social influence key terminology

Question 1

define ‘conformity’ (key terminology - social influence)

Answer 1

• 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

Question 2

define ‘compliance’ (key terminology - social influence)

Answer 2

• 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

Question 3

define ‘identification’ (key terminology - social influence)

Answer 3

• 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

Question 4

define ‘internalisation’ (key terminology - social influence)

Answer 4

• 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 Marjorie opinion as we believe it correct
• e.g. religious conversion, dictatorships

Question 5

define ‘normative social influence’ (key terminology - social influence)

Answer 5

• 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

Question 6

define ‘informational social influence’ (key terminology - social influence)

Answer 6

• 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

Question 7

define ‘group size’ in relation to Asch’s 1951 study (key terminology - social influence)

Answer 7

• Asch increased the group size by adding more confederates
• conformity increased up to a point (3 confederates) but then levelled off

Question 8

Define ‘unanimity’ in relation to Asch’s 1951 study (key terminology - social influence)

Answer 8

• 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)

Question 9

define ‘task difficulty’ in relation to Asch’s 1951 study (key terminology - social influence)

Answer 9

• 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

Question 10

define ‘social roles’ (key terminology - social influence)

Answer 10

• 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)

Question 11

define ‘obedience’ (key terminology - social influence)

Answer 11

• 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

Question 12

define ‘situational variables’ (key terminology - social influence)

Answer 12

• features of the immediate physical & social environment that may influence a person’s behaviour
• e.g. proximity, location, uniform

Question 13

define ‘dispositional variables’ (key terminology - social influence)

Answer 13

• behaviour is explained in terms of personality

Question 14

define ‘proximity’ in relation to Milgram (1963) (key terminology - social influence)

Answer 14

• 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

Question 15

define ‘location’ in terms of Milgram (1963) (key terminology - social influence)

Answer 15

• 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

Question 16

define ‘uniform’ in terms of Milgram (1963) (key terminology - social influence)

Answer 16

• 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

Question 17

define ‘agentic state’ (key terminology - social influence)

Answer 17

• 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’)

Question 18

define ‘legitimacy of authority’ (key terminology - social influence)

Answer 18

• 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

Question 19

define ‘dispositional explanation’ (key terminology - social influence)

Answer 19

• any explanation for behaviour that highlights the importance of the individual’s personality
• such explanations are often contrasted with situational explanations

Question 20

define ‘authoritarian personality’ (key terminology - social influence)

Answer 20

• 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

Question 21

define ‘resistance to social influence’ (key terminology - social influence)

Answer 21

• 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

Question 22

define ‘social support’ (key terminology - social influence)

Answer 22

• 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

Question 23

define ‘locus of control’ (key terminology - social influence)

Answer 23

• 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)