Introduction. Social influence is ubiquitous in human societies. It takes a wide variety of forms, including
obedience, conformity, persuasion, social loafing, social facilitation, deindividuation, observer effect, bystander effect, and peer pressure
.
Three areas of social influence are
conformity, compliance and obedience
.
Obedience and conformity
are two kinds of social influences when people change attitude or behavior under the influence of the views of others.
Moreover, social influence has many positive implications, for instance, exposing youth to positive social norms such as
school engagement
, cooperating with peers, donating money, and volunteering for a good cause.
Social influence comprises the
ways in which individuals change their behavior to meet the demands of a social environment
. It takes many forms and can be seen in conformity, socialization, peer pressure, obedience, leadership, persuasion, sales, and marketing.
Any process whereby a person’s attitudes
(1), opinions, beliefs, or behaviour are altered or controlled by some form of social communication. It includes conformity, compliance, group polarization, minority social influence, obedience, persuasion, and the influence of social norms (1).
Sources of Social Influence
Social institutions:
Organized religions, political parties, and labor unions
are social institutions that influence our attitudes, beliefs, values, and behavior. Interactions with other people: The people we interact with, at home, at work, or at play.
The central theme of social influence theory, as proposed by Kelman (1958), is that an individual’s attitudes, beliefs, and subsequent actions or behaviors are influenced by
referent others through three processes
: compliance, identification, and internalization.
The social environment influences learning by
creating a language environment and an experience environment which stimulate the mind to grow, and by systematically rewarding a child for learning
.
- What the Research Shows. …
- How to Avoid the Herd Mentality. …
- Stop Being on Auto-Pilot. …
- Make a Conscious Effort to Form Your Own Opinion. …
- Take Time to Make Decisions. …
- Be Aware of Ways in Which Stress Affects Your Decision Making. …
- Be Willing to Stand Out.
Social influence (when people are influenced by or influence others in society)
helps to bring about social change
. … They then must be consistent and committed (the augmentation principle) until the snowball effect occurs and more people hear about it and social change is more likely to happen.
Internalisation is
the deepest level of conformity
. Here a person changes both their public behaviour (the way they act) and their private beliefs. This is usually a long-term change and often the result of informational social influence.
Group size—larger groups are
more likely to conform to similar behaviors and thoughts than smaller
ones. Unanimity—individuals are more likely to conform to group decisions when the rest of the group’s response is unanimous.
What are examples of influences?
Influence is defined as to affect a person or thing. An example of influence is for
a high school student to complete all of his assignments on time, thereby making his little brother want to do the same
.
What are the factors that influence behavior?
- physical factors – age, health, illness, pain, influence of a substance or medication.
- personal and emotional factors – personality, beliefs, expectations, emotions, mental health.
- life experiences – family, culture, friends, life events.
- what the person needs and wants.
What is a positive influence?
Positive influence is
the impact you have on another person (AND yourself) by pointing out strengths and virtues
. It is how you are, what you do, and the power you have on others to value what is best within themselves. Positive influence helps a person be better today than they were yesterday.
