Social impact theory Flashcards
1
Q
Social impact theory
A
- The effect that real of imagined people can have on our behaviour
- The impact is determined by strength, immediacy and number of sources during the interaction
2
Q
Strength
A
- The perceived power or authority of the source and message they convey
3
Q
Immediacy
A
- The closeness of the source and target
- This could be physical distance of even time difference
4
Q
Number of sources
A
- The number of people involved in the situation
- This can add or detract from social impact
5
Q
Psychosocial Law
A
- The 1st source is the most significant and as the number of sources increases there are diminishing returns for the social forces
6
Q
Diminishing returns
A
- At a certain point, each additional source has less of an impact
7
Q
Division of impact
A
- A large number of targets, the lesser the impact
8
Q
Strength of social impact theory
A
- A strength of social impact theory is that it supported by research evidence
- In Sedikides and Jackson study, it was seen that 58% of people complied with the zookeeper rather than the non-uniformed person who only 35% complied with. It was also seen that small groups were more likely to comply compared to bigger groups
- This is because the zookeeper is wearing uniform which highlights him as a legitimate authority figure so the strength of the source is higher so people will become more obedient toward the zoo keeper
9
Q
Weakness of social impact theory
A
- A weakness of social impact theory is that the role of immediacy may not be a important factor in social impact
- In Hofling et al study an unknown doctor called 22 nurses over a telephone and ask each of them to administer an overdose of a drug that was not on their ward list. 21 of 22 nurses complied with the doctor’s orders to administer the overdose to the patient
- This challenges social impact theory because the source being absent didn’t reduce the effect of the nurse’s obedience which goes against immediacy having an effect on obedience
