Social Influence - Key Terms

Question 1

What is conformity?

Answer 1

A change in a persons behaviour or opinions as a result of real or imaged pressure from a person/group.

Question 2

What are three TYPES of conformity?

Answer 2

Internalisation, Identification and Compliance.

Question 3

What is Identification?

Answer 3

Acting in the same way as the group because you want to be a part of it.

Question 4

What is internalisation?

Answer 4

A deep type of conformity where you take on the majority view because you accept it.

Question 5

What is compliance?

Answer 5

A superficial type of conformity where you accept the view but you don’t internally believe it.

Question 6

What is the Social Identity Theory (SIT)?

Answer 6

suggests individuals conform when they identify

Question 7

What are the two explanations for conformity?

Answer 7

Informational social influence and normative social influence (Deustch and Gerard - 1955)

Question 8

What is normative social influence?

Answer 8

The idea that people conform to a group for the need to be accepted and liked

asch’s baseline study (1951)
asch’s variations
mcghee and teevan (1967)

Question 9

What is informational social influence?

Answer 9

The idea people conform because they believe that it is the right answer and we want to be correct or we think they are correct

jenness (1932)
lucas (2006)

Question 10

What is a social role?

Answer 10

behaviours expected of individuals in different social groups

Question 11

What does dispositional factor mean?

Answer 11

their personality affects thier behaviour

Question 12

What does situational factor mean?

Answer 12

their situation affects their behaviour

Question 13

What is obedience?

Answer 13

A form of social influence whereby individuals follow direct orders. Person issuing order is usually an authority figure.

Question 14

What is a situational variable?

Answer 14

Features of the immediate physical and social environment which may influence a person’s behaviour

Question 15

What are situational explanations of obedience (two)?

Answer 15

Agentic state, Legitimacy of Authority

Question 16

What is the idea of the agentic state?

Answer 16

A mental state where we feel no responsibility for our behavior because we feel we were acting under an authority figure (as their agent)

Question 17

supporting research for agentic state

Answer 17

milgram (1963) most participants resisted but continued happily after discovering Mr Wallace’s state was not thier responsibility

Question 18

What is the autonomous state?

Answer 18

Opposite of being in an agentic state, you feel you are acting in regards to your own principles.

Question 19

supporting research for autonomous state

Answer 19

rank and jacobson (1977) found 16/18 of nurses disobeyed doctor’s order to overdose patient
mandel (1998) during WW2 a police battalion shot a town of civilians in poland with no orders to do so

Question 20

What do you call the shift from autonomous to agentic state?

Answer 20

Agentic shift

Question 21

What are binding factors in regards to the agentic state?

Answer 21

Aspects of the environment that let the participants minimize the damaging effects of actions

Question 22

What is legitimacy of authority?

Answer 22

The idea that we are more likely to obey people who perceive to have authority over us
E.g. someone who fits higher than us in social hierarchy

Question 23

What is destructive authority?

Answer 23

problems arise when legitimate authority figures become destructive

Question 24

what is the authoritarian personality?

Answer 24

a belief in absolute obedience, submission to authority and rigid adherence to traditional values

Question 25

What is resistance to social influence?

Answer 25

Refers to the ability of people to withstand the social pressure to conform to majority or obey the authority

Question 26

What are the two explanations of resistance to social influence?

Answer 26

Locus of control and social support.

Question 27

What is social support?

Answer 27

The pressure to conform can be resisted if there are others present who are not conforming E.G. Asch

Question 28

What is the idea of locus of control?

Answer 28

Internal control vs external control. Some people are internal (they think this happens to them because they are under their own control). Some external (they put things happening down to luck/chance).

Question 29

What is minority influence?

Answer 29

how a small group or individuals can persuade the majority occurs through ISI most likely to lead to internalisation

Question 30

techniques of MI

Answer 30

consistency commitment flexibility

Question 31

what does consistency mean in MI?

Answer 31

same beliefs over long period of time shared by the whole minority

Question 32

types of consistency

Answer 32

synchronic and diachronic

Question 33

what is synchronic consistency?

Answer 33

same belief is held

Question 34

what is diachronic consistency?

Answer 34

belief has been held for a long time

Question 35

what is commitment in MI?

Answer 35

demonstrating dedication E.G. making personal sacrifices

Question 36

what is flexibility in MI?

Answer 36

giving a possibility of a compromise found by Nemeth (1986)

Question 37

what is the augmentation principle?

Answer 37

people pay attention and change views when commitment is shown

Question 38

what is the snowball effect?

Answer 38

when the minority becomes the majority over time as people 'convert'

Question 39

What is social change?

Answer 39

When a significant section adopts a new way of thinking

Question 40

What are the 6 steps to social change?

Answer 40

drawing attention, consistency, deeper processing, augmentation principle, snowball effect, social cryptomnesia

Question 41

What is deeper processing?

Answer 41

public begins to process the injustices

Question 42

What is social cryptomnesia?

Answer 42

people have a memory that a social change occurred but don't remember how

Question 43

real world applications of social change

Answer 43

nolan (2008) put notices on doors claiming neighbours were reducing energy usage. energy usage decreased - power of NSI. HOWEVER: long term effects are unclear.

Question 44

Nemeth's (2009) opinion on MI

Answer 44

effects are not immediately visible - takes time for change to occur HOWEVER: it is not ineffective

Question 45

does MI always lead to deeper processing?

Answer 45

no. Mackie (1987) said majority influence makes you question your opinions more - therefore deepER processing

Question 46

resistance to social change is influenced by negative stereotypes associated with minority group

Answer 46

Bashier et al (2013) found people didn't recycle to avoid being called 'tree huggers'