Social Influence : Key Vocabulary Flashcards
Define what it means to be in an ‘agentic state’
When an individual carries out the orders of another person, acting as their agent with little personal responsibility.
Explain what it means when someone is described as having an ‘authoritarian personality’
A person who has extreme respect for authority and is obedient to those who have power over them.
Define ‘autonomous state’
Where individuals are seen as personally responsible for their actions.
Define ‘cognitive dissonance’
An unpleasant feeling of anxiety created when simultaneously holding two contradictory ideas.
Define ‘conformity’
Changing what we do, think or say in response to others.
Define ‘dehumanisation’
Degrading people by lessening their human qualities.
Define ‘deindividuation’
When a person moves into a group and as a result looses some individual identity.
Define ‘dispositional attribution’
An explanation of individual behaviour as a result caused by internal characteristics that reside within the individual.
Define ‘identifcation’
Where people change their beliefs (sometimes temporarily) to fit in with a group.
Define what ‘individual variables’ are
Personal characteristics that affect the degree to which individuals yield to group pressures.
Define ‘internalisation’
Where people change their beliefs permanently.
When does ‘ironic deviance’ take place?
It takes place when we believe that the behaviour of the majority is the result of unreasonable pressure from authority.
Define ‘locus of control’
The extent to which individuals believe they can control events in their lives.
What is ‘majority influence’ an alternative term for?
Conformity
What is a Milgram paradigm?
An experimental procedure for measuring obedience rates.
Define ‘minority influence’
Where an individual or small group influences the attitudes and behaviour of a larger group.
Define ‘morality’
Decisions and behaviour based upon the perception of proper conduct.
Define ‘obedience’
Complying with the demands of an authority figure.
Define ‘personality’
A combination of characteristics that form an individual’s distinctive nature.
Define ‘reactance’
It occurs when a person feels that someone or something is taking away their choices or limiting the range of alternatives.
Explain what ‘situational variables’ are
Features of an environment that affect the degree to which individuals yield to group pressures.
Explain what ‘social change’ is
The process by which attitudes, beliefs and norms of acceptable behaviour vary over time.
Explain what ‘social roles’ are
The parts individuals play as part of a social group.
What is ‘social support’?
A perception of assistance and solidarity available from others.
Define ‘status’
The position of an individual within a hierarchical group.
Define ‘systematic processing’
A form of analysis based on critical thinking.
Define ‘unanimity’
Complete agreement from a group of people about an issue or question.
What is the dependent variable?
The thing we measure.
What is the independent variable?
The variable that is altered (changed).
What is the control variable?
A variable that is controlled due to its ability to influence an experiment’s outcomes.
