Chapter 8 - Individual and Group Behaviour

how people change their behaviour or attitudes due to the direct or indirect influence of others

two or more people who interact with and influence one another and work towards a common goal

a collection of people who exert minimal influence on each other and don’t interact with every other person in the collection

the level of importance (real or imagined) that group members perceive regarding another group member’s position in that group

an individual’s ability to control or strongly influence the thoughts, feelings and behaviour of another person or group

the behaviour adopted by an individual or assigned to them that influences how they function or act in different situations

when group members’ desire to maintain group loyalty becomes more important than making the best choices

when discussion leads a group to adopt attitudes or actions that are more extreme than the initial attitudes or actions of the individual group members

when people act a certain way because of the anonymity (loss of identity) that a group provides

the many characteristics of a group of people, including their attitudes, behaviours, customs and values that are transmitted from one generation to the next

cultures that emphasise the needs and goals of the group as a whole over the needs and desires of each individual

cultures that stress the needs of the individual over the needs of the group as a whole

the act of people changing their behaviour in response to direct commands from an authority figure

in an experiment, someone who is part of the team of experimenters but pretends to be the subject of the experiment (or neutral)

in the field of psychology, how physically close one or more people are to each other

a concept referring to an authority figure who has a higher position or status in a social hierarchy

an occurrence in which other members reveal whether they are obedient to the authority figure or not

the process by which people modify their ideas, attitudes, behaviours or perceptions to more closely reflect those held by groups to which they belong or aspire to belong

the occurrence in which we conform with others because we want to be liked by them – and we assume that our conformity will make them like us more

an occurrence in which a person conforms because they want to be right, so they look to others they believe might have more information

the complete agreement that group members experience in terms of knowing the answer

the number of individuals within a group; increase in group size can correspond to a rise in conformity (but only up to a point)

a person’s tendency to reduce their effort when working in a group, as opposed to when working alone

the various broadcasting mediums, such as the internet, newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, billboards and smartphones