Social Psychology Flashcards
Conformity
Tendency for people to line behaviour with the norms
Two reasons
1) informative influence: look to the group for guidance
2) normative influence: even if you know what is right, do what the group does to avoid social rejection
Publically - outwardly change but keep inside beliefs
Privately - change inside and out
Group polarization
Group decision making amplifies the original opinion of the members
Views tend to not have equal influence
- arguments made tend to favour the popular view
- and criticism is s minority view
(Conformation bias)
Group think
Occurs when maintaining harmony among group member is more important that dealing with the problem
Happens with cohesive, insulated groups
Often have important/respond leaders so individuals suppress their Iowa opinions for group unity
Anomie
Breakdown of social bonds between an individual and community
Identification
When people act/dress a certain way to be like someone famous
Internalization
Belief that has been integrated into our own values
Strongest type of conformity
Normative social influence
If we do something to get respect / support from our peers
Might go with a group outwardly but not inwardly
Informational social influence
When we conform because we feels others are more knowledgeable
Solomon Asch
Gestalt psychologist - believed it is not possible to understand human behaviour by breaking it into parts. It must be understood as a whole
Milgram studies
Done to study willingness of participants
Average Americans obey authority figures that conflicted with their personality and morals
used deception - ad about memory and learning but actually studied effects of punishment on memory
Fundamental attribution error
Focuses only on the actions of others
Tend to believe out groups behave a certain way based on inherent personalities / flaws
The idea of attributing character too strongly to explain another groups actions
Zimbardo prison study
Studied how conformity can result in acts different from the usual Deindividualization Cognitive dissonance Internalization Situational attribution
Factors that affects conformity
Group size - more likely in groups 3-5
Unanimity - when he group opinions are the same
Group status - kids want to be in the popular group, we trust doctors over others
Group cohesion - if there is no connection with the group we don’t feel the need to go along with them
Observed behaviour - less likely to conform if nobody is watching
Public response - acceptance vs shunning
Internal factors - prior commitments, insecurity
Deindividuation
Those in a group are more likely to act inappropriately because the crowd conceals the persons identity.
Social facilitation
How the presence of others affects your behaviour/performance
The most dominant response will be shown
Ex: if you practiced inside and out the presence of others will lead you to perform well
Improves performance eon simple tasks, hinders it on difficult ones
