Social influence

Social influence occurs when a person’s emotions, opinions, or behaviors are affected by others. Social influence takes many forms and can be seen in conformity, socialization, peer pressure, obedience, Leadership, Persuasion, sales, and Marketing. In 1958, Harvard psychologist Herbert Kelman identified three broad varieties of social influence.

Compliance is when people appear to agree with others but actually keep their dissenting opinions private.

Identification is when people are influenced by someone who is liked and respected, such as a famous celebrity.

Internalization is when people accept a belief or behavior and agree both publicly and privately.

Morton Deutsch and Harold Gerard described two psychological needs that lead humans to conform to the expectations of others. These include our need to be right (informational social influence) and our need to be liked (normative social influence). Informational influence (or social proof) is an influence to accept information from another as evidence about reality. Informational influence comes into play when people are uncertain, either because stimuli are intrinsically ambiguous or because there is social disagreement. Normative influence is an influence to conform to the positive expectations of others. In terms of Kelman’s typology, normative influence leads to public compliance, whereas informational influence leads to private acceptance.

Types

Social Influence is a broad term that relates to many different phenomena. Listed below are some major types of social influence that are being researched in the field of social psychology. For more information, follow the main ARTICLE links provided.

Compliance

Compliance is the act of responding favorably to an explicit or implicit request offered by others. Technically, compliance is a change in behavior but not necessarily in Attitude; one can comply due to mere obedience or by otherwise opting to withhold private thoughts due to social pressures. According to Kelman’s 1958 paper, the satisfaction derived from compliance is due to the social effect of the accepting influence (i.e., people comply for an expected reward or punishment-aversion).

Identification

Identification is the changing of attitudes or behaviors due to the influence of someone who is admired. Advertisements that rely upon celebrity endorsements to market their products are taking advantage of this phenomenon. According to Kelman, the desired relationship that the identifier relates to the behavior or attitude change.

Internalization

Internalization is the process of acceptance of a set of norms established by people or groups that are influential to the individual. The individual accepts the influence because the content of the influence accepted is intrinsically rewarding. It is congruent with the individual’s value system, and according to Kelman the “reward” of internalization is “the content of the new behavior”.

Conformity

Conformity is a type of social influence involving a change in behavior, belief, or thinking to align with those of others or with normative standards. It is the most common and pervasive form of social influence. Social psychology research in conformity tends to distinguish between two varieties: informational conformity (also called social proof, or “internalization” in Kelman’s terms ) and normative conformity (“compliance” in Kelman’s terms). In the case of peer pressure, a person is convinced to do something that they might not want to do (such as taking illegal drugs) but which they perceive as “necessary” to keep a positive relationship with other people (such as their friends). Conformity from peer pressure generally results from identification with the group members or from compliance of some members to appease others. Conformity can be in appearance, or may be more complete in nature; impacting an individual both publicly and privately.

Compliance (also referred to as acquiescence) demonstrates a public conformity to a group majority or norm, while the individual continues to privately disagree or dissent, holding on to their original beliefs or to an alternative set of beliefs differing from the majority. Compliance appears as conformity, but there is a division between the public and the private self.

Conversion includes the private acceptance that is absent in compliance. The individual’s original behaviour, beliefs, or thinking changes to align with that of others (the influencers), both publicly and privately. The individual has accepted the behavior, belief, or thinking, and has internalized it, making it his own. Conversion may also refer to individual members of a group changing from their initial (and varied) opinions to adopt the opinions of others, which may differ from their original opinions. The resulting group position may be a hybrid of various aspects of individual initial opinions, or it may be an alternative independent of the initial positions reached through consensus. What appears to be conformity may in fact be congruence. Congruence occurs when an individual’s behavior, belief, or thinking is already aligned with that of the others, and no change occurs.

Reactance

Reactance is the adoption of a view contrary to the view that a person is being pressured to accept, perhaps due to a perceived threat to behavioral freedoms. This phenomenon has also been called anticonformity. While the results are the opposite of what the influencer intended, the reactive behavior is a result of social pressure. It is notable that anticonformity does not necessarily mean independence. In many studies, reactance manifests itself in a deliberate rejection of an influence, even if the influence is clearly correct.

Obedience

Obedience is a form of social influence that derives from an authority figure. The Milgram experiment, Zimbardo’s Stanford prison experiment, and the Hofling hospital experiment are three particularly well-known experiments on obedience, and they all conclude that humans are surprisingly obedient in the presence of perceived legitimate authority figures.

Persuasion

Persuasion is the process of guiding oneself or another toward the adoption of an attitude by rational or symbolic means. Robert Cialdini defined six “weapons of influence”: reciprocity, commitment, social proof, authority, liking, and scarcity. These “weapons of influence” attempt to bring about conformity by directed means. Persuasion can occur through appeals to reason or appeals to emotion.

Social influence is the process by which individuals are affected by the actions, beliefs, or attitudes of others. It is a powerful force that can shape our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

There are many different types of social influence, including compliance, conformity, obedience, social facilitation, social loafing, social impact theory, social comparison theory, group polarization, groupthink, deindividuation, social identity theory, intergroup conflict, prejudice, discrimination, scapegoating, aggression, altruism, bystander apathy, social support, social networks, and social capital.

Compliance is a change in behavior in response to a direct request from another person. For example, if a salesperson asks you to buy a product, you may be more likely to comply if they are dressed in a suit and tie and speak with confidence.

Conformity is a change in behavior or belief as a result of real or imagined group pressure. For example, if you are the only person in a group who does not agree with the group’s decision, you may be more likely to conform to the group’s opinion in order to avoid being ostracized.

Obedience is a change in behavior or belief as a result of a perceived authority figure. For example, if a police officer tells you to stop, you are more likely to obey even if you do not agree with the order.

Social facilitation is the enhancement of performance in the presence of others. For example, you may be able to lift more weight if you are lifting with a friend than if you are lifting alone.

Social loafing is the tendency for individuals to put forth less effort when working in a group than when working alone. For example, you may be less likely to contribute to a group project if you know that your contributions will not be individually identified.

Social impact theory is a theory that explains how individuals are influenced by others. According to social impact theory, the amount of influence that an individual exerts is determined by three factors: the strength of the source, the immediacy of the source, and the number of sources.

Social comparison theory is a theory that explains how individuals evaluate their own abilities and opinions by comparing themselves to others. According to social comparison theory, we compare ourselves to others in order to determine our own level of competence and to make judgments about our own worth.

Group polarization is the tendency for a group to make decisions that are more extreme than the initial inclinations of its members. For example, if a group of people are initially in favor of a certain policy, they are more likely to make an even stronger decision in favor of that policy after discussing it with each other.

Groupthink is a phenomenon that occurs when a group of people make decisions based on a desire for harmony or conformity within the group. Groupthink can lead to poor decision-making, as it can prevent the group from considering all of the available Options and from critically evaluating the decisions that it makes.

Deindividuation is a loss of self-awareness and self-restraint in a group setting. Deindividuation can lead to increased aggression and other forms of antisocial behavior.

Social identity theory is a theory that explains how individuals define themselves in terms of their group memberships. According to social identity theory, we have a need to belong to groups, and we define ourselves in terms of the groups that we belong to.

Intergroup conflict is a disagreement or hostility between two or more groups. Intergroup conflict can be caused by a number of factors, including competition for Resources, differences in values and beliefs, and historical grievances.

Prejudice is a negative attitude towards a group of people based on their membership in that group. Prejudice can be based on stereotypes, which are oversimplified generalizations about a group of people.

Discrimination is the unfair treatment of a person or group of people based on their membership in a particular group. Discrimination can take many forms, including verbal abuse, physical violence, and institutional discrimination.

Scapegoating is the act of blaming a person or group of people for the problems of others. Scapegoating can be used to deflect attention away from the real problems and to promote a sense of unity within the group.

Aggression is any behavior that is intended to harm another person. Aggression can be physical, verbal, or emotional.

Altruism is the act of helping others without expecting anything in return. Altruism can be motivated by a number of factors, including Empathy, compassion, and a sense of moral obligation.

Bystander apathy is the failure of individuals to offer any means of help to a victim when other people are present. Bystander apathy can be caused by a number of factors, including diffusion of responsibility, pluralistic ignorance, and the bystander effect.

Social support is the emotional and practical assistance that people receive from others. Social support can come from family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers. Social support has been shown to have a number of benefits,

What is social influence?

Social influence is the process by which people are affected by the actions, beliefs, or opinions of others. It can be a powerful force, and it can be used to persuade people to do things they might not otherwise do.

What are the different types of social influence?

There are many different types of social influence, but some of the most common include:

Compliance: This is when people agree to do something because they feel pressured to do so. For example, if someone asks you for a cigarette, you might comply even if you don’t smoke, because you don’t want to seem rude.
Conformity: This is when people change their behavior or beliefs to match those of the people around them. For example, if you’re the only person in a group who doesn’t like a certain movie, you might start to think that you’re wrong about it, just because everyone else seems to like it.
Obedience: This is when people follow orders from someone in a position of authority. For example, if a police officer tells you to stop, you’re likely to obey, even if you don’t want to.
Social persuasion: This is when people are persuaded to do something by a persuasive message. For example, if you see an ad for a new product that claims to be amazing, you might be persuaded to buy it, even if you don’t really need it.

What are some examples of social influence?

There are many examples of social influence in everyday life. Some common examples include:

Peer pressure: This is when people are pressured to do something by their peers. For example, if your friends all start smoking, you might feel pressure to start smoking too, even if you don’t want to.
Groupthink: This is when a group of people make a decision that is not in their best interests, because they are all trying to agree with each other. For example, if you’re in a group of people who are all trying to decide what to eat, and everyone else wants to go to a restaurant that you don’t like, you might go along with it, even though you don’t want to.
The bystander effect: This is when people are less likely to help someone in need if there are other people around. For example, if you see someone fall down in the street, you’re more likely to help them if there is no one else around, than if there are a lot of other people around.

What are the benefits of social influence?

Social influence can be a powerful force for good. It can be used to persuade people to do things that are in their best interests, such as getting vaccinated or voting. It can also be used to promote positive Social Change, such as fighting for social Justice or environmental protection.

What are the risks of social influence?

Social influence can also be a powerful force for bad. It can be used to persuade people to do things that are not in their best interests, such as smoking or drinking too much alcohol. It can also be used to manipulate people or control them.

How can we protect ourselves from the risks of social influence?

It’s important to be aware of the risks of social influence, so that we can protect ourselves from them. Some tips for protecting yourself from social influence include:

Be aware of your own biases: We all have biases, which are ways of thinking that can lead us to make decisions that are not in our best interests. It’s important to be aware of your own biases, so that you can avoid being influenced by them.
Think critically: When you’re being persuaded to do something, take some time to think critically about the situation. Ask yourself why you’re being persuaded to do it, and whether it’s really in your best interests.
Trust your gut: If something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t. If you’re feeling pressured to do something that you don’t want to do, trust your gut and say no.
Talk to someone you trust: If you’re feeling pressured to do something that you don’t want to do, talk to someone you trust. They can help you to think through the situation and make a decision that is in your best interests.

Sure. Here are some MCQs about the topics of conformity, obedience, and persuasion:

Which of the following is NOT an example of conformity?
(a) A group of people all wearing the same clothes.
(b) A group of people all agreeing with a statement that they don’t really believe.
(c) A group of people all doing the same thing, even if it’s something that they wouldn’t normally do.
(d) A group of people all following the leader.
Which of the following is NOT an example of obedience?
(a) A soldier following orders from his commanding officer.
(b) A child following orders from his parents.
(c) A student following orders from his teacher.
(d) A person following the instructions on a product label.
Which of the following is NOT an example of persuasion?
(a) A salesperson trying to convince a customer to buy a product.
(b) A politician trying to convince voters to vote for him.
(c) A teacher trying to convince students to do their homework.
(d) A friend trying to convince you to go out with him.
Which of the following is the best definition of conformity?
(a) The act of changing one’s behavior or beliefs to match those of others.
(b) The act of following orders from someone in authority.
(c) The act of trying to convince someone to do something.
(d) The act of being influenced by the media.
Which of the following is the best definition of obedience?
(a) The act of changing one’s behavior or beliefs to match those of others.
(b) The act of following orders from someone in authority.
(c) The act of trying to convince someone to do something.
(d) The act of being influenced by the media.
Which of the following is the best definition of persuasion?
(a) The act of changing one’s behavior or beliefs to match those of others.
(b) The act of following orders from someone in authority.
(c) The act of trying to convince someone to do something.
(d) The act of being influenced by the media.
Which of the following is the best example of conformity?
(a) A group of people all wearing the same clothes.
(b) A group of people all agreeing with a statement that they don’t really believe.
(c) A group of people all doing the same thing, even if it’s something that they wouldn’t normally do.
(d) A group of people all following the leader.
Which of the following is the best example of obedience?
(a) A soldier following orders from his commanding officer.
(b) A child following orders from his parents.
(c) A student following orders from his teacher.
(d) A person following the instructions on a product label.
Which of the following is the best example of persuasion?
(a) A salesperson trying to convince a customer to buy a product.
(b) A politician trying to convince voters to vote for him.
(c) A teacher trying to convince students to do their homework.
(d) A friend trying to convince you to go out with him.
Which of the following is the best way to resist conformity?
(a) Stand up for what you believe in, even if it means going against the crowd.
(b) Don’t be afraid to be different.
(c) Think for yourself and don’t just follow what everyone else is doing.
(d) All of the above.
Which of the following is the best way to resist obedience?
(a) Question authority.
(b) Don’t be afraid to stand up for what you believe in, even if it means going against orders.
(c) Think for yourself and don’t just do what you’re told.
(d) All of the above.
Which of the following is the best way to resist persuasion?
(a) Be aware of the techniques that are used to persuade you.
(b) Don’t be afraid to say no.
(c) Think critically about the information that you’re being presented with.
(d) All of the above.