Social💭 • Social Impact Theory + Studies

Question 1

What is social impact?

Answer 1

The effect real/ imagined people can have on our behaviour

Question 2

Who created social impact theory?

Answer 2

Bibb Latané created social impact theory in 1981

Question 3

What does Latané’s theory imply?

Answer 3

That as humans we are greatly influenced by the actions of others. We can be pedrsuaded, inhibited, threatened and supported by others

Question 4

What is the source?

Answer 4

The person/ group ofpeople influencing or giving orders

Question 5

What is the target?

Answer 5

The person/ group of people being influenced or obeying

Question 6

What are the 3 variables of social impact theory?

Answer 6

• STRENGTH
• IMMEDIACY
• NUMBERS

Question 7

When was social impact theory developed?

Answer 7

1981

Question 8

What is STRENGTH?

Answer 8

Strength refers to the percieved power or authority of a source and the messages they convey.
A strong source may have power over the target e.g. social status (student - teacher) and therefore communicate in an intense/ authorative manner

Question 9

What 3 things can strength be affected by?

Answer 9

• social/ economical status
• age
• nature of past/present relationships with target

Question 10

What is IMMEDIACY?

Answer 10

Immediacy refers to the proximity of the target and source in terms of space, social relation and time.

Question 11

What are the 3 sectors of immediacy (+explain each)?

Answer 11

• Physical immediacy, how physically close the source is to a target
• Temporal immediacy, a target is more likely to be influenced immediately/ in short time/ after source has asked them to
• Social immediacy, if source is close friends or family with target, they are more likely to influence them

Question 12

What is NUMBER?

Answer 12

Number refers to how many sources or targets are present during the interaction, this can determine the effect/ level of the social impact e.g. divsional effect

Question 13

What is the number effect?

Answer 13

Increasing strength, immediacy and number can significantly increase the social impact

Question 14

What is the social impact psychological law?

Answer 14

Latané stated that once the source group is larger than 3, each additional source has less of an influencing effect e.g. group of 2 sources has a much greater influence than a group of 5 sources

Question 15

What is the divisional effect/ division of impact?

Answer 15

The idea that social impact is reduced if there are more targets that sources as the impact can be divided between the number of targets, consequently reducing the impact on each person, increasing in most cases the likelihood of disobedience

Question 16

Who conducted the Obedience at the Zoo experiment?

Answer 16

• Constantine Sedikides and Jeffry Jackson

Question 17

What year was the Obedience at the Zoo experiment conducted?

Answer 17

1990

Question 18

Explain the Obedience at the Zoo experiment

Answer 18

• Sedikides and Jackson conducted an experiment at New York Zoo on the elements of social impact theory
• Visitors were told by a confedorate (who was altered on each occasion to adhere to the 3 elements of the theory) to not lean on railings infront of exhibits

Question 19

How can the Zoo experiment link to STRENGTH?

Answer 19

• Experiment links to strength with the difference in obedience depending on what the confedorate was wearing
• Dressed as a Zoo keeper = 58% obedience
• Dressed in t-shirt & shorts = 35% obedience
• Therefore strength is displayed as when confedorate had more social stauts as a zoo keeper, obedience was higher than when he was dressed casually

Question 20

How can the Zoo experiment link to IMMEDIACY?

Answer 20

• Experiment links to immediacy with the difference in obedience depending on the physical proximity/ immediacy of the source
• Source in same room as target = 61% obedience
• Source in adjacent room as target = 7% obedience
• Therefore (physical) immediacy is displayed as when source was closer to targets obedience was higher than when he was further away/ not present

Question 21

How can the Zoo experiment link to NUMBERS?

Answer 21

• Experiment links to numbers with the difference in obediecne depending on the size of groups visitors/ targets were in when source administered order
• Smaller groups (less than 5) = 60% obedience
• Larger groups (greater than 5) = 14% obedience
• Therefore numbers is displayed as when source gave order to a smaller group they were more likely to obey than when source have order to larger group (dur to division of impact)

Question 22

What is a contradictory agrument against the Zoo experiment?

Answer 22

Due to the Zoo experiment being a field experiment, the researches were not able to manipulate numbers in each group to find exact values, therefore the experiment lacks internal validity (the degree in which the relationship/ thing you are testing is not influenced by other factors or variables)

Question 23

How can STRENGTH be applied to Milgram’s study?

Answer 23

• lab coat on confedorate in original experiment
• Variation #10: Bridgeport, removal of status of confedorate/ whole experiment

Question 24

How can IMMEDIACY be applied to Milgram’s study?

Answer 24

• different rooms for the participants e.g. teacher and confedorate in one room, learner alone in another - confedorate and teacher in close proximity so obedience increase
• Variaton #7: absent authority, confedorate left room after giving instructions therfore lack phyiscal immediacy so obedience decrease

Question 25

How can NUMBERS be applied to Milgram’s study?

Answer 25

• Variation #13 - people who actually chose to follow the other ‘participant’ (confedorate) for the ‘new’ way of doing the experiment may have chosen to as there was more than 1 person in the room with them so if they were told off there would have been a diffusion of responsibility/ impact