Social approach

• Assumption 1 


  This approach assumes that behaviour is affected by the real or imagined presence of other people.

  There is a tendency to do what seems right in order to fit in with other people in the situation.
• Assumption 2

  Behaviour is affected by the norms and culture in which it is situated. From birth, you are socialised to learn the rules of behaviour for your culture and your society. Some of these rules are formal (laws in society)and other rules are informal and often apply to smaller groups or cultures
• conformity 


  Conformity is a type of social influence involving a change in belief or behaviour in order to fit in with a group. The group could be a group of friends, your family, your culture or your interests.
• normative social influence


  This is when you change your behaviour or attitude in order to fit in with the group because you don’t want to appear foolish and be left out. Sometimes it is referred to as the desire to be liked
• informational social influence 


  This is when you change your behaviour or attitude because we are unsure of the situation, so we look to others who we believe may have more information than us. Sometimes it is referred to as "the desire to be right"
• compliance 


  the person conforms publicly but not privately. privately they continue to disagree. shallowest form of conformity .
• identification


  the person conforms publicly as well as privately because they have identified with the group and they feel a sense of group membership the change of belief or behaviour is temporary
• internalisation 


  he person conforms publicly and privately because they internalised and accepted the views of the group. it is the deepest form of conformity it is permanent
• factors that affect whether you conform or not

  status of group

  size of group

  unanimity in group

  task difficulty
• Social categorisation

  social categorisation is the process of classifying people into groups based on specific characteristics,
• Group cohesion


  Group cohesion is a social process that characterises groups whose members interact with each other and refers to the forces that push group members closer together.
• emotional cohesion


  This is the emotional connection that members feel to other group members and to their group as a

  whole. That is, how much do members like to spend time with other group members? Do they look forward to the next group meeting
• task cohesion 


  This is where group members must work together to meet group goal. The group must work smoothly as one unit.
• roles


  Social roles in a group are shaped and developed according to the individual's or group's needs and preferences. In psychology roles have been examined according to the general tasks and behaviours within the group.
• Common goals 


  Every intragroup share common goals which they come together to achieve.
• groupthink


  Groupthink is where members of a group reach an agreement so that they all have the same beliefs.

  In many cases, people will set aside their own personal beliefs or adopt the opinion of the rest of the group.
• Social facilitation 


  Social facilitation refers to improvement in performance as a result of the presence of other group-members.
• co-action effects


  This refers to your performance being better on a task, simply because there are other people in the intragroup doing the same task as you.
• audience effects 


  This refers to your performance being better because you are doing something in front of your intragroup.
• Self esteem


  Self-esteem refers to a person's feelings of self-worth or the value that they place on themselves

  Your self-esteem is influenced by the people with whom you surround yourself.
• self image

  Self-image refers to the way an individual sees themselves, both physically and mentally.

  Your self-image is influenced by others during early childhood experiences and social interaction
• self-efficacy 


  Self-efficacy refers to an individual's belief in their ability to carry out behaviours that are necessary to reach a goal.

  Your self-efficacy can be influenced by other.
• strength

  the social approach has many practical applications which have contributed to many developments in society, by understanding how groups within society function it can help understand the reasoning behind individuals behaviour
• weakness

  although the social approach does provide an explanation for some behaviours, it fails to consider the biological factors
• aggression strength

  he explanation of aggression through the social approach as led to a wider understanding of real - life situations like gang violence and bullying, including how informational and normative social influence can contribute to the makings of a gang
• aggression weakness

  the explanation of aggression using the social approach fails to consider biological factors which affect aggression such as the role of the MAOA gene and high levels of testosterone on male aggression
• consumer behaviour strength 


  the explanation of consumer behaviour through the social approach has led to a wider understanding of marketing techniques such as celebrity endorsements work on the principles of informational social influence to convince consumers a product is worth having
• consumer behaviour weakness

  he explanation of consumer behaviour through the social approach fails to consider biological factors which have advanced our understanding of marketing strategies like neuromarketing which is a tool based on physiological signals which suggest which products are more attractive than others
• gender strength

  the explanation of gender through the social approach has led to a wider understanding of how young people are becoming more accepting of atypical genders. this is even as the western culture aging changed their gender norms, allowing individuals to become more accepting and allowing people to challenge the traditional gender stereotypes
• gender weakness

  the explanation gender using the social approach fails to consider biological factors which also play a role in the development of typical and atypical genders such as the roles of hormones like testosterone and oestrogen