Key Concepts in Social Influence

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  • Created by: alice03x
  • Created on: 20-06-18 12:22
What is social influence?
Social influence is the term used to describe how other people can affect our opinions, feelings and actions.
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What are two reasons people conform, according to Deutsch and Gerrard (1955)?
1) The need to be right 2) The need to be liked
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What is informational social influence?
Informational social influence is when we are surrounded by people who we assume have more knowledge than us, and so we assume they are right.
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What is normative social influence?
Normative social influence is saying or doing things that make us popular to help us fit in.
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What is conformity?
Conformity is a type of social influence that we are often unaware we are even doing. It is when we think and act like those around us.
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What are three social factors that influence conformity?
Task Difficulty, Group Size, Anonymity
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What does group size mean?
We are more likely to adopt the behaviour of others when we are in a group of three or more members acting in a similar way. We feel an increased pressure to fit in.
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What does task difficulty mean?
We show higher levels of conformity when attempting to complete a difficult task, as we look to others to guide our decisions and we lack confidence in our own judgement.
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What does anonymity mean?
In public situations, we face ridicule from others when they can hear what we say and see what we do. However, when we can express our opinions privately, we are more anonymous. Therefore, anonymity lowers the likelihood of conformity.
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What are two dispositional factors affecting conformity?
Personality and Expertise
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What does personality mean?
Some personality characteristics increase the tendency to conform. Low self-esteem, low IQ and low status in a group have been associated with high levels of conformity.
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What does expertise mean?
Conformity is less likely in situations where we have a high level of expertise because we are confident in our opinions and know what to do. Therefore, older people are more likely to conform than younger people.
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

What are two reasons people conform, according to Deutsch and Gerrard (1955)?

Back

1) The need to be right 2) The need to be liked

Card 3

Front

What is informational social influence?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

What is normative social influence?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

What is conformity?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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