social influence Flashcards
What is internalisation
when a person genuinely accepts the group norms, this results in a private as well as public change of opinions and behaviour. this change is likely to be permanent as the attitudes have been internalised the change in behaviour/opinion persists even in the absence of other group members
what is identification?
sometimes we conform the the opinions/behaviours of a group because there is something about the group that we value. we identify with the group so we want to be part of it. this may mean we publicly change our opinions/behaviours to achieve this goal, even if we dont privately agree with everything the group stands for.
what is compliance?
this type of conformity includes simply going along with others in public, but privately not changing personal opinions. results in only a superficial change. particular behaviour/opinion stops as soon as group pressure stops
what is conformity?
a change in a persons behaviour or opinions as a result of real or imagined pressure from a person or group of people
what is informational social influence?
An explanation of conformity that says we agree with the opinion of the majority because we believe they are correct. we accept it because we want to be correct as well. this may lead to internalisation
what is normative social influence?
an explanation of conformity that says we agree with the opinion of the majority because we want to be accepted, gain social approval and be liked. this may lead to compliance
what did asch do with group size?
asch increased group size by adding more confederates, thus increasing the size of the majority. conformity increased with group size, but only up to a point, levelling off when the majority was greater than three
what is unanimity and what did asch do with it?
the extent to which all members of the group agree. in asch’s studies was unanimous when the confederates selected the same comparison line. this produced the greatest degree of conformity in the naive participant
what did asch do with the task difficulty?
asch’s line judging task is more difficult when it becomes harder to work out the correct answer. conformity increases as naive participants assume the majority is more likely to be right
what are social roles?
the parts people play as members of various social groups. these are accompanied by expectations we and others have of what is appropriate behaviour in each role
what is obedience?
a form of social influence in which an individual follows a direct order. the person issuing the order is usually a figure of authority who has power to punish when obedient behaviour is not forthcoming
what are situational variables (milgram)?
in his research, milgram identified several factors he believed influenced the level of obedience shown by participants. they are all related to external circumstances rather than to the personalities of the people involved. these include proximity, location and uniform.
proximity
the physical closeness or distance of an authority figure to the person they are giving an order to. also refers to the physical closeness of the teacher to the learner in milgram’s studies
location
the place where an order is issued. the relevant factor that influences obedience is the status or prestige associated with the location
uniform
people in positions of authority often have a specific outfit that is symbolic of their authority, this indicates to the rest of us who is entitled to expect our obedience
agentic state
a mental state where we feel no personal responsibility for our behaviour because we believe ourselves to be acting for an authority figure, i.e as their agent. this frees us from the demands of our consciences and allows us to obey even a destructive authority figure
legitimacy of authority
an explanation for obedience which suggests that we are more likely to obey people who we perceive to have authority over us. this authority is justified (legitimate) by the individual’s position of power within a social hierarchy
dispositional explanation
any explanation of behaviour that highlights the importance of the individual’s personality (i.e. their disposition). such explanations are often contrasted with situational explanations
authoritarian personality
a type of personality that Adorno argued was especially susceptible to obeying people in authority. such individuals are also thought to be submissive to those of higher status and dismissive of inferiors
resistance to social influence
refers to the ability of people to withstand the social pressure to conform to the majority or to obey authority. this ability to withstand social pressure is influenced by both situational and dispositional factors
social support
the presence of people who resist pressures to conform to the majority or to obey can help others to do the same. these people act as models to show others that resistance to social influence is possible
locus of control
refers to the sense we each have about what directs events in our lives. internals believe they are mostly responsible for what happens to them (internal locus of control) externals believe it is mainly a matter of luck or other outside forces (external locus of control)
minority influence
a form of social influence in which a minority of people (sometimes just one person) persuade others to adopt their beliefs, attitudes or behaviours. leads to internalisation or conversion, in which private attitudes are changed as well as public behaviours
consistency
minority influence is most effective if the minority keeps the same beliefs, both over time and between all the individuals that form the majority. its effective because it draws attention to the minority view
