Chapter 9: Social Influences on the Individual

‘An individual’s (or group’s) ability to control or influence the thoughts, feelings or behaviour of another person (or group)’.

Type of PowerSource of Power 1 Reward powerIndividual’s identify with or want to be like or liked by others 2 Coercive powerHaving special knowledge and skills that are desirable or needed 3 Legitimate power Having resources or information that are useful and are not available elsewhere 4 Referent power Ability to give negative consequences or remove positive consequences in response to specific behaviour 5 Expert power Ability to give positive consequences or remove negative consequences in response to specific behaviour 6 Informational power An individual’s status or position in a group, institution or society in general gives them the right (authority) to exercise power over those with a lower status or with less authority

Status and power are influenced by the role that each individual has in the group A role is the behaviour adopted by an individual or assigned to them that influences the way in which they function or act in different situations and life in general Role expectations have a strong influence on an individual’s behaviour within a group, especially when their role provides considerable power and status. Famous experiment: Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment

Obedience occurs when we follow the commands of someone with authority, or the rules or laws of our society Famous experiment: Milgram’s experiments on obedience Three factors that affect obedience: Social proximity, legitimacy of authority figures and group pressure.

Social Proximity refers to the closeness between two or more people including physical distance and closeness of a relationship. Example: Are you more likely to do your work if a teacher is standing right next to you?

An individual is more likely to be obedient when the authority figure is perceived as being legitimate and having power. An individual is more likely to be obedient where there is a little or no group support for resisting the authority figure.

The tendency to adjust one’s thoughts, feelings or behaviour in ways that are in agreement with those of a particular individual or group, or with accepted standards about how a person should behave in certain situations. Famous experiment: Asch’s experiments on conformity

Factors affecting conformity: group size, unanimity, informational influence, normative influence, culture, social loafing and deindividuation. Pages 396 – 402 in your textbook.