Social influence

• Obedience


  Complying with the orders of an authority figure
• Authority Figure


  Someone with more power and control than another
• Conformity


  Matching the behaviour and beliefs of others in order to fit in or because we dont know how to behave in an unusual situation
• Types of conformity

  • Compliance
  • Internalisation
  • Identification
• Compliance


  Going along with the majority even though you privately do not agree (Explained by normative Social influence = compliance because of the need to fit into a group)
• Internalisation


  Adopting the behaviours of a group due to informational social influence = conformity because you do not know how to behave in a situation
• Identification


  Temporarily adopting the behaviours of a role model or group only lasts when the group is present
• Deindividuation


  Loss of personal self-awareness and responsibility as a result of being in a group
• Bystander effect


  When we fail to help another in need e.g. Kitty Genovese
• Situational factors of bystander intervention

  • Diffusion of responsibility
  • Noticing the event in large crowds
  • Pluralistic ignorance
  • Cost of helping
• Personal factors of bystander intervention

  • Competence
  • Mood
  • Similarity
• Situational factors of conformity

  • Size of majority
  • Unanimity of the majority
  • Task difficulty
• External locus of control


  When we feel that factors external to us control our behaviour
• Blind obedience


  When we comply with the orders of an authority figure without question, this tends to be associated with a negative outcome
• Situational factors affecting obedience (to an authority figure)

  • Proximity of the victim
  • Proximity of the authority figure
  • Legitimacy of the context
• Momentum of compliance


  When we start something we feel compelled to finish it
• Authoritarian personality


  A type of personality that is more likely to follow orders
• Prosocial behaviour


  Helpful, kind, cooperative
• Antisocial behaviour


  Unhelpful, destructive and aggressive
• Ways to prevent blind obedience

  • Social support
  • Familiarity of the situation
  • Distance
  • Education
• Internal locus of control


  When we feel that we have personal control over our own behaviour