Social Influence Flashcards
Normative social influence
An individual conforms with expectations of the majority in order to gain approval or avoid disapproval. May believe they’re under surveillance
informational social influence
Result of a desire to be right. looking to others as a way of gaining evidence about reality
compliance
individual accepts influence to try and gain approval or avoid disapproval. Persons underlying behaviour doesn’t change
internalisation
individual accepts influence because the attitude reposed is consistent with their own value system (could be convinced)
Identification
individual adopts attitude or behaviour because they want to be associated with a particular person or group
conformity to social roles
Stanford prison experiment and BBC prison experiment
Procedure for Stanford prison experiment
- mock prison set up at university
- male volunteers (tested)
- 24 most stable assigned prisoner or guard
prisoners unexpected arrested at home, given prisoner uniform and assigned ID number - allowed certain rights: 3 meals a day, supervised toilet visits and 2 visits a week
- guards given uniform, clubs, whistles and reflective sunglasses
- Zimbardo took role of prison superior
findings for the Stanford prison experiment
- first few days guards became aggressive and abusive
- prisoners made to do degrading activities
- participants forgot it was study
- 5 prisoners had to be released early
- terminated after 6 days supposed to last 2 weeks
- both prisoners and guards conformed to their roles
social change
occurs when a society or section of society adopts a new belief or way of behaving which then becomes widely accepted as the norm
what are the 5 main stages of social change?
- drawing attention to the issue
- cognitive conflict
- consistence of position
- the argumentation principle
- the snowball effect
drawing attention to the issue
creates a conflict that the majority are motivated to reduce
cognitive conflict
makes majority group think are more about the issue being challenged
some either support minority or dismiss it
consistency of position
research has shown that is a minority consistency express their viewpoint, then it will be more influential in bringing about social change
the argumentation principle
if willing to suffer for their viewpoints then it is seen as being more committed
it is then taken more seriously
the snowball effect
as more people start to consider it, it becomes more widespread, this leads to a tipping point and eventually social change.
Conformity
A change in a persons behaviour or opinions as a result of real or imagined pressure from a person or group of people
Group size
Conformity increased with group size, but only up to a point, levelling off when the majority was great than three
Unanimity
The extent to which all the members of a group agree, produces greater degree of conformity in naive participants
Task difficulty
When task (e.g. Similar lines) are difficult to differentiate
Social roles
The parts people play as members of various social groups, come with expectations of appropriate social roles
Obedience
An individual follows a direct order, usually an authority figure, power to punish
Proximity
Physical closeness or distance of an authority figure to the person they are giving an order to
Location
The place where an order is issued, relevant factor that influences obedience
Uniform
People in position of authority often have a specific outfit that is symbolic of their authority (police officers or judges)
Situational variables
Factors that are believed to influence the level of obedience shown by participants. External circumstances rather than personality
Agentic state
No personal responsibility for behaviour, shifts blame onto authority figure
Legitimacy of authority
More likely to obey people who we perceive to have authority over us
Dispositional explanation
Explanation of behaviour that highlights the importance of individuals personality
Authoritarian personality
Especially susceptible to obey people in authority, submissive to this in higher status
Resistance to social influence
Withstand the social pressure to conform to the majority or to obey authority, influenced by situational & Dispositional factors
Social support
Resist pressure to conform or obey and can help other to do the same, act as models
Locus of control
People differ in their beliefs about whether the outcomes of their actions dependant of what they do or on events outside their personal control
Minority figure
Members of the majority group change their beliefs or behaviours as a result of their exposure to a persuasive minority
Flexibility
Willingness to be flexible and to compromise when expressing a position
Commitment
Degree to which minority are dedicated to particular cause or activity
Consistency
Stable in the expressed position over time and agreement among different members of the minority
Social influence
Process by which individuals and groups change each other’s attitudes and behaviours
