PSY UNIT 2 SOCIAL INFLUENCE

Evolutionary Psychology

Form of psychology that answers survival + other fundamental issues, examining human behavior, cognition, etc throughout evolution.

Ex: “In group/Out group”

Natural Selection

Organisms with helpful traits survive + reproduce much more successfully. They are able to further pass their traits down.

Culture

Shared set of beliefs, values, customs, behaviors, and physical works that are learned, shared, and further passed down.

Ex: The deaf community

Norms

Unwritten rules for behaviors or patterns that are largely expected to be followed.

Ex: table manners

Cultural Diversity

Presence of different cultural, ethnic, racial, and social groups that can coexist within a shared society, organization, and community.

Individualism

Social + political philosophy that places supreme importance on the INDIVIDUAL.

Ex: the United States is a very individualistic country.

Collectivism

Social + political philosophy that places supreme importance on the Collective

Gender Roles

Defined arbitrary rules for men and women that are culturally emphasized.

Ex: childrens toys

Gender role norms

Unwritten social rules that humans are expected to be followed based entirely on gender.

Socialization

Lifelong process that requires individuals to learn and internalize social skills, values, beliefs, and behaviors that are needed to function.

Peer-transmitted culture

Process where individuals learn basic skills, values, beliefs, and norms from SAME GENERATION PEERS.

Independence vs connectedness

Balence needed between autonomy and social belonging

Attachment theory + styles

Social Dominance

Dominance in group hierarchies, those people hold higher status, power, and resources.

Conformity

Tendency for behavior and belief changes to match individuals surrounding them.

Ex: pretending to like/dislike something because of a group. If a group largely dislikes taylor swift, your belief will change too.

Acceptance

Acknowledgement of reality + internal experiences. No attempts to suppress these truths. BELIEF

Ex: acceptance as a grief stage.

Compliance

Changes to behavior in response to direct or indirect request from a person or group

HAVE TO

Ex: Borrowing notes

Obedience

Acting in direct response to an order/command

”HAVE TO” FROM AUTHORITY FIGURE

Ex: traffic laws, workplace rules.

Social Norms

Unwritten, informal rules that guide or highlight “acceptable behavior”

Ex: saying “please” or “thank you”.

Sherif’s Autokinetic Study

Demonstrated how people naturally develop and internalize social norms when facing ambiguious situations.

Ex: beliefs shift when traveling and adopting new cultural norms.

Asch’s conformity studies

People changing their opinions to match the group

Milgram’s obedience studies

Measuring a persons willingness to obey authority even when they perform conflicting acts

Ex: historical atrocities (ww2)

Normative Influence

Process where people change their behaviors, opinions, or values to fit in, be liked, or avoid rejection.

Ex: fashion trends

Informational Influence

Copying others because of unsure feelings, belief that another will know the correct way to act.

Ex: a role model.

Group Size

Total number of individuals in a social group; this number shapes individual behavior, social pressure, and group dynamics.

Unanimity

Complete agreement between all group members

Ex: unrtists meeting votes

Cohesion

Where all members feel a sense of solidarity in pursuing shared goals.

Status

A persons current emotional, mental, and behavioral condition.

Public Response

Observable action, statement, or behavioral reaction that can be witnessed socially.

Prior commitment

Past action or choice that increases the likelihood a person will stick with a related behavior or belief in the future.

Reactance

An unpleasant, motivational, and emotional state that occurs when you feel your personal freedom, choice, or autonomy is threatened or restricted

Ex: parenting → teenagers

Persuasion

Intentional process of guiding a person to change their attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors through communication

Free will to choose possible. Ex: Phone Call volunteering.

Central Route to Persuasion

Logic-driven; facts, data, and clear arguments used in persuasion

Ex: persuasive papers.

Peripheral route to persuasion

Influence through superficial, surface-level cues rather than logic/content

Ex: political campaigns → celebrity endorsements.

Credibility

The quality, power, or capability of inspiring belief and trust in a person, message, or source.

Ex: licensure, especially in ABA

Expertise

High level of specialized skill or knowledge in a field acquired through training, study, or experience.

Trustworthiness

The quality of deserving trust, confidence, dependability, and reliability.

Attractiveness/liking

The quality of being pleasing, appealing, or arousing interest in appearance, manner, or sound

Sleeper effect

A persuasive message becoming more convincing over time, even if it starts with a bad reputation or an untrustworthy source

Reason vs. Emotion

Working together in psychology, the dynamic interplay that is influenced or used in decision-making

Ex: spending, do you WANT it or NEED it

Fear Appeals

A persuasive message that uses risk/danger of failing to act to change attitudes, intentions, or behaviors

One-sided appeal

A persuasive message that presents only arguments, evidence, or points of view in favor of a specific person.

Two-sided appeal

Persuasive messaging that presents major primary arguments and some minor counterarguments, weaknesses, or opposing viewpoints.

Primacy Effect

Bias where the first piece of information is better remembered in comparison to the details that follow.

Recency Effect

Phenomenon where people tend to remember information presented at the end

Channel of communication

Medium or pathway used to transmit a message from sender to receiver

The sensory/psychological modality which unconscious information enters conscious awareness.

Active experience

Experiential learning, Active Learning

Individuals learn, adapt, and build mental models through direct engagement, action, and reflection rather than passive observation.

Audience age

Different age groups think, process information, reactions socially and view themselves differently based on age range.

Need for cognition

A stable personality trait that measures how much an individual intrinsically enjoys and is motivated to engage in effortful mental activities.

Attitude inoculation

Social psychological technique that makes people resistant to persuasion or counter-attitudinal influence by exposing them to weak, easily defeated arguments against their existing beliefs.

Ex: programs like D.A.R.E. or programs utilizing roleplaying

Group

Studying of how group presence influences thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

Social Facilitation

The tendency for people to perform better on simple tasks when in the presence of others in comparison to complex tasks

Ex: ABA supervision, I tend to choose easier tasks to “showcase” that establish my strengths as an RBT.

Social Loafing

Tendency for people to put in less effort in group activities over being by myself.

Ex: One person not doing any work in the group project.

Deindividualization

State where personal identity and self awareness is lost when apart of a group or crowd, leading to reduced self restraint and impulsive behavior.

Ex: doing something because someone else is doing it. such as excessive drinking.

Diminished Self-awareness

Reduced or impaired ability to recognize and evaluate your own thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, and the impact they have outside of the self.

Group Polarization

People’s views can become more extreme after discussion with likeminded peers

Ex: politics → political echo chambers.

Risky Shift

Tendency for groups to make bolder, riskier decisions than individuals would make.

Informational influence in groups

People adopt the opinions, beliefs, or behaviors of a group because of a genuine belief that the group has more accurate knowledge alongside a need to be right.

Normative influence in groups

A type of conformity where people change their behavior, opinions, or values in order to be liked and to avoid social rejection within the group setting.

Groupthink

Phenomenon where a group of people make irrational or non-optimal decisions because they value harmony and consensus over critical thinking

Ex: the attack on pearl harbor: Signs dismissed of attack because of overconfidence during the war.

Groupthink: illusion of invulnerability

primary symptom

Extreme optimism → overconfidence

excessive risk-taking → assumption of success

false security → shared sense of protection

Groupthink: conformity pressure

Social influence that drives individuals to change their thoughts, beliefs, or actions to match the group.

Groupthink: Self censorship

Individuals hiding their doubts, or dissenting views to maintain harmony and consensus.

Preventing groupthink

• having leaders share last

• having a “devils advocate”

• rewarding members who share opposite views

• anonymous feedback

Ex: especially used in club meetings with UNRtists.

Minority Influence

Form of social influence that occurs when a smaller group of individuals alter beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors.

Ex: civil rights movement.

Consistency

The mental drive to keep our thoughts, beliefs, and actions in agreement to avoid tension and conflict.

Detections from majority

Helping a smaller group or dissenting voice shift the opinion of a larger majority

Leadership

The study of how a leader’s cognitive, emotional, and social processes shape their decisions, behavior, and influence over a group or organization.