social impact theory

Question 1

introduction

Answer 1

social impact theory looks at how people’s attitudes/ obedience is impacted by the presence of other people.

it suggests that the level of impact of the source- the one giving the influence- has on the target- the one being influenced depends on: number, proximity and strength

Question 2

point 1- proximity

Answer 2

in milgrams variation 7 where instructions to deliver electric shocks to a Learner was given over the phone, demonstrates the impact of proximity on obedience.

proximity- the more close in terms of physical and psychologically the source is to the target the more likely the target will be influenced by the source e.g…..

this study found that only 22.5% delivered electric shocks up to the full 450V while directions were delivered on the phone and in fact some did a lower shock level than told to, compared to when in pyshcixally close proximity in the original study where 65% went upto the full 450V level , demonstrating that proximity does impact obedience.

Question 3

point 2- strength/ status

Answer 3

milgrams experiment 13 also demonstates a component of social impact theory, this variation is when the experimenter leaves the room and an ‘ ordinary man’ takes over the experiment telling pets what he thinks they should do.

social impact theory suggests that strength influences obedience, this includes: importance, status and power of the source e.g….

only 20% obeyed the ordinary man up to 450V compared to 65% in the original study where the experimenter dressed in a white lab coat seemed to have a certified status. demonstrating the strength of the source influences the obedience of the target.

Question 4

point 3- weakness

Answer 4

milrams study lack task and econlogical validity, not every day task ask people deliver electric shocks to a Lerner, Yale uni, therefore cant generalise may not occur in real life scenario

Question 5

point 4

Answer 5

a mathematical formula can be used to help predict where we might see high levels of obedience and understand past events such as WW2, based on social impact theory concepts.
formula i=f( S X I X N ) including, number of sources, strength and immediacy

although this formula is highly reductionist as It suggests that social behaviour is based on interactions between individuals without input from society or social context. it suggests human behaviour can be condensed into a few variables without considering: personality Adorno, if don’t have authoritarian personality may be able to resist impact from source elms supports as he found that obedient and disobedient puts had differing childhoods and levels of authoritarianism

Question 6

application- number

Answer 6

social impact theory has allowed us to understand what causes obedience and spot any signs of the misuse of this to try and gain inappropriate obedience like hitler. hitler’s dominance over a large number of germans led to them obeying his commands which were intentionally violent. we can see this such as he sent out large crowds of nazis to roam the streets of Munich and areas of Germany, germans were in close proximity and the large number is. a component of SIT it suggests the larger the number of sources the more influence on the target for instance one teacher telling off a student may not impact them too much but 5 is much more likely to impact them. Nazis also had great importance and status to germans, this led to their obedience to hitler during WW2, we can now understand how this occurred and avoid it for future generations