social influence key terminology Flashcards
define ‘conformity’ (key terminology - social influence)
- a change in a person’s behaviour or opinions as a result of real or imagined pressure from a person or group of people
- Aronson, 2011
define ‘compliance’ (key terminology - social influence)
- a temporary & superficial type of conformity where a majority opinion is publicly agreed with, but privately disagreed with
- a particular behaviour/opinion stops as soon as group pressure stops
- e.g. politics, bullying
define ‘identification’ (key terminology - social influence)
- a temporary & moderate type of conformity where an opinion is publicly & privately agreed with when with a group we want to be part of, but privately disagreed with when away from the group
- occurs as we don’t want to be rejected by the group
- e.g. views of family, army values
define ‘internalisation’ (key terminology - social influence)
- also known as conversion
- a permanent & deep type of conformity where the acceptance of a view changes both publicly & privately, even when not in the presence of the group
- we take on the majority opinion as we believe it correct
- e.g. religious conversion, dictatorships
define ‘normative social influence’ (key terminology - social influence)
- an explanation for conformity that says we agree with the opinion of the majority because we want to gain social approval & be liked
- this often leads to compliance
define ‘informational social influence’ (key terminology - social influence)
- an explanation for conformity that says we agree with the opinion of the majority because we believe it is correct
- we accept it because we want to be correct too
- this may lead to internalisation
define ‘group size’ in relation to Asch’s 1951 study (key terminology - social influence)
- Asch increased the group size by adding more confederates
- conformity increased up to a point (3 confederates) but then levelled off
Define ‘unanimity’ in relation to Asch’s 1951 study (key terminology - social influence)
- the extent to which the members of a group agree
- in Asch’s study the majority was unanimous when all the confederates selected the same comparison line (even if it was wrong)
define ‘task difficulty’ in relation to Asch’s 1951 study (key terminology - social influence)
- Asch’s line judging task is more difficult when it becomes harder to work out the correct answer
- conformity increased because naïve participants assume the majority is more likely to be right
define ‘social roles’ (key terminology - social influence)
- the ‘parts’ people play as members of various social groups (e.g. parent, child, student)
- they are accompanied by expectations of appropriate behaviour (e.g. patience, obedience)
define ‘obedience’ (key terminology - social influence)
- a form of social influence in which an individual follows a direct order
- the person issuing the order is usually a figure of authority who has the power to punish if obedience is not shown
define ‘situational variables’ (key terminology - social influence)
- features of the immediate physical & social environment that may influence a person’s behaviour
- e.g. proximity, location, uniform
define ‘dispositional variables’ (key terminology - social influence)
- behaviour is explained in terms of personality
define ‘proximity’ in relation to Milgram (1963) (key terminology - social influence)
- the physical closeness or distance of an authority figure to the person they are giving orders to
- in Milgram’s study it refers to the physical closeness of the teacher to the learner
define ‘location’ in terms of Milgram (1963) (key terminology - social influence)
- the place where an order is issued
- the relevant factor that influences obedience is the status or prestige associated with the location
- in Milgram’s study, it was whether it was conducted at Yale University (prestige) or a run down office building in Connecticut
define ‘uniform’ in terms of Milgram (1963) (key terminology - social influence)
- people in positions of authority often have a specific outfit that is symbolic of their authority (e.g. police)
- this indicates that they are entitled to expect our authority
- in Milgram’s study, it refers to whether the ‘researcher’ in the room with the Ps was wearing a lab coat (authority) or normal clothes
define ‘agentic state’ (key terminology - social influence)
- a mental state where we feel no personal responsibility for our behaviour as we are acting an behalf of an authority figure (we become their ‘agent’)
define ‘legitimacy of authority’ (key terminology - social influence)
- an explanation for obedience which suggests that we are more likely to obey people who we perceive to have authority over us
- the authority is justified (legitimate) by the individual’s position of power within a social hierarchy
define ‘dispositional explanation’ (key terminology - social influence)
- any explanation for behaviour that highlights the importance of the individual’s personality
- such explanations are often contrasted with situational explanations
define ‘authoritarian personality’ (key terminology - social influence)
- a type of personality that shows an extreme respect & submissiveness to authority (so are susceptible to obeying authority)
- are through to be submissive to those in higher authority & dismissive to inferiors
define ‘resistance to social influence’ (key terminology - social influence)
- refers to ability of people to withstand the social pressure to conform to the majority or to obey authority
- this ability to withstand social pressure is influenced by both situational & dispositional factors
define ‘social support’ (key terminology - social influence)
- the presence of people who resist pressures to conform or obey can help others to do the same
- these people act as models to show others that resistance to social influence is possible
define ‘locus of control’ (key terminology - social influence)
- refers to the sense we have about what directs events in our lives
- internals believe they are mostly responsible for what happens to them (internal locus of control)
- externals think it is a matter of luck/other outside forces (external locus of control)
define ‘minority influence’ (key terminology - social influence)
- a form of social influence in which a minority (sometimes only a single person) tries to persuade the majority to adopt their beliefs/behaviours
- it often leads to internalisation (opinions/behaviour permanently changes both privately & publicly)
