social impact theory Flashcards
What is social impact theory?
Explains how explains how individuals are influenced by others and suggests the strength, immediacy, and number of people involved affect the impact of social influence on behaviour
Who proposed social impact theory and when?
Latane 1981
What is a source in the context of social impact theory?
The person or group exerting the influence of others
What is a target in the context of social impact theory?
The individual or group being influenced by the source
What does strength refer to in social impact theory?
The perceived power and authority of the source of influence.
The more influential or authoritative the source the greater the impact on the target
What is immediacy in social impact theory?
The psychical or psychological closeness of the source to the target.
The closer the source , the more significant the impact
What does number mean in the context of social impact theory?
How many sources of iunfkluences are present.
As the number of sources increases , the social impact on the target also increases but each additional source has a diminishing effect
What is the equation of social impact theory?
Social impact = strength x immediacy x number of sources
What is the law of diminishing returns in social impact theory?
Suggests that as the number of sources increases , the additional impact of each new source decreases. The first few sources have the greatest impact.
What does ‘division of impact’ mean in social impact theory?
refers to how the impact of sources is spread out among targets. Where there are more targets , the impact on each individual target is reduced.
How does social impact theory address the dynamic nature of social influence?
Acknowledges that social impact is not static and can changed based on the situation.
