Social Influence: Glossary

Question 1

Define social influence

Answer 1

The scientific study of the ways in which people’s thoughts, feelings and behaviours are affected by others.

Question 2

Define majority influence

Answer 2

The tendency to change what we do, think or say in response to the influence of real or imagined pressure from others.

Question 3

Define compliance

Answer 3

To appear to agree with others in public, while disagreeing in private.
E.G. When a friend has a belief you don’t agree with, but you keep quiet because you don’t want an argument.
Not permanent.

Question 4

Define identification

Answer 4

To want to be perceived to belong in a group.
E.G. Watching a film with a friend that you don’t really want to watch.
Partial.

Question 5

Define internalisation

Answer 5

To agree with others in private and in public.
E.G. Becoming a vegetarian.
Permanent.

Question 6

Define normative social influence

Answer 6

This occurs when we wish to be liked by the majority group, so we go along with them even though we don’t agree. It is following the crowd in order to fit in with the ‘norms’ and be liked by the group.

Question 7

Define informational social influence

Answer 7

When we look to the majority group for information, as we are unsure of the way in which to behave. A person will conform because they genuinely believe the majority to be right, so we look to them for the right answer.

Question 8

Define dehumanise

Answer 8

To deprive of positive human qualities.

Question 9

Define deindividualisation

Answer 9

A concept that is generally thought of as the loss of self awareness in a group.

Question 10

Define internal locus of control

Answer 10

People of this category believe they are mostly responsible for what happens to them.

Question 11

Define external locus of control

Answer 11

People of this category believe that things happen without their control.

Question 12

Define obedience

Answer 12

A type of social influence which causes a person to act in response to an order given by another person. The person who gives the orders usually has power over authority.

Question 13

Define situational obedience

Answer 13

Things like the environment or people around who might make someone more or less obedient.
E.G. The proximity of an authority figure.

Question 14

Define legitimacy of authority

Answer 14

An explanation of obedience offered by Milgram, who suggested that we are more likely to obey a person with a higher position or status in a social hierarchy.

Question 15

Define agentic shift

Answer 15

People move into an agentic state when they pass responsibility onto the authority figure.

Question 16

Define social desirability bias

Answer 16

A type of response bias that is the tendency of survey respondents to answer questions in a manner that will be viewed favourably by others.

Question 17

Define minority influence

Answer 17

Reversing the direction of social influence so that a minority rejects the established norm of the majority group and persuades the majority to move to the position of the minority.

Question 18

Define informed consent

Answer 18

Telling participants what is going to happen in a study so they can decide whether they wish to take part.

Question 19

Define confidentiality

Answer 19

The Data Protection Act makes the trust that personal information will be protected by a legal right.

Question 20

Define anonymity

Answer 20

A researcher’s guarantee to withhold participants’ names to protect their identity.

Question 21

Define privacy

Answer 21

A person’s right to control the flow of information about themselves.
E.G. People do not expect to be observed in their own home.

Question 22

Define deception

Answer 22

Withholding information from participants or deliberately providing false information.

Question 23

Define code of ethics

Answer 23

Standards that concern a group of professional people such as psychologists, advising what is expected of them in terms of the right and wrong in their job.

Question 24

Define right to withdraw

Answer 24

People can stop participating in a study if they feel uncomfortable in any way, which is especially important in cases where full informed consent has not been given.

Question 25

Define protection from harm

Answer 25

Nothing negative should happen to a participant they could not expect to experience in ordinary life, and participants must be in the same state after the study as they were beforehand.

Question 26

Define competence

Answer 26

One of the four ethical principles proposed by the British Psychological Society, it states psychologists should maintain high standards in their professional work.

Question 27

Define responsibility

Answer 27

One of the four ethical principles proposed by the British Psychological Society, it highlights the requirements for psychologists to protect their participants from hard and debrief them at the end of the study.

Question 28

Define integrity

Answer 28

One of the four ethical principles proposed by the British Psychological Society, it demands that psychologists are honest and accurate when reporting their findings and acknowledging possible limitations.

Question 29

Define respect

Answer 29

One of the four ethical principles proposed by the British Psychological Society, it refers to the dignity and worth of all persons and includes standards of privacy, confidentiality and informed consent.

Question 30

Define authoritarian personality

Answer 30

A state of mind or attitude characterized by belief in absolute obedience or submission to someone else’s authority.

Question 31

Define conformity

Answer 31

A change in a person’s behaviour or opinions as a result of real or imagines pressure from a person or group of people.

Question 32

Define unanimity

Answer 32

The extent to which all members of a group agree.

Question 33

Define social roles

Answer 33

The ‘parts’ people play as members of various social groups.
For example: Parent, child, student, passenger, etc.
These are accompanied by expectations we and other have of what is appropriate behaviour in each role.

Question 34

Define situational variables

Answer 34

Factors believed to be influenced by the level of obedience shown by participants. They are all related to the external circumstances rather than to the personalities of the people involved.

Question 35

Define agentic state

Answer 35

A mental state where we feel no personal responsibility for our behaviour because we believe ourselves to be acting for an authority figure.
This frees us from the demands of our consciences and allows us to obey even a destructive authority figure.

Question 36

Define autonomous state

Answer 36

Where individuals are seen as personally responsible for their actions.

Question 37

Define cognitive dissonance

Answer 37

Unpleasant feeling of anxiety created when simultaneously holding two contradictory ideas.

Question 38

Define confederates

Answer 38

Alternative term for stooges or pseudo-participants.

Question 39

Define dispositional attribution

Answer 39

Explanation of individual behaviour as a result caused by internal characteristics that reside within the individual.

Question 40

Define individual variables

Answer 40

Personal characteristics that affect the degree to which individuals yield to group pressures.

Question 41

Define ironic deviance

Answer 41

Takes place when we believe that the behaviour of the majority is the result of unreasonable pressure from authority.

Question 42

Define Milgram paradigm

Answer 42

Experimental procedure for measuring obedience rates.

Question 43

Define morality

Answer 43

Decisions and behaviour based upon the perception of proper conduct.

Question 44

Define personality

Answer 44

Combination of characteristics that forms an individual’s distinctive nature.

Question 45

Define reactance

Answer 45

Occurs when a person feels that someone or something is taking away his or her choices or limiting the range of alternatives.

Question 46

Define social change

Answer 46

The process by which attitudes, beliefs and norms of acceptable behaviour vary over time.

Question 47

Define social support

Answer 47

Perception of assistance and solidarity available from others.

Question 48

Define status

Answer 48

The position of an individual within a hierarchical group.

Question 49

Define systematic processing

Answer 49

Analysis based on critical thinking.