Stage 2 Psychology – Social Influence (Lecture 38-39 Notes)

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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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99 Terms

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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.

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Obedience

Performing an action under the direct order of an authority figure.

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Compliance (general)

Changing behaviour at another person’s request without explicit authority.

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Conformity

Altering behaviour or beliefs to match those of a group, due to real or imagined pressure.

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Authority Figure

A person perceived to have legitimate power or status that can issue orders.

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Stanley Milgram

Psychologist who investigated obedience with his 1960s shock-generator experiments.

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Milgram Experiment

Study in which participants, as ‘teachers,’ were instructed to give escalating electric shocks to a ‘learner’; 65 % obeyed to 450 V.

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Shock Generator

Apparatus with switches labelled 15-450 V used in Milgram’s study (no real shocks delivered).

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Situational Factors

External environmental influences on behaviour (e.g., setting, presence of peers).

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Dispositional Factors

Internal, personal characteristics such as personality traits or genetics influencing behaviour.

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Deindividuation

Loss of personal identity in a group, increasing likelihood of norm-based obedience or impulsive acts.

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Status of Location

Prestige of the setting; higher status settings raise obedience levels.

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Proximity to Authority

Physical closeness to the authority figure; closer distance increases obedience.

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Peer Support

Presence of an ally who disobeys, which lowers obedience in others.

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Philip Zimbardo

Psychologist who led the Stanford Prison Experiment on situational influences in prisons.

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Stanford Prison Experiment

1971 simulation where students became guards or prisoners; situational roles led to abuse and early termination.

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Guard (SPE)

Role given uniforms and sunglasses; told to assert authority over prisoners without physical violence.

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Prisoner (SPE)

Role involving arrest, delousing and being identified by number, not name, in Zimbardo’s study.

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Individualist Culture

Culture valuing personal goals/independence; generally shows lower conformity.

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Collectivist Culture

Culture valuing group harmony and interdependence; tends to show higher conformity.

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Right to Withdraw

Ethical principle allowing participants to leave a study at any time without penalty.

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Psychological Harm (ethics)

Emotional or mental distress experienced by participants due to research procedures.

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Deception (ethics)

Intentional withholding or distortion of information about a study’s true purpose.

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Solomon Asch

Psychologist who studied conformity using line-length judgments.

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Asch Line Study

Participants judged line lengths with confederates; 32 % conformed to incorrect majority on critical trials.

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Critical Trials (Asch)

The 12 of 18 trials in which confederates unanimously gave the wrong answer.

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Normative Social Influence (NSI)

Conforming to be liked or accepted by a group.

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Informational Social Influence (ISI)

Conforming because others are believed to have accurate information.

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Anonymity (conformity)

Giving responses privately; reduces conformity rates.

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Group Size

Number of people exerting pressure; conformity rises up to about four others.

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Unanimity

Complete agreement among group members; increases conformity.

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Task Difficulty

Level of challenge in a task; harder tasks raise conformity.

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Ambiguity

Unclear stimuli or situations; leads to higher conformity.

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Compliance (type)

Public agreement with the group while private beliefs stay unchanged; short-term.

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Identification

Adopting group behaviour and beliefs in the group’s presence; mid-term change.

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Internalisation

Public and private acceptance of group norms; long-term change.

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Persuasion

Deliberate attempt to change attitudes through communication.

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Attitude

A learned tendency to evaluate objects, people or issues positively or negatively.

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ABC Model of Attitudes

Framework stating attitudes have Affective, Behavioural and Cognitive components.

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Affective Component

The feelings or emotions associated with an attitude object.

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Behavioural Component

The actions one is predisposed to take toward an attitude object.

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Cognitive Component

The beliefs or thoughts about an attitude object.

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Direct Experience (attitudes)

Attitudes formed through personal involvement; usually stronger and resistant to change.

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Indirect Experience

Attitudes formed via second-hand information, media or others’ accounts; weaker, changeable.

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Yale Attitude Change Approach

Persuasion model focusing on source, message and audience characteristics.

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Source (Yale model)

Person or group delivering the persuasive message; credibility and attractiveness matter.

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Message (Yale model)

The content of persuasion; emotional appeals, repetition and subtlety can enhance effect.

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Audience (Yale model)

Target of persuasion; age, intelligence and self-esteem influence susceptibility.

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Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)

Theory proposing Central and Peripheral routes for persuasive messages.

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Central Route

Persuasion via thoughtful evaluation of arguments; leads to lasting attitude change.

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Peripheral Route

Persuasion via superficial cues (celebrities, emotions); change is temporary.

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Norm of Reciprocity

Compliance strategy where receiving a favour increases obligation to return it.

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Door-in-the-Face Technique

Persuasion strategy: start with large request, then retreat to smaller desired request.

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Foot-in-the-Door Technique

Persuasion strategy: start with small request to increase compliance with larger request later.

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Bidirectional Relationship

Concept that attitudes influence behaviour and behaviour can influence attitudes.

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Attitude Strength

Durability and impact of an attitude on behaviour; stronger attitudes guide action more.

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Attitude Accessibility

Ease with which an attitude comes to mind; higher accessibility strengthens attitude-behaviour link.

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Attitude Specificity

Degree to which attitude and behaviour refer to the same context; specificity boosts linkage.

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Self-Perception Theory

Idea that people infer attitudes by observing their own behaviour when attitudes are unclear.

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Cognitive Dissonance

Psychological discomfort from inconsistent thoughts, feelings or behaviours, motivating change.

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Situational Pressures

External social forces that can cause behaviour to differ from personal attitudes.

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Self-Monitoring

Tendency to adjust behaviour to social cues; varies from high to low.

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High Self-Monitor

Individual who tailors behaviour for social approval; weaker attitude-behaviour consistency.

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Low Self-Monitor

Person who acts consistently with internal beliefs regardless of audience.

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Behaviour Counts

Objective method of measuring attitudes by tallying observable actions.

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Self-Report

Subjective measurement where participants state their attitudes via surveys, interviews or scales.

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Implicit Association Test (IAT)

Reaction-time measure assessing unconscious attitudes and biases.

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Stereotype

Cognitive belief assigning identical characteristics to all members of a group.

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Prejudice

Negative attitude or emotion toward someone based solely on group membership.

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Discrimination

Behaviour that treats people differently because of group membership.

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Social Stigma

Societal disapproval of individuals based on stereotyped characteristics.

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Internalisation of Others’ Evaluations

Absorbing negative stereotypes about one’s own group into self-concept.

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Stereotype Threat

Performance decrease when individuals fear confirming a negative group stereotype.

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Pygmalion Effect

Phenomenon where higher expectations lead to improved performance and vice versa.

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Ethnocentric Bias

Judging other cultures by standards of one’s own, leading to skewed research conclusions.

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Education Programs

School-based initiatives teaching tolerance to reduce prejudice (e.g., Harmony Day).

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Intergroup Contact

Direct interaction between groups under equal-status, cooperative conditions to lower prejudice.

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Superordinate Goals

Shared objectives requiring cooperation between groups, reducing intergroup hostility.

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Direct Experience (prejudice reduction)

First-hand engagement with another culture to foster understanding and empathy.

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Self-Presentation

Efforts to control the image we project to others.

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Impression Management

Strategic regulation of verbal and non-verbal cues to influence others’ perceptions.

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Self-Concept

Overall idea of who we think we are, including beliefs about traits and identity.

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Ideal Self

The person we aspire to become.

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Self-Image

How we currently perceive our appearance, traits and social roles.

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Self-Worth (Self-Esteem)

Personal evaluation of one’s own value or likeability.

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Primacy Effect

Tendency to remember first information more and let it shape impressions.

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Recency Effect

Tendency to remember the most recent information best.

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Schema

Mental framework organising knowledge and expectations about situations or groups.

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Prosocial Behaviour

Actions intended to benefit others, such as helping and cooperation.

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Passive Social Media Use

Browsing or reading without interacting; linked to lower wellbeing.

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Active Social Media Use

Posting, commenting and engaging online; associated with better wellbeing.

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Social Media Validation

Boost to self-esteem derived from online likes, comments or follows.

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WEIRD Populations

Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich, Democratic groups that dominate psychological research.

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Observational Research

Method involving systematic watching and recording behaviours, often used cross-culturally.

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Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC)

Australian body approving studies to ensure ethical standards, especially with Indigenous peoples.

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Confirmation Bias

Tendency to seek or recall information that supports existing beliefs.

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Attribution Bias

Systematic errors in explaining others’ behaviour, favouring internal or external causes.

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Gender Bias

Unequal treatment or assumptions based on gender stereotypes.

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Conformity Bias

Pressure to think or act like others for social acceptance.