Social Influence Flashcards
What is social influence?
When the behaviour and attitude of a person are influenced by someone else this can be real or imagined
Social group
A group of two or more people who interact together, share things in common, and share a common identity
Social roles
Behaviours expected of a person with a particular position in a social group
Social norms
The unwritten rules for how all members of a social group are expected to behave
Private attitude/belief
A person’s genuine beliefs or feelings about something
Public attitude/belief
What a person tells other people they believe or feel
Conformity
When a person’s private or public attitude is influenced by the majority
Compliance
A type of conformity where a person conforms publicly but not privately to be accepted by a group and avoid social rejection
Identification
When a person changes their public behaviour and their private beliefs but only while they are in the presence of the group they are identifying with.
Internalisation
When a person conforms privately and publicly because they are persuaded that the attitudes of the majority are correct.
What is the strength of Compliance?
Low strength
What is the strength of Identification?
Medium strength
What is the strength of Internalisation?
High strength
Normative social Influence
The explanation that states that people conform to fit into society and to avoid social rejection.
Informational social influence
The explanation that states that people conform because they want to be correct and they think the majority is correct.
Aim of Asch’s study (1951)
To examine how social pressure to conform from a unanimous majority affects conformity in an unambiguous situation.
Method of Asch’s Study
Asch used a sample of male undergraduates and told them that they would be taking part in a vision test. Asch used a line judgement task, placing one real participant in a room with confederates who had agreed on their answers in advance. Each person had to say which line was most like the target line in length with the real participant being second to last.Asch wanted to see if the real participant would conform to the majority group even when the answer was incorrect.
Results of Asch’s critical thinking trials
⭐️On average, the real participants conformed to the incorrect answers in 32% of the critical trials.
⭐️74% of the participants conformed on at least 1 critical trial
⭐️26% of the participants never conformed
Conclusion of Asch’s study
Asch interviewed his participants after the experiment and most participants said that they knew the answers were incorrect, but went along with the group to fit in and avoid being ridiculed.
What does Asch’s study support?
Normative Social Influence
Variables affecting Conformity (ASCH)
⭐️Group Size
⭐️Unanimity
⭐️Task Difficulty
Evaluation Point 1 For Asch’s study
Evaluation Point 2 for Asch’s study
Evaluation point 3 for Asch’s study
Evaluation point 4 for Asch’s study
How does group size affect conformity?
How does Task difficulty affect conformity?
How does unanimity affect conformity?
Aim of Jenness experiment (1932)
To examine if individuals will change their opinion in an ambiguous situation in response to group discussion
Explanations for Obedience
-Agentic state
-Autonomous state
Agentic State
A mental state in which individuals allow others to direct their actions as they see themselves as acting as the agent of an authority figure and pass off the responsibility for the consequences to the authority figure
Situational variables affecting obedience-MILGRAM
⭐️Proximity
⭐️Location
⭐️Uniform
Autonomous State
A mental state in which individuals act according to their principles and beliefs and take responsibility for the results of their actions
