social impact theory

who developed the social impact theory?

Bibb Latane 1981

what is meant by social impact?

the effect that real or imagined people can have on our behaviour

why did Latane develop the social impact theory?

to describe how we behave with social force fields all impacting on each other through our on-going interactions

who is the source in the social impact theory?

the person doing the influencing

who is the target in the social impact theory?

the person who is being influenced

what is social force?

a pressure put on people to change their behaviour, it is only social impact if it succeeds

what is social force generated by?

persuasion, threat, embarrassment, etc.

what is meant by strength as a factor of social force?

how much power you believe the person influencing you has

what is meant by immediacy as a factor of social force?

how recent the influence is and how close it is to you

what is meant by number as a factor of social force?

the more people who put pressure on you to do something, the more social force they will have

what is psychosocial law?

the idea that the first source of influence has the most dramatic impact on people, but added sources generate less social force

what are divisions of impact?

that social force is spread out between all the people it is directed at, the force directed at 2 people means they feel half the pressure each

what is diffusion of responsibility?

the more people in a group, the less personal responsibility each individual will feel

why does social impact theory use mathematical equations?

to predict the level of social impact created by specific social situations

how can social impact alter forces within the target?

through thoughts, incentives and psychological state