Definitions in Social Influence

Question	Answer
Agentic State	A mental state where we feel no personal responsibility for our behaviour because we believe ourselves to be acting for an authority figure, as their agent. This frees us from the demands of our consciences and allows us to obey even a destructive authority figure.
Authoritarian Personality	A type of personality that Adorno argued was especially susceptible to obeying people in authority. Such individuals are also thought to be submissive to those of higher status and dismissive of inferiors.
Commitment	Minority influence is more powerful if the minority demonstrates dedication to their position, for example, by making personal sacrifices. This is effective because it shows the minority is not acting out of self-interest.
Compliance	A superficial and temporary type of conformity where we outwardly go along with the majority view but privately disagree with it. The change in our behaviour only lasts as long as the group is monitoring us.
Conformity	A change in a person's behaviour or opinions as a result of real or imagined pressure from a person or group of people.
Consistency	Minority influence is most effective if the minority keeps the same beliefs, both over time and between all the individuals that form the minority. It's effective because it draws attention to the minority view.
Dispositional Explanation	Any explanation of behaviour that highlights the importance of the individual's personality. Such explanations are often contrasted with situational explanations.
Flexibility	Relentless consistency could be counter-productive if it is seen by the majority as unbending and unreasonable. Therefore minority influence is more effective if the minority show flexibility by accepting the possibility of compromise.
Identification	A moderate type of conformity where we act in the same way with the group because we value it and want to be a part of it. But we don't necessarily agree with everything the majority believes.
Group Size	Asch increased the size of the group by adding more confederates, thus increasing the size of the majority. Conformity levels increased with group size, but only up to a point, levelling off when the majority was greater than three.
Informational Social Influence (ISI)	An explanation of conformity that says we agree with the opinion of the majority because we believe it is correct. We accept it because we want to be correct as well. This may lead to internalisation.
Internalisation	A deep type of conformity where we take on the majority view because we accept it as correct. It leads to a far-reaching and permanent change in behaviour, even when the group is absent.
Legitimacy of Authority	An explanation for obedience which suggests that we are more likely to obey people who we perceive to have authority over us. This authority is justified by the individual's position of power within a social hierarchy.
Location	The place where an order is issued. The relevant factor that influences obedience is the status or prestige associated with the location.
Locus of Control (LOC)	Refers to the sense we each have about what directs events in our lives. Internals believe they are mostly responsible for what happens to them (internal locus of control). Externals believe it is mainly a matter of luck or other outside forces (external locus of control).
Minority Influence	A form of social influence in which a minority of people persuade others to adopt their beliefs, attitudes or behaviours. Leads to internalisation or conversion, in which private attitudes are changed as well as public behaviours.
Normative Social Influence (NSI)	An explanation of conformity that says we agree with the opinion of the majority because we want to be accepted, gain social approval and be liked. This may lead to compliance.
Obedience	A form of social influence in which and individual follows a direct order. The person issuing the order is usually a figure of authority, who has the power to punish when obedient behaviour is not forthcoming.
Proximity	The physical closeness or distance of an authority figure to the person they are giving an order to. Also refers to the physical closeness of the teacher to the learner in Milgram's studies.
Resistance to Social Influence	Refers to the ability of people to withstand the social pressure to conform to the majority or to obey authority. The ability to withstand social pressure is influenced by both situational and dispositional factors.
Situational Variables	In his research Milgram identified several factors he believed influenced the level of obedience shown by participants. They are all related to the external circumstances rather than to the personalities of the people involved.
Social Change	This occurs when whole societies, rather than just individuals, adopt not attitudes, beliefs and ways of doing things.
Social Influence	The process by which individuals and groups change each other's attitudes and behaviours.
Social Roles	The 'parts' people play as members of various social groups. There are accompanied by expectations we and others have of what is appropriate behaviour in each role.
Social Support	The presence of people who resist pressures to conform or obey can help others to do the same. These people act as models to show others that resistance to social influence is possible.
Task Difficulty	Asch's line-judging task is more difficult when it becomes harder to work out the correct answer. Conformity increases because naïve participants assume the majority is more likely to be right.
Unanimity	The extent to which all the members of a group agree. In Asch's studies, the majority was unanimous when all the confederates selected the same comparison line. This produced the greatest degree of conformity in the naïve participants
Uniform	People in positions of authority often have a specific outfit that is symbolic of their authority. This indicates to the rest of us who is entitled to expect our obedience.

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Definitions in Social Influence

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	Created by Melissa O'Mahony over 7 years ago