social impact theory

a theory of social influence postulating that the amount of influence exerted by a source on a target depends on (a) the strength of the source compared to that of the target (e.g., the social status of the source versus that of the target); (b) the immediacy of the source to the target (e.g., the physical or psychological distance between them); and (c) the number of sources and targets (e.g., several sources influencing a single target). The impact of the source on the target increases as the source’s strength, immediacy, and number increase relative to the target. See also dynamic social impact theory. [originally proposed by U.S. social psychologist Bibb Latané (1937– )]

Browse dictionary by letter

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Psychology term of the day

May 9th 2024

hierarchically nested design

any research design that involves several levels of sampling, such that the entities on the lower levels of the design are nested or subsumed within higher order groups. For example, a hierarchically nested design for an educational study might involve students (A), who are nested within classrooms (B), which are nested within schools (C), which are further nested within school districts (D). Several statistical procedures (e.g., analysis of variance, regression analysis, hierarchical linear models) also incorporate a hierarchical aspect. Also called hierarchical design; nested design.