Social Influence definitions

Vocabulary flashcards for social influence.

Conformity

Yielding to group pressures or a change in behaviour/opinion due to real or imagined pressure from others.

Internalisation

Making the beliefs, values, attitude and behaviour of the group your own. This is the strongest type of conformity.

Identification

Temporary/short term change of behaviour and beliefs only in the presence of a group.

Compliance

Following other people’s ideas/to go along with the group to gain their approval or avoid disapproval. You publically agree but privately disagree. This is the weakest level of conformity.

Informational Social Influence

Conforming to be right, looking to others for the right answer, leading to internalisation.

Normative Social Influence

Conforming to be liked and accepted by a group, often to avoid embarrassment.

Unanimity

When the group is unanimous i.e. all give the same answer as opposed to them all giving different answers.

Agentic State

Believing someone else will take responsibility for your actions.

Agentic Shift

Shifting from an autonomous state to the agentic state.

Legitimacy of Authority

How credible the figure of authority is.

Expert Authority

Believing authority because they are knowledgeable and responsible.

Dispositional explanation

Internal explanation i.e personality factors/individual reasons why someone obeys.

Authoritarian Personality

Believing that people should completely obey or submit to their authority figures, and suppress their own beliefs.

Locus of Control

Measurement of an individual’s sense of control over their lives.

Social Support

The approval and encouragement received from friends, family, and others that can make it easier to resist social influence.

Minority Influence

When a small group (minority) influences the beliefs and behaviour of a larger group (majority).

Diachronic consistency

When the group remains consistent over time – they do not change their views over time.

Synchronic consistency

When the group is consistent between all the members of the group – everyone in the group has the same views, and therefore agree with and support each other.

Social Change

A shift in the beliefs or behaviour of an entire population (and not simple isolated groups of people), and the previously widely accepted norm changes to be something new.