Social influence Flashcards
what is social influence?
the scientific study of the way in which peoples thoughts, feelings and behaviours are affected by other people and situations.
what is internalisation?
a deep type of conformity where we take on the majority view as we accept it as correct. This type of conformity leads to a permanent change in the individuals beliefs even when the group is not present.
what is identification?
a moderate type of conformity where we act in the same way as the group because we value their ideas for as long as they are present.
what is compliance?
a superficial and temporary type of conformity where we go along with the majority view, yet internally disagree. The change of behaviour is only present while the group is supervising.
what is the two-process theory by Deutsch and Gerard (1955) ?
two types of social influence; normative and informational.
what is informational influence?
refers to groups or individuals who have the better information. we follow the behaviour of the majority as we believe they are right. this is a cognitive process where we permanently change our behaviour and beliefs.
what is normative influence?
refers to how social norms regulate the behaviour of groups or individuals for social approval rather than rejection. this an emotional process rather than cognitive, and a temporary change in behaviour.
support from Asch for normative social influence?
When Asch interviews his participants, some said they conformed because they self-conscious giving giving the correct answer and were afraid of disapproval. when. participants wrote their answers down, conformity dropped to 12.5% which is because they gave their answers privately so there is no normative group pressure.
Lucas et al (2006) support for informational social influence?
asked students to give their answers to mathematical problems that were easy or more difficult. there was more conformity to incorrect answers when they were difficult. especially for students who rated their maths skills as poor.
counterpoint to Lucas et al (2006) ?
however, it is often unclear whether it is NSI or ISI at work in research studies (Asch found that conformity id reduced when their is one other dissenting participants which reduces power of NSI or ISI, therefore it is hard to separate ISI and NSI as they most likely act together in real life situations.
Individual differences in NSI? (weakness)
however, evidence shows that NSI affects people differently: nAffiliators. (people who need more social approval) are more likely to conform, as found by McGhee and Teevan (1967) found in a sample of students. this shows that NSI underlies conformity for some people more than it does for others.
ISI and NSI work together?
the two-process approach suggests behaviour is due to either one or the other. But actually, often both processes work together. For example, conformity lessens when there is a dissenter in the group as they reduce the power of NSI by proving social support, or by reducing ISI as there is now an alternative source of information. so you cant know which one produced the change seen in behaviour, in lab studies or in real life behaviour.
is the distinction between ISI and NSI useful?
however, it is not useful because it is impossible to work out which is operating. Lucas et al’s findings could be due to NSI or ISI or both. Asch research from previously spread clearly demonstrates both NSI and ISI as a reason for conformity.
evidence from lab studies?
they are high in validity as they clearly distinguish the cause and effect of conformity as well as it being easily replicable.
