Social Influences - how people are influenced to behave Flashcards
What is a group
two or more people that interact with, influence, and share a goal with each other.
What is an aggregation?
Collection of people in one location with no obvious social structure or goal/purpose. Lacks interdependence
What is a culture?
way of life of a particular society or community that sets it apart from other groups
What comes under the umbrella of “culture”?
- Beliefs, values, customs, traditions, attitudes, norms
- ancestral background
- can refer to all types of social groups
- can refer to places where people interact
What is status?
An individuals position in a group or social system
What is power?
refers to the amount of influence an individual can exert over another
What are the 6 types of power?
Reward power
Coercive power
Legitimate power
Referent power
Expert power
Informational power
What is reward power?
Power through control over rewards and privileges
What is coercive power?
Power though control over punishments or threat of punishments and other force
What is legitimate power?
Power through rights to require and demand obedience
What is referent power?
power through respect or attraction
What is expert power?
Power through superior abilities and knowledge
What is informational power?
Power through access to and use of informational resources. Using this to ‘bargain’
What is an in-group?
a group that an individual identifies with or belongs to
What is an out-group?
Any group that an individual does not identify with or belong to.
What are social norms?
Spoken or unspoken rules or values that outline appropriate behaviour or experience within a group
What are individualistic cultures?
A culture that prioritises the needs and goals of individuals and values independence
What are collective cultures?
A culture that prioritises the needs and goals of the group as a whole
What are cultural norms?
Rules or expectations of
behaviour and thoughts
based on shared beliefs
within a specific
cultural group.
What is obedience?
adhering to the instruction of authority figures or the rules or laws of society
What is a confederate?
a person pretending to be a part on an experiment by fulfilling a role, while the real participant is unaware of this
What is a pilot study?
A small scale study carried out as a preliminary study, before the larger scale study is conducted
What does it mean by ‘legitimacy of authority figures’?
When the individual genuinely has power in a given situation, or according to the law
What is proximity?
closeness between two people, both mentally/emotionally and physically
What is group pressure?
direct or indirect social pressure exerted by a group on its individual members to influence their choices
What are some factors that influence obedience?
- Proximity
- Legitimacy of an authority figure
- group pressure
What was the purpose of Milgram’s experiment
To investigate the factors that determined obedience to an authority figure
What is groupthink?
way of thinking by individual members of a group characterised by a strong tendency to seek agreement
What are the 8 symptoms of groupthink?
(midsomic)
- Illusion of invulnerability
- moral correctness
- collective rationalism
- outgroup stereotypes
- self-censorship
- direct pressure on dissenters
- illusion of unanimity
- mind guarding
What is ‘illusion of invulnerability’?
the overestimation of a groups ability to make decisions because of a distorted belief that things will work out because the group is “special”
What is ‘moral correctness’?
belief that the group will make the morally right decision as a matter of course so there is no need to consider relevant moral issues
What is ‘collective rationalism’?
group spends more time justifying its decisions than reflecting on possible oversights or alternatives
What is ‘self-censorship’?
withholding personal concerns so disagreements aren’t expressed
What is ‘outgroup stereotypes’?
dismissal of ideas from outside the group, believing they cannot form better decisions and looking down on their ideas
What is ‘direct pressure on dissenters’?
pressure on doubters to conform with others
What is ‘illusion of unanimity’?
the distorted belief that everyone is in agreement