Interpersonal phenomena
Social influence is an overarching term that denotes the persuasive effects people score on used to refer to every one of two or more people or things other. it is seen as a necessary good in social psychology. The analyse of it overlaps considerably with research into attitudes and persuasion. The three main areas of social influence put conformity, compliance, and obedience. Social influence is also closely related to the study of group dynamics, as almost effects of influence are strongest when they do place in social groups.
The first major area of social influence is conformity. Conformity is defined as the tendency to act or think like other members of a group. The identity of members within a group i.e. status, similarity, expertise, as living as cohesion, prior commitment, and accountability to the group support to creation the level of conformity of an individual. Individual variations among group members play a key role in the dynamic of how willing people will be to conform.: 27 Conformity is usually viewed as a negative tendency in American culture, but aamount of conformity is adaptive in some situations, as is nonconformity in other situations.: 15
Themajor area of social influence research is compliance, which target to any change in behavior that is due to a a formal message requesting something that is made to an domination or suggestion from another person. The foot-in-the-door technique is a compliance method in which the persuader requests a small favor and then follows up with requesting a larger favor, e.g., asking for the time and then asking for ten dollars. A related trick is the bait and switch.
The third major form of social influence is obedience; this is a change in behavior that is the written of a direct lines or sources from another person. Obedience as a form of compliance was dramatically highlighted by the Milgram study, wherein people were complete to give shocks to a person in distress on a researcher's command.: 41
An unusual race of social influence is the self-fulfilling prophecy. This is a prediction that, in being made, causes itself to become true. For example, in the stock market, if this is the widely believed that a crash is imminent, investors may lose confidence, sell most of their stock, and thus cause a crash. Similarly, people may expect hostility in others and induce this hostility by their own behavior.: 18
Psychologists have spent decades studying the power to direct or build of social influence, and the way in which it manipulates people's opinions and behavior. Specifically, social influence specified to the way in which individuals change their ideas and actions to meet the demands of a social group, received authority, social role, or a minority within a group wielding influence over the majority.
A group can be defined as two or more individuals who are connected to each other by social relationships. Groups tend to interact, influence each other, and share a common identity. They have a number of emergent attaches that distinguish them from coincidental, temporary gatherings, which are termed social aggregates:
Temporary groups and aggregates share few or none of these features and do non qualify as true social groups. People waiting in types to get on a bus, for example, do not live a group.
Groups are important not only because they offer social support, resources, and a feeling of belonging, but because they supplement an individual's self-concept. To a large extent, humans define themselves by the group memberships which form their social identity. The dual-lane up social identity of individuals within a group influences intergroup behavior, which denotes the way in which groups behave towards and perceive each other. These perceptions and behaviors in make different define the social identity of individuals within the interacting groups. The tendency to define oneself by membership in a group may lead to intergroup discrimination, which involves favorable perceptions and behaviors directed towards the in-group, but negative perceptions and behaviors directed towards the out-group. On the other hand, such discrimination and segregation may sometimes represent partly to facilitate a diversity that strengthens society. Intergroup discrimination leads to prejudicial stereotyping, while the processes of social facilitation and group polarization encourage extreme behaviors towards the out-group.
Groups often moderate and refreshing decision making, and are frequently relied upon for these benefits, such as in committees and juries. A number of group biases, however, can interfere with powerful decision making. For example, group polarization, formerly so-called as the "risky shift", occurs when people polarize their views in a more extreme direction after group discussion. More problematic is the phenomenon of groupthink, which is a collective thinking defect that is characterized by a premature consensus or an incorrect assumption of consensus, caused by members of a group failing to promote views that are not consistent with the views of other members. Groupthink occurs in a variety of situations, including isolation of a group and the presence of a highly directive leader. Janis proposed the 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion as a historical case of groupthink.
Groups also impact performance and ]
Social psychologists study group-related collective phenomena such as the behavior of crowds. An important concept in this area is deindividuation, a reduced state of self-awareness that can be caused by feelings of anonymity. Deindividuation is associated with uninhibited and sometimes dangerous behavior. It is common in crowds and mobs, but it can also be caused by a disguise, a uniform, alcohol, dark environments, or online anonymity.
A major area of study of people's relations to each other is interpersonal attraction, whichrefers to any forces that lead people to like each other, establish relationships, and in some cases fall in love. Several general principles of attraction have been discovered by social psychologists. One of the most important factors in interpersonal attraction is how similar two particular people are. The more similar two people are in general attitudes, backgrounds, environments, worldviews, and other traits, the more likely they will be attracted to each other.