psych chapter 8 cards

conformity

a change in one’s behavior due to the real or imagined influence of other people

informational social influence

relying on other people as a source of information to guide our behavior, which leads to conformity because we believe that others’ interpretation of an ambiguous situation is correct

private acceptance

conforming to others people’s behavior out of a genuine belief that what they are doing or saying is right

public compliance 

conforming to other people’s behavior publicly without necessarily believing in what the other people are doing or saying 

social norms

the implicit or explicit rules a group has for the acceptable behaviors, values, and belief of its members 

normative social influence 

going along with what other people do to be liked and accepted by them, which leads to public conformity with the groups belief’s and behaviors but not always private acceptance of them

social impact theory

three variables regarding the group

-strength: how important is this group to you?

-immediacy: how close to you is the group in the space and time during the attempt to influence you?

-number: how many people are in the group?

idiosyncrasy credits

the tolerance a person earns, over time, by conforming to a groups social norms; if enough credits are earned, the person can, on occasion, deviate from the group without retribution 

minority influence 

the case where a minority of group members influences the behaviors or beliefs of the majority 

injunctive norms

people’s perceptions of what behaviors are approved or disapproved by others 

descriptive norms

people’s perception of how people actually behave in given situations, regardless of whether the behavior is approved or disapproved of by others 

foot-in-the-door technique

social influence strategy in which getting people to agree first to a small request makes them more likely to agree later to a second, larger request 

door-in-the-face

social influence strategy in which first asking people for a large request that they will probably refuse makes them more likely to agree later to a second, smaller reuqest

propaganda

a deliberate, systematic attempt to advance a cause by manipulating mass attitudes and behaviors, often through misleading or emotionally charged information

obedience

a change in one’s behavior due to the direct influence of an authority figure