Social Influence Key Words Flashcards
Conformity
A change in a person’s behaviour or opinions as a result of real or imagined pressure from a group of people
Internalisation
A deep type of conformity where we take on the majority view because we accept it as correct . It leads to a permanent change in behaviour even when the group is absent
Identification
A moderate type of conformity where we act in the same way with the group because we value it and want to be a part of it. But, we don’t necessarily agree with everything
Compliance
A superficial and temporary type of conformity where we outwardly go along with the majority view, but privately we disagree with it. The change in our behaviour only lasts as long as the group is monitoring us.
Informational Social Influence (ISI)
An explanation of conformity that says that we agree with the opinion of the majority because we believe it is correct. We accept it because we want to be correct as well. This may lead to internalisation.
Normative Social Inflence (NSI)
An explanation for conformity that says that we agree with the opinion of the majority because we want to be accepted, gain social approval and be liked. This may lead to compliance.
nAffiliators
People who have a need for affiliation, i.e. assosciation with others; preferring the company of others
Group Size
Asch increased the size of the group by adding more confederates, thus increasing the size of the majority. Conformity increased with group size, but only up to a point, levelling off when the majority was greater than three.
Unanimity
The extent to which all the members of a group agree. In Asch’s studies, the majority was unanimous when all the confederates selected the same comparison line. This produced the greatest degree of conformity in the naïve participants.
Task difficulty
Asch’s line-judging task is more difficult when it becomes harder to work out the correct answer. Conformity increases because the naïve participants assume that the majority is more likely to be right.
Social roles
The ‘parts’ people play as members of various social groups. Everyday examples include parent, child, student, passenger and so on. These are accomplished by expectations we and others have of what is appropriate behaviour in each role, for example caring, obedient, industrious etc.
Obedience
A form of social influence in which an individual follows a direct order. The person issuing the order has the power to punish when obedient behaviour is not forthcoming.
Two-process theory
Used to describe the two processes that explain a subject including conformity and phobias
Confederate
An individual in an experiment who is not a real participant and has been instructed how to behave by the researcher
Social norms
Something that is standard, usual or typical of a group
Demand charcateristics
Any cue from the researcher or the research situation that may be interpreted by participants as revealing the purpose of the investigation
Individualist culture
A culture where people are more concerned about themselves than their social group
Collectivist culture
Where the social group is seen as more important than the individual
Stereotypes
A perception of an individual in terms of some readily available feature, such as their group membership or physical attractiveness, rather than their personal attributes
Social Identity Theory
A theory that suggests your behaviour is motivated by your social identity. Social identity is determined by the various social groups which you belong to
Situational Variables
In his research Milgram identified several factors that he believed influenced the level of obedience shown by participants. They are all related to the external circumstances rather than to the personalities of the people involved, and include proximity, location and uniform.
