Social impact theory

Social impact theory

Social impact theory predicts that as strength and immediacy increase within a group, conformity will also increase. The more important a group is and the more one is in its presence, the more likely it is for one to conform to the group's normative pressures.

As the size of a group increases a single person has less of an effect. Thus, if one feels pressure from a group to conform, adding another person to the minority makes a much greater difference to a small group as opposed to a large group.

Bibb Latané, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, published the theory in 1981. Latané constructed a mathematical model of the effects of strength, immediacy, and number. He applied this formula to the results of several conformity studies and it accurately predicted the actual amount of conformity that occurred within groups.

Examples

* Gay men living in communities highly involved in AIDS awareness activities report feeling more social pressure to avoid risky sexual behavior then gay men who live in less involved communities.
* Heterosexual college students reported that the likelihood in engaging in risky sexual behavior was determined by the norms for sexual behavior in their groups of friends.

References

* Aronson, E., Wilson, T., Akert, R. Piarson. "Social Psychology"(6th ed.) Prentice Hall, 2007. ISBN 978-0-13-23-8245-8
* Fishbein, M., Chan, D., O'Reilly, K., Schnell, D., Wood, R., Beeker, C., & Cohn, C. (1993). Factors influencing gay men's attitudes, subjective norms, and intentions with respect to performing sexual behaviors. "Journal of Applied Social Psychology", 23, 417-438.
* Bourgeois, M. J., & Bowen, A. (2001). Self-organization of alcohol-related attitudes and beliefs in a campus housing complex: An initial investigation . "Health Psychology", 20, 434-437.
* Latané, B. (1981). The psychology of social impact. "American Psychologist", 36, 343-356.
* Latané, B., & Bourgeois, M. J. (2001). Successfully simulating dynamic social impact: Three levels of prediction, In J. P. Forgas & K.D. Williams (Eds.), "Social influence: Direct and indirect processes" (pp. 61-76). Philadelphia: Psychology Press.
* Latané, B., & L' Herrou, T. (1996). Spatial clustering in the conformity game:Dynamic social impact in electronic games. "Journal of Personality and Social Psychology", 70, 1218-1230.
* Winslow, R. W., Franzini, L. R., & Hwang, J. (1992). Perceived peer norms, casual sex, and AIDS risk prevention. "Journal of Personality and Social Psychology", 22, 1809-1827.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Social Penetration Theory — was formulated by the psychology professors Irwin Altman and Dalmas Taylor as their attempt to describe the dynamics of relational closeness. They proposed that closeness occurs through a gradual process of self disclosure, and closeness develops …   Wikipedia

  • Social Comparison Theory — Social comparison theory, developed by Leon Festinger [Festinger, L. (1954). A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations, 7, 117–140.] , suggests that people use others to evaluate themselves, especially when an objective standard is …   Wikipedia

  • Social learning theory — For the article on social learning theory in psychology and education see social cognitive theory. Social learning theory is a theory to explain how people learn behavior. People learn through observing others behavior. If people observe positive …   Wikipedia

  • Social development theory — In sociology, social development theory attempts to explain qualitative changes in the structure and framework of society, that help the society to better realize its aims and objectives. Development can be broadly defined in a manner applicable… …   Wikipedia

  • Social control theory — In criminology, Social Control Theory as represented in the work of Travis Hirschi fits into the Positivist School, Neo Classical School, and, later, Right Realism. It proposes that exploiting the process of socialization and social learning… …   Wikipedia

  • Social disorganization theory — In sociology, the Social Disorganization Theory was one of the most important theories developed by the Chicago School, related to ecological theories.William Isaac Thomas and Florian ZnanieckiThomas and Znaniecki (1918 1920) introduced the idea… …   Wikipedia

  • Social impact assessment — (SIA) is a methodology to review the social effects of infrastructure projects and other development interventions.DefinitionSIA first emerged in the 1970s in the U.S, as a way to assess the impacts on society of certain development schemes and… …   Wikipedia

  • Social construct theory of ADHD — Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is listed as a developmental, neurobehavioural disorder, widely recognized by the medical and scientific community as causing impairment, especially in children. Still, scientists can t conclusively …   Wikipedia

  • Social influence — occurs when an individual s thoughts, feelings or actions are affected by other people. Social influence takes many forms and can be seen in conformity, socialization, peer pressure, obedience, leadership, persuasion, sales, and marketing. In… …   Wikipedia

  • social science — social scientist. 1. the study of society and social behavior. 2. a science or field of study, as history, economics, etc., dealing with an aspect of society or forms of social activity. [1775 85] * * * Any discipline or branch of science that… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”