Social Impact Theory Flashcards
What is social impact theory?
Social impact theory is the believe that social sources (authority) can use three social forces to influence the impact that they will have on their targets (People who they’re trying to make obey)
Explain the 3 social forces within social impact theory
Strength- Legitimacy of authority, uniform is a good example (Research evidence from Milgram’s variations suggests that obedience is higher 65% when uniform is reflective of authority, in casual clothes obedience is 20.5%)
Number- Number of authority figures
Immediacy- Proximity between social source and target, closer proximity means higher obedience, 65% obedience when authority was closer, 47.5% when authority was further away
What is multiplicative effect and divisional effect?
Multiplicative effect- when an increased number of sources increases the social impact they have.
Psychosocial law- Occurs when too much social sources are present, the effect the increased number of sources have decreases as more are added (Like a lightbulb)
Divisional effect- When an increased number of targets lessens the impact of social sources
Evaluate social impact theory
Social Impact theory
Credibility-Social impact theory has credibility from Kitty Genovese, who was an immediate social source, however because there were 38 people, divisional effect had occurred, and her impact had lessened
Objections-Social impact theory has been objected by agency theory, which suggests that people progress through states of obedience known as the autonomous state, and agentic state. Agency theory doesn’t suggest that social forces affect obedience.
Differences/Limitations-Social impact theory is limited in the fact that it does not acknowledge how individual differences effect obedience, for example, how an authoritarian personality may be impacted more by social sources
Application -Social impact theory has applications in situations such as reduction of rioting by using social forces, the police can have a higher strength by wearing riot gear, higher immediacy by being closer, and the number can be higher.
