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Vocabulary flashcards summarising the key terms and definitions from the Stage 2 Psychology Social Influence lecture notes.
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Social Influence
The study of how the presence or absence of other people affects an individual’s thoughts, feelings and behaviours.
Obedience
Performing an action under the direct order of an authority figure.
Compliance (general)
Changing behaviour at another person’s request without explicit authority.
Conformity
Altering behaviour or beliefs to match those of a group, due to real or imagined pressure.
Authority Figure
A person perceived to have legitimate power or status that can issue orders.
Stanley Milgram
Psychologist who investigated obedience with his 1960s shock-generator experiments.
Milgram Experiment
Study in which participants, as ‘teachers,’ were instructed to give escalating electric shocks to a ‘learner’; 65 % obeyed to 450 V.
Shock Generator
Apparatus with switches labelled 15-450 V used in Milgram’s study (no real shocks delivered).
Situational Factors
External environmental influences on behaviour (e.g., setting, presence of peers).
Dispositional Factors
Internal, personal characteristics such as personality traits or genetics influencing behaviour.
Deindividuation
Loss of personal identity in a group, increasing likelihood of norm-based obedience or impulsive acts.
Status of Location
Prestige of the setting; higher status settings raise obedience levels.
Proximity to Authority
Physical closeness to the authority figure; closer distance increases obedience.
Peer Support
Presence of an ally who disobeys, which lowers obedience in others.
Philip Zimbardo
Psychologist who led the Stanford Prison Experiment on situational influences in prisons.
Stanford Prison Experiment
1971 simulation where students became guards or prisoners; situational roles led to abuse and early termination.
Guard (SPE)
Role given uniforms and sunglasses; told to assert authority over prisoners without physical violence.
Prisoner (SPE)
Role involving arrest, delousing and being identified by number, not name, in Zimbardo’s study.
Individualist Culture
Culture valuing personal goals/independence; generally shows lower conformity.
Collectivist Culture
Culture valuing group harmony and interdependence; tends to show higher conformity.
Right to Withdraw
Ethical principle allowing participants to leave a study at any time without penalty.
Psychological Harm (ethics)
Emotional or mental distress experienced by participants due to research procedures.
Deception (ethics)
Intentional withholding or distortion of information about a study’s true purpose.
Solomon Asch
Psychologist who studied conformity using line-length judgments.
Asch Line Study
Participants judged line lengths with confederates; 32 % conformed to incorrect majority on critical trials.
Critical Trials (Asch)
The 12 of 18 trials in which confederates unanimously gave the wrong answer.
Normative Social Influence (NSI)
Conforming to be liked or accepted by a group.
Informational Social Influence (ISI)
Conforming because others are believed to have accurate information.
Anonymity (conformity)
Giving responses privately; reduces conformity rates.
Group Size
Number of people exerting pressure; conformity rises up to about four others.
Unanimity
Complete agreement among group members; increases conformity.
Task Difficulty
Level of challenge in a task; harder tasks raise conformity.
Ambiguity
Unclear stimuli or situations; leads to higher conformity.
Compliance (type)
Public agreement with the group while private beliefs stay unchanged; short-term.
Identification
Adopting group behaviour and beliefs in the group’s presence; mid-term change.
Internalisation
Public and private acceptance of group norms; long-term change.
Persuasion
Deliberate attempt to change attitudes through communication.
Attitude
A learned tendency to evaluate objects, people or issues positively or negatively.
ABC Model of Attitudes
Framework stating attitudes have Affective, Behavioural and Cognitive components.
Affective Component
The feelings or emotions associated with an attitude object.
Behavioural Component
The actions one is predisposed to take toward an attitude object.
Cognitive Component
The beliefs or thoughts about an attitude object.
Direct Experience (attitudes)
Attitudes formed through personal involvement; usually stronger and resistant to change.
Indirect Experience
Attitudes formed via second-hand information, media or others’ accounts; weaker, changeable.
Yale Attitude Change Approach
Persuasion model focusing on source, message and audience characteristics.
Source (Yale model)
Person or group delivering the persuasive message; credibility and attractiveness matter.
Message (Yale model)
The content of persuasion; emotional appeals, repetition and subtlety can enhance effect.
Audience (Yale model)
Target of persuasion; age, intelligence and self-esteem influence susceptibility.
Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)
Theory proposing Central and Peripheral routes for persuasive messages.
Central Route
Persuasion via thoughtful evaluation of arguments; leads to lasting attitude change.
Peripheral Route
Persuasion via superficial cues (celebrities, emotions); change is temporary.
Norm of Reciprocity
Compliance strategy where receiving a favour increases obligation to return it.
Door-in-the-Face Technique
Persuasion strategy: start with large request, then retreat to smaller desired request.
Foot-in-the-Door Technique
Persuasion strategy: start with small request to increase compliance with larger request later.
Bidirectional Relationship
Concept that attitudes influence behaviour and behaviour can influence attitudes.
Attitude Strength
Durability and impact of an attitude on behaviour; stronger attitudes guide action more.
Attitude Accessibility
Ease with which an attitude comes to mind; higher accessibility strengthens attitude-behaviour link.
Attitude Specificity
Degree to which attitude and behaviour refer to the same context; specificity boosts linkage.
Self-Perception Theory
Idea that people infer attitudes by observing their own behaviour when attitudes are unclear.
Cognitive Dissonance
Psychological discomfort from inconsistent thoughts, feelings or behaviours, motivating change.
Situational Pressures
External social forces that can cause behaviour to differ from personal attitudes.
Self-Monitoring
Tendency to adjust behaviour to social cues; varies from high to low.
High Self-Monitor
Individual who tailors behaviour for social approval; weaker attitude-behaviour consistency.
Low Self-Monitor
Person who acts consistently with internal beliefs regardless of audience.
Behaviour Counts
Objective method of measuring attitudes by tallying observable actions.
Self-Report
Subjective measurement where participants state their attitudes via surveys, interviews or scales.
Implicit Association Test (IAT)
Reaction-time measure assessing unconscious attitudes and biases.
Stereotype
Cognitive belief assigning identical characteristics to all members of a group.
Prejudice
Negative attitude or emotion toward someone based solely on group membership.
Discrimination
Behaviour that treats people differently because of group membership.
Social Stigma
Societal disapproval of individuals based on stereotyped characteristics.
Internalisation of Others’ Evaluations
Absorbing negative stereotypes about one’s own group into self-concept.
Stereotype Threat
Performance decrease when individuals fear confirming a negative group stereotype.
Pygmalion Effect
Phenomenon where higher expectations lead to improved performance and vice versa.
Ethnocentric Bias
Judging other cultures by standards of one’s own, leading to skewed research conclusions.
Education Programs
School-based initiatives teaching tolerance to reduce prejudice (e.g., Harmony Day).
Intergroup Contact
Direct interaction between groups under equal-status, cooperative conditions to lower prejudice.
Superordinate Goals
Shared objectives requiring cooperation between groups, reducing intergroup hostility.
Direct Experience (prejudice reduction)
First-hand engagement with another culture to foster understanding and empathy.
Self-Presentation
Efforts to control the image we project to others.
Impression Management
Strategic regulation of verbal and non-verbal cues to influence others’ perceptions.
Self-Concept
Overall idea of who we think we are, including beliefs about traits and identity.
Ideal Self
The person we aspire to become.
Self-Image
How we currently perceive our appearance, traits and social roles.
Self-Worth (Self-Esteem)
Personal evaluation of one’s own value or likeability.
Primacy Effect
Tendency to remember first information more and let it shape impressions.
Recency Effect
Tendency to remember the most recent information best.
Schema
Mental framework organising knowledge and expectations about situations or groups.
Prosocial Behaviour
Actions intended to benefit others, such as helping and cooperation.
Passive Social Media Use
Browsing or reading without interacting; linked to lower wellbeing.
Active Social Media Use
Posting, commenting and engaging online; associated with better wellbeing.
Social Media Validation
Boost to self-esteem derived from online likes, comments or follows.
WEIRD Populations
Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich, Democratic groups that dominate psychological research.
Observational Research
Method involving systematic watching and recording behaviours, often used cross-culturally.
Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC)
Australian body approving studies to ensure ethical standards, especially with Indigenous peoples.
Confirmation Bias
Tendency to seek or recall information that supports existing beliefs.
Attribution Bias
Systematic errors in explaining others’ behaviour, favouring internal or external causes.
Gender Bias
Unequal treatment or assumptions based on gender stereotypes.
Conformity Bias
Pressure to think or act like others for social acceptance.