Social Pyschology Content Flashcards
Who created the agency theory? L
Milgram
What does the agency theory suggest?
The agency theory suggests that when individuals are in situations where they are required to follow orders or behave in certain ways, they will operate in the in one of 2 states: autonomous state, agentic state
What is the autonomous state?
It is when individuals believe that they are responsible and in control of their own behaviour, so they will feel guilt for what they do.
What is the agentic state?
Is when individuals see themselves to be the agent of someone else’s will. This means that they think that the authority figure commanding them is responsible for their actions so they do not feel the guilt.
What is the agentic shift?
The agentic shift is the psychological shift that occurs when a person moves from the autonomous state to the agentic state.
- this happens when the person perceives the individual as legitimate
What is moral strain in the agency theory?
Moral strain occurs when people enter the agentic state and experience symptoms of anxiety and discomfort because they are performing actions that they might not normally consider ethical (morally correct)
What is an evaluative point of the agency theory?
Objections- it lacks ecological validity as the artificial and unusual nature of the supporting research might count against the theory.
Who proposed the social impact theory?
Bibb lantane
What does social impact theory explain?
The theory explains how individuals are influenced by the prescience of others and how they respond to social forces.
What does lantane argue?
Lantane argues that every person is a target of social influence and that are there are 3 social forces.
What are the 3 socials forces?
- Strength
- Immediacy
- Numbers
What is an evaluative point of social impact theory?
Differences- Milgrams agency theory is very simplistic compared to social impact theory as it suggests features of agency theory are true but suggest that there are other factors as well
What is prejudice?
Prejudice is a preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience
What are the factors affecting prejudice?
Personality, situational and culture
Explain personality as a factor affecting prejudice.
-Adorno et al (1950) propose that individual differences in prejudice could be explained by the idea of an authoritarian personality- the child would grow into an adult who obeyed and feared those with more power.
Explain situational as a factor affecting prejudice
Suggests that changes in social norms can lead to an increase of prejudice, in particular any kind of social threat may cause problems
Explain culture as a factor affect prejudice
Cultural groups stereotype each other, with undesirable characteristics typically being attributed to the outgroup
- stereotypes play an important role in maintain prejudice.
What is social identity theory?
Social identity theory explains how people develop a sense of who they are based on the groups they belong to.
Ingroups- groups to which an individual belongs to (they share common characteristics or values)
Outgroups - groups in which an individual does not belong to does not belong to
What are the 3 processes involved in evaluation whether a person is in an ingroup or outgroup?
- Social categorisation
- Social identification
Social comparison
Name an evaluative point for social identity theory
What is realistic conflict theory?
States that whenever there are 2 groups that are seeking the same limited resources, this will lead to conflict and prejudice between the 2 groups.
