Social Influence Flashcards
Conformity
A change in a persons behaviour or opinions as a result of group pressure
Normative Social Influence
When we want to be liked by the other people in the group, we want to feel accepted by them and not left out
Informational Social Influence
Using the behaviour of the people around us for information when we are in ambiguous situations and are unsure of how to act. We might regard these people as experts and may copy their behaviour.
Deindividuation
The state of losing our sense of individuality and becoming less aware of our own responsibility for our actions
Bystander Intervention
When a bystander helps a person in need
Bystander Apathy
When a bystander doesn’t help a person in need
Diffusion Of Responsibility
When there are more bystanders witnessing an incedent it is less likely that one of them is going to help
Social Loafing
Putting less effort into doing something when you are with others doing the same thing
Obedience
Following an order, instruction or command which is given by a figure of authority
Socialisation
We are taught from young to obey authority figures so it’s a natural thing for us
Legitimate Authority
The experimenter was wearing a lab coat and the university prestige made participiants put faith in the parson telling them what to do
Gradual Commitment
It is difficult to know where to draw the line. Electric shocks start low, if you shock a person at 150v then why not 165v?
Buffers
Participant’s couldn’t see the learner directly just hear them so it shielded them from consequences
Not Feeling Responsible
People lose a sense of responsibility for their own actions. Participants were acting on behalf of someone else, they were just doing what they were told. This stopped them from feeling that they would be blamed for what they did.
Asch Case-Study
Aim: Asch wanted to know whether people could be influenced by other people’s opinions to give an answer they knew to be wrong. In this way it would be possible to see if people were conforming.
Method: Participants were shown sets of four lines. For each set, the participant had to say whether line A,B or C was the same length as the test line. When tested alone, the participants rarely made a mistake (the error rate was less than 1%). However, participants also had to give their answers as part of a group. The rest of the group was instructed to give incorrect answers for some of the tests.
Results: On 32% of the trials where the rest of the group gave the wrong answer, the same participant gave the wrong answer as the rest of the group, rather than the obviously correct answer. 74% of the participants gave at least one wrong answer
Conclusion: The only reason for this 32% error rate was hearing incorrect answers previously given. Those who gave incorrect answers told Asch they knew their answers were wrong but did not want to go against the rest of the group. This clearly demonstrates normative social influence.
