social theories - brain exercise! Flashcards
what is meant by agentic state?
acting on behalf of an authority figure, in order to serve the best interests of the wider group
what is the autonomous state?
using free will and taking responsibility for our own actions
what is moral strain
our actions feel uncomfortable and go against our own moral values
agency theory suggests we are socialised at a young age by?
parents, teachers, and siblings
agency theory suggests being an agent for society is an evolutionary advantage… why?
avoids conflict to allow the smooth running of society
if we don’t have agentic people, what could happen?
society may descend into chaos
give an example of how agency theory has been used in court defence
Eichmann (Nazi general) - saw himself in the agentic state with the defence that he was ‘only following orders’ and so wasn’t responsible for genocide
what does Latane’s theory suggest about why obedience occurs?
it suggests that we are greatly influenced by the actions of others
explain what is strength of a source’s importance
how important influencing group of people are to the target. increase importance => increase obedience
explain what is immediacy of the source
how close the group are to the target in physical proximity and time
what 3 factors determine the amount of influence a source can have on a target?
- age
- social class
- whether or not a previous relationship has existed
describe the dinner party example that Latane used to back up his theory
people are more likely to give higher tips (19%) when paying an individual bill than when when given a group bill (13%) = number!
describe the TV show example that Latane used to back up his theory
he tested that a TV host Billy Graham would be more effective in front of smaller audiences: he found that when audience was small people were more willing to sign cards to allow local ministers to contact them than in big audiences
why does social impact theory seem to oversimplify nature of human interaction?
ignores individual differences e.g. some people are more resistant to social impact than others
use Milgram variation 7 as an example of social impact
when orders were given via the telephone, immediacy was reduced and obedience fell to 22.5%
what is meant by prejudice
an negative attitude towards another person based on little or no actual knowledge of them
what is meant by discrimination
behaviour towards another person based on prejudice
what did tajfel say is the cause of conflict?
the mere existence if 2 groups causes conflict
describe and give an example of social categorisation:
our tendency to classify ourselves as an ingroup and others as the outgroup
e.g. football team supporters see their teams as the ingroup as the rival team as the outgroup
describe and give an example of social identification
internalise norms, attitudes and values of the group members
e.g. football team wearing wearing their team colour which is different to rivals
describe and give an example of social comparison *
we compare the ingroup with the outgroup and see ourselves as better than the them = so display ingroup favouritism which boosts self-esteem.
e.g. football teams start pushing and shoving eachother
what factor contributes to in-group favouritism?
extent to which the individual identifies with the in group
state an acronym for social identity theory
cold igloos clash
state an acronym for realistic conflict theory
girls make cakes look really special
state the 6 factors of realistic conflict theory
- goal insight
- material gain
- competition is sufficient
- length and severity of conflict
- real or perceived scarcity of resources
- superodinate goals
what does sherif say causes conflict?
when competition arises between two groups who want the same material gain only one can win.
give an example of how group conflict can be seen within a society?
when a group of new immigrant arrive in a country, met with prejudice by people as they are viewed as competitors for resources such as jobs, housing and schooling = leads to in-group favouritism and hostility to out group
describe the supporting study carried out by Carol and melvin ember 1992 for RCT
they observed that tribal societies intergroup hostility increases when social/natural conditions mean that competition for resources is necessary e.g. during periods of famine or natural disasters, warfare was more likely to ensure access to available scarce resources
