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    Social Influence F P

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    The document discusses several theories related to social influence and obedience. It describes Milgram's theory of agentic shift, which proposes that people obey authority figures because they see themselves as agents acting on someone else's behalf rather than taking personal responsibility. It also discusses social identity theory, which suggests that obedience occurs because people identify with their social groups and want to engage in the behaviors of that group. Finally, it outlines explanations for independent behavior, including locus of control theory and theories about resisting pressures to conform and obey.

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    Social Influence F P

    Uploaded by

    Sofies
    33 views8 pages
    The document discusses several theories related to social influence and obedience. It describes Milgram's theory of agentic shift, which proposes that people obey authority figures because they see themselves as agents acting on someone else's behalf rather than taking personal responsibility. It also discusses social identity theory, which suggests that obedience occurs because people identify with their social groups and want to engage in the behaviors of that group. Finally, it outlines explanations for independent behavior, including locus of control theory and theories about resisting pressures to conform and obey.

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    The document discusses several theories related to social influence and obedience. It describes Milgram's theory of agentic shift, which proposes that people obey authority figures because they see themselves as agents acting on someone else's behalf rather than taking personal responsibility. It also discusses social identity theory, which suggests that obedience occurs because people identify with their social groups and want to engage in the behaviors of that group. Finally, it outlines explanations for independent behavior, including locus of control theory and theories about resisting pressures to conform and obey.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as ppt, pdf, or txt
    33 views8 pages

    Social Influence F P

    Uploaded by

    Sofies
    The document discusses several theories related to social influence and obedience. It describes Milgram's theory of agentic shift, which proposes that people obey authority figures because they see themselves as agents acting on someone else's behalf rather than taking personal responsibility. It also discusses social identity theory, which suggests that obedience occurs because people identify with their social groups and want to engage in the behaviors of that group. Finally, it outlines explanations for independent behavior, including locus of control theory and theories about resisting pressures to conform and obey.

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    Psychology

    Social Influence Outline

    Why people obey Agentic Shift


    Milgram proposed that obedience to destructive authority occurs because a
    person does not take personal responsibility but instead believes they are
    acting for someone else (they are an agent). This shift from autonomy to an
    agent is called the agentic shift. It is suggested that this occurs when a
    person perceives someone else as a figure of authority, with greater power
    due to their position in the social hierarchy. For agentic shift to occur, the
    person must enter the social hierarchy voluntarily and perceive themselves
    to be part of the hierarchy.
    Research to support
    Research that doesnt support
    xAgentic shift does not explain why some of the participants did not obey

    Why people obey social identity theory


    The idea that an important part of our sense of self is determined by the
    groups that we belong to (our personal identity is formed by our social
    identity). The reason why people obey is because they identify with the
    group and engage in the required behaviours. Obedience is an active
    rather than a passive process (blind obedience). An essential part of this is
    that people choose to be part of the group.
    Research to support
    Doesnt explain all situations of obedience: offers a better explanation than
    agentic shift and explains why people dont obey (they dont identify with
    the authority figure) but in some situations socialisation is a simpler
    explanation. We are taught that in many situations it is appropriate to obey
    others. Social identity is not a full explanation of obedience.

    Explanations of independent behaviour


    locus of control
    Proposed by Rotter (1966), it suggests that those with an internal locus of
    control believe that the things that happen to them are largely controlled by
    themselves and those with an external locus of control have a tendency to
    believe that things happen without their own control (by fate, luck etc.). It is
    about the perception of what happens to someone, not what actually
    happens.
    How does it explain independent behaviour?
    People who have an internal locus of control are more likely to behave
    independently as they are more likely to base their decisions on their own
    beliefs. They are also more confident and have less need for social
    approval.

    Explanations of independent behaviour: Resisting


    pressures to conform
    Independence is not the same as non-conformity; non-conformity is a matter
    of deliberately acting in opposition to a set of group norms. Pressure to
    conform is reduced by one other dissenting peer. Pressure to conform is
    more likely to be resisted when an individual does not identify with the
    majority group (in the outgroup).

    Explanations of independent behaviour: Resisting


    pressures to obey
    Independence is not the same as disobedience; disobedience may just be a
    reaction to authority. Pressure to obey is reduced if there is another
    dissenting partner. Pressure to obey is reduced if the person in charge has
    less authority.

    Minority Influence
    Minority influence refers to the situation where one person or a small group of people
    influences the views and behaviour of others. It is most likely to lead to internalisation (public
    and private beliefs).
    1.The minority draw attention to their views
    2.Over time the consistency in the minoritys views increases the amount of interest from other
    people and makes other people start to rethink their own views
    3.The sense of conflict between majority and minority views makes people think about the
    topic. It is this deeper processing which is important in the process of conversion to the
    minority viewpoint
    4.Some minorities engage in quite extreme activities to draw attention to their views. This is
    the augmentation principle (if a person performs an action when there are known constraints,
    their motive for acting must be stronger).
    5.Over time increasing numbers defect to the minority position (the snowball effect)
    6.Social change occurs when the minority has become the majority. The previous view of
    deviance, and its source, is forgotten (social cryptomnesia).

    Conformity
    changes in behaviour and/or attitudes occurring in response to group pressure

    Informational social influence


    Informational social influence is where someone conforms because they do not know what to
    do, but they want to be correct. They follow the majority because they assume that the majority
    know what is the right thing to do. This type of social influence tends to involve internalisation.

    Normative social influence


    Normative social influence is where someone conforms because they want to be liked and
    accepted by the group. The person may publicly change their behaviour/views but privately
    disagree. This type of social influence is also known as compliance.

    Internalisation
    conformity behaviour where the individual had completely accepted the views of the majority

    Compliance
    conforming to the majority view in order to be liked, or to avoid ridicule or social exclusion.
    Compliance occurs more readily with public behaviour, and is based on power.

    Identification
    conforming to the demands of a given role because of a desire to be like a particular person in
    that role

    Buffers
    aspects of situations that protect people from having to confront the results of their actions

    Agentic state
    a state of feeling controlled by an authority figure, and therefore lacking a sense of personal
    responsibility

    Autonomous state
    being aware of the consequences of our actions and therefore taking voluntary control of our
    behaviour

    Independent behaviour
    resisting the pressures to conform or obey

    Locus of control
    a personality dimension concerned with perceptions about the factors controlling what
    happens to us

    Minority influence
    a majority being influenced to accept the beliefs or behaviour of a minority

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