Social Influence Key Words Flashcards
(34 cards)
What is conformity?
A change in a person’s behaviour or opinions because of real or imagined pressure from a person or group of people. It involves ‘yielding’ to group pressure and is also known as majority influence.
What is internalisation?
A deep type of conformity where an individual takes on the majority view because they accept it as correct. It leads to a far-reaching and permanent change in behaviour, even when the group is absent.
What is identification?
A moderate type of conformity where an individual acts in the same way as the group because they value it and want to be part of it, but they do not necessarily agree with everything the majority believes.
What is compliance?
A superficial and temporary type of conformity where an individual outwardly goes along with the majority view, but privately disagrees with it.
Group size
The number of people in a group. Asch increased the size of the group by adding more confederates, thus increasing the size of the majority.
Unanimity
The extent to which all members of a group agree. In Asch’s research, the majority was unanimous when all the confederates selected the same comparison line.
Task difficulty
How hard a task is to complete. Asch’s line-judging task was more difficult when the comparison lines became closer in length.
What is Informational Social Influence (ISI)?
An explanation of conformity that says individuals agree with the opinion of the majority because they believe it is correct. People therefore accept the opinion because they too want to be correct. This can lead to internalisation.
What is Normative Social Influence (NSI)?
An explanation of conformity that says individuals agree with the opinion of the majority because they want to be accepted, gain social approval, and be liked. This can lead to compliance.
Social roles
The ‘parts’ people play as members of various social groups. Everyday examples include parent, child, teacher, passenger etc. These are accompanied by expectations about what is appropriate behaviour in each role.
Obedience
A form of social influence in which an individual follows a direct order. The person issuing the order is usually a figure of authority, who has the power to punish when obedient behaviour is not forthcoming
What are situational variables?
Features of an environment that impact the degree to which individuals obey.
What does proximity refer to in the context of obedience?
The physical closeness or distance of an authority figure to the person they are giving an order to. It also refers to the physical closeness of the person carrying out an order to their ‘victim’.
What is meant by location in terms of obedience?
The place where an order is issued. The status or prestige of the place can impact on obedience.
What does uniform signify in the context of authority?
The clothes an authority figure wears that symbolise their position of authority.
What is an agentic state?
A mental state where an individual feels no personal responsibility over their behaviour as they believe themselves to be acting for an authority figure i.e., as an agent.
What is an autonomous state?
Being aware of the consequences of one’s own actions and therefore taking voluntary control of one’s own behaviour.
What is an agentic shift?
Changing from being in an autonomous state to being in an agentic state.
What is legitimacy of authority?
An explanation for obedience suggesting that individuals are more likely to obey people they perceive to have authority over them.
What justifies authority in the context of legitimacy?
Authority is justified by the individual’s position of power within a social hierarchy.
What is a dispositional explanation?
Any explanation of behaviour that highlights the importance of the individual’s personality i.e., their disposition.
What is an authoritarian personality?
A type of personality that Adorno argued was especially susceptible to obeying people in authority. Such individuals are thought to be submissive to those of a higher status and dismissive of those they view as inferior.
What is resistance to social influence?
It refers to the ability of people to withstand the social pressure to conform to the majority or obey authority.
What role does social support play in resistance to social influence?
The presence of people who resist pressures to conform or obey can help others to do the same.
