Social influence keywords Flashcards
What is majority influence?
When the behaviour of a large number of people affects the behaviour of a smaller group of people
It often leads to conformity
What does conformity mean?
Following the behaviour and beliefs of the majority of the people. This could be to fit in with the group.
Situational factors affecting conformity
Size of the majority
* The greater the majority the greater influence
Unanimmity of the majority
* When the decision of the majority is not unanimous (They disagree with each other), people are less likely to comform as they have social support
Task difficulty
* If the task we are performing is difficult or ambiguous then we are more likely to look for others help or right answer
Personality factors affecting conformity
Locus of control
Locus of control is the part of our personality that refers to how much control we believe we have over our own behaviour
Interal locus of control - we feel that we have a lot of personal control over our own behaviour (we believed we passed a test because we worked hard)
External locus of control - we feel that we do not have a lot of control over our behaviour (believe in fate or luck)
What is the bystander effect?
When people fail to help another in need because we believe that others will help instead
We also look around to see how others are behaving so if no one is helping we don’t either
What is the bystander intervention?
When we help another in need
Situational factors affecting bystander intervention
Diffusion of responsibility
* This is when we think others will help so we don’t have to. The larger the crowd the less responsibility
Noticing the event
* In large crowds we tend to keep to ourselves and pay less attention to whats around us
Pluralistic ignorance
* When we interpret the situation according to others reaction, less people means non-emergancy
Cost of helping
* We decide that the situation has a too high of a cost as it risks to harm ourselves so we choose not to help (being in a rush or drunk person)
Personality factors affecting bystander effect
Competence
* If we feel capable enough to help (trained), this can influence if we help or not and what type of help we give
Mood
* People are more likely to help another if they are in a good mood as we tend to pay attention to others
Similarity
* If we precive ourselves as similar to the person in need we are more likely to help them
What is obedience?
Complying (following) the request of an authority figure
Personality factors affecting obedience
Locus of control
Internal locus - people are more likely to not follow the order of a authority figure as there inderpendent
External locus - of people are more likely to follow orders because they are affected by what people tell them
The authoritarian personality
Where people respect authority figures beacaue of
rigid beliefs and attitudes and politics due to their strict up bringing
Situational factors affecting obedience
- Proximity of the victim
- Proximity of the authority figure
- Uniform of the authority
- Legitimacy of the context
- Personal resonsability
- Support of others
What is blind obedience?
Obeying someone without question which can lead to being controlled
Preventing blind obedience
Creating distance
Increasing the distance between ourselves and the authority figure their impact is lessened
Education
Organisations may use education programmes and policies to help support employees
Social support
When we are with others who resist obedience we are more likely to resist obedience too
Familiarity of the situation
When we are in a situation that is unfamiliar or ambiguous we are more likely to follow the orders because we don’t know how to behave
What is deindividuation?
This is the process of losing our identity and self-awareness when we are part of a group
We blend into a group and become anonymous, we cat differently then we would on our own and feel less responsible
Prosocial behaviour
Action (behaviour) that are seen as helpful, kind, cooperative and peaceful
