Social Influence

Question 1

social influence

Answer 1

process whereby attitudes, behavior are influenced by the real or implied presence of other people

Question 2

compliance

Answer 2

superficial, public, transitory change in behavior & expressed attitudes in response to requests, coercion or group pressure

Question 3

conformity

Answer 3

deep-seated, private and enduring change in behavior and attitudes due to group pressure

• to avoid social disapproval, tension
• low self-esteem, need for social support & self control, low IQ, anxiety, self-blame, insecurity, low status in group
• women conform more (maintain group harmony), depends on familiarity, expertise
• cultural differences: low conformity in individualist cultures, high in collectivist
• situational factors: group size, group unanimity, importance of group

Question 4

informational influence

Answer 4

accept information from another as evidence about reality

Question 5

normative influence

Answer 5

conform to the positive expectation of others, to gain social approval or to avoid social disapproval

Question 6

reference group

Answer 6

group that is psychologically significant for our behavior and attitudes

Question 7

membership groups

Answer 7

group to which we belong by some objective external criterion

Question 8

referent informational influence

Answer 8

pressure to conform to a group norm that defines oneself as a group member

Question 9

minority influence

Answer 9

numerical or power minorities change the attitudes of the majority; conversion (indirect influence)

Question 10

majority influence

Answer 10

larger group influences smaller subgroups or individuals; compliance (direct influence)

Question 11

conformity bias

Answer 11

treat group influence as a one-way process in which individuals or minorities always conform to majorities

Question 12

dual-process dependency model

Answer 12

genreal model of social influence in which two separate processes operate; dependency on others for social approval & for information about reality

Question 13

power

Answer 13

capacity to influence others while resisting their attempts to influence

Question 14

conversion effect

Answer 14

minority influence –> sudden, dramatic internal change in attitudes of majority

Question 15

reciprocity principle

Answer 15

“reciprocity norm”, “law of doing unto others what they do to you “; gain compliance by doing someone a favor, mutual aggression or attraction

Question 16

agentic state

Answer 16

(MIlgram) unquestioning obedience, people as agents transfer personal responsibility to the person giving orders

Question 17

social influence modalities

Answer 17

–> conformity: majority influences minority or deviates to adopt the majority viewpoint

–> normalization: mutual compromise leading to convergence

–> innovation minority creates & accentuates conflict in order to persuade the majority to adopt the minority viewpoint

Question 18

theory of Idiosyncrasy credits

Answer 18

(Hollander) to dissent effectively, you must first earn the right by paying conformity dues called idiosyncrasy credits; high status individuals have more idiosyncrasy credits than low status; different viewpoints:

• -> Hollander: early conformity is good
• ->Moscovici: consistent nonconformity is important