe might have more information
Unanimity
the complete agreement that group members experience in terms of knowing the answer
Group size
the number of individuals within a group; increase in group size can correspond to a rise in conformity (but only up to a point)
Social loafing
a person’s tendency to reduce their effort when working in a group, as opposed to when working alone
Media
the various broadcasting mediums, such as the internet, newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, billboards and smartphones
Advertising
the activity and industry
of creating messages and using different psychological techniques to promote or sell a product, service or idea
Television (TV)
a telecommunication medium used to transmit moving images in black and white or in colour, with sound
Video game
an electronic game that
involves a person interacting with a user interface or input device (e.g. a joystick,
controller, keyboard or
motion-sensing device) to generate visual and auditory feedback
News
information about current events
Social media
internet-based technology, accessible on devices including smartphones, smartwatches, tablets and computers, that facilitates the sharing of
ideas, thoughts and information through virtual networks and communities
Social connections
the relationships that individuals have with the people around them
Social comparison
a behaviour in which we
compare certain aspects of ourselves – such as our behaviour, opinions, status and success – to other people to assess ourselves better
Upward social comparison
a behaviour in which we
compare ourselves to
someone we perceive to be better than we are
Downward social comparison
a behaviour in which we
compare ourselves to someone we perceive to be worse than we are
Fear of missing out (FOMO)
the extreme fear of not being included in or missing a social event
Addiction
the state in which a person feels an uncontrolled motivation to perform certain behaviours (e.g. online behaviours) and devotes so much time and effort to these behaviours that it impairs their other important life areas
Dopamine
a naturally
occurring ‘feel-good’ chemical that motivates
us to do what we think will bring us pleasure
Information access
the ability to identify,
retrieve and use information effectively
Non-conformity
any behaviour that is not conformity
Independence
a situation in which a person perceives group pressure but doesn’t respond to it at either the public or private level
Anti-conformity
deliberate behaviour that acts against the position of one or more people
Deviate
in Asch’s 1951 experiment, a group member who took the
opposing view to the group’s general opinion
Modal
in Asch’s 1951 experiment, a group member who took the
view that conformed to the average of the real participants
Slider
in Asch’s 1951 experiment, a group member who initially took the same view as the deviate but then changed to the view of the modal participant
Psychological reactance
an unpleasant motivational arousal that emerges when people experience a threat to or loss of their free behaviours
Uniqueness
a person’s distinctiveness in relation to other people
The need for uniqueness
a psychological state in which individuals feel indistinguishable from others, which motivates
compensatory acts to restore a sense of uniqueness
Social impact theory
a theory suggesting that the degree of influence that a person experiences in group settings depends on three factors: the group’s strength, the group’s immediacy and the number of people in the group who are exerting the social influence
Trans-situational strength
characteristics that group members hold that give them a higher level of status and power
Situational strength
roles that group members play that give them a higher level of status and power
Immediacy
the physical, temporal and social closeness between the influencing
group members and the individual being influenced
Coercive power
A person or agency has the ability to punish.
Expert power
A person or agency has specialist knowledge and skills
Informational power
A person or agency has useful information that isn’t readily available elsewhere
Legitimate power
A person or agency with a formally recognised position in an organisation to exert rights over others and prescribe behaviour in others.
Referent power
A person or agency has the quality of being idolised or adored as a role model.
Reward power
A person or agency has the ability to reward behaviour positively or by removing negative effects.
