Social influence vocab

Agentic shift

The change from an autonomous state to an agentic state

Agentic state

A way of acting in which a person denies personal responsibility and instead, allows someone else to direct their behaviour who is then perceived as being responsible for one’s behaviour

Augmentation principle

When a person performs an act knowing that there are constraints (e.g. a risk to their life), their motivation becomes stronger

Authoritarian personality

A type of personality that Adorno argued was especially susceptible to obeying people in authority. Such individuals are also thought to be submissive to those of higher status and dismissive of inferiors

Autonomous state

A way of acting in which people direct their own behaviour and take responsibility for their own actions

Binding factors

Aspects of a situation that people ignore or minimise in order to reduce moral strain

Commitment

A factor affecting minority influence in which the minority show dedication to their position (e.g. by making personal sacrifices), thereby not acting out of self-interest

Compliance

A superficial and temporary type of conformity where we outwardly go along with the majority view but we privately disagree with it. The change in our behaviour only lasts as long as the group is monitoring is

Conformity

A change in a person’s behaviour or opinions as a result of real or imagined pressure from a person or group of people (e.g. going along with the group)

Consistency

A factor affecting minority influence in which the minority keeps the same beliefs over time (diachronic consistency) and between individuals within the minority group (synchronic consistency), thereby drawing attention to the minority group

Diachronic consistency

A type of consistency which shows the same message over time

Dispositional explanation

An explanation for behaviour which is based upon an individual’s personality characteristics as opposed to situational factors

Flexibility

A factor affecting minority influence in which there is acceptance of the possibility of compromise to avoid a rigid and dogmatic approach which could be considered unbending and unreasonable

Group size

A factor affecting conformity that involves increasing the size of the majority

Identification

A moderate type of conformity where we act in the same way with the group because we vale it and want to be a part of it. But we don’t necessarily agree with everything the majority believes

Individualistic culture

A group of people who value the rights and interests of the individual. This results in concern for independence and assertiveness. It is typical of Western cultures

Internalisation

A deep type of conformity where we take on the majority view because we accept it as correct. It leads to a far-reaching and permanent change in behaviour, even when the group is absent

ISI

An explanation for conformity that says we agree with the opinion of the majority because we believe it to be correct and we want to be correct as well

Legitimacy of authority

An explanation for obedience in which a person is more likely to follow the orders of someone whose perceived authority is justified

Location

The place where an order is issued. Obedience is more likely when this placed has prestige

Locus of control

A theory for why people resist social influence which refers to the sense we each have of what directs events in our lives. Internals believe that they are most responsible for what happens to them, whereas externals believe it is mainly a matter of luck or other outside forces

Minority influence

A form of social influence in which a small group of people (sometimes just one person) persuades other to adopt their beliefs, attitudes or behaviours. It will lead to a process of internalisation or conversion, in which private attitudes are changed as well as public behaviours

Moral strain

Something experienced by people when they feel that behaviour is going against their values (e.g. when participants in Milgram’s study heard the cries of the learner)

Mundane realism

Refers to how an experiment mirrors the real world. The stimulated task environment is realistic to the extent to which experiences encountered in the stimulated environment will occur in the real world

nAffiliators

People who have a greater need for being in a relationship with others

NSI

An explanation of conformity that says that we agree with the opinion of the majority because we want to be accepted, gain social approval and be liked

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

Proximity

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 teacher to the victim (learner) in Milgram’s studies

Resistance to social influence

Refers to the ability of people to withstand the social pressure to conform to the majority or obey the authority. This ability to withstand social pressure is influenced by both situational and dispositional factors

Situational variables

External circumstances that contribute towards obedience rather than the personalities of the people involved

Snowball effect

A process that starts from an initial state of small significance and increasingly becomes larger with a faster conversion rate (e.g. starting with a small group of people supporting an idea with gradually more people adopting the idea)

Social change

A process that occurs when whole societies, rather than just individuals, adopt new attitudes, beliefs and ways of doing things (e.g. women’s suffrage)

Social cryptoamnesia

A term that refers to when social change happens, the new attitude becomes an integral part of the society’s culture, and the source of the minority influence that led to it is often forgotten

Social hierarchy

A structure in society that sees some people as having more authority over others

Social role

The “parts” people play as members of various social groups. Everyday examples include: teacher, parent and student. These are accompanied by the expectations we and others have of what is appropriate behaviour in each role (e.g. caring, obedient, industrious)

Social support

A theory for why people might resist social influence which is based upon the presence of people who resist pressure to conform or obey helping others to do the same

Synchronic consistency

A type of consistency which shows the same message amongst different members of the minority group

Task difficulty

A factor which affects conformity that involves making it harder to work out the correct answer leading to an increase in conformity (due to ISI)

Unanimity

The extent to which all the members of a group agree. This produced the greatest degree of conformity in the naïve participants in Asch’s study

Uniform

People in positions of authority often have a specific outfit that is symbolic of their authority (e.g. police officers and judges)