Topic 6 Social Influence

What is Social Influence? Social influence is the area of social psychology that explores how people are affected by the real or imagined pressure of other individuals or a group. The influence may be intentional or unintentional. Efforts by one or more individuals to change the attitudes, beliefs, perceptions, or behaviors of one or more others.

Power and influence Power is the capacity to influence others while resisting their attempts to influence. Sources of power: Reward power. Coercive power. Informational power. Expert power. Legitimate power. Referent power.

Sources of power Reward power The ability to give or promise rewards for compliance. Coercive power The ability to give or threaten punishment for non-compliance. Informational power The target’s belief that the influencer has more information than oneself. Expert power The target’s belief that the influencer has generally greater expertise and knowledge than oneself. Legitimate power The target’s belief that the influencer is authorized by a recognized power structure to command and make decisions. Referent power Identification with, attraction to or respect for the source of influence.

Social Influence Basically, social influence is the “process of inducing change in people”, through the following process:- Conformity Compliance Obedience

What is Conformity? Conformity can be defined as the tendency for people to yield to real or imagined social pressure. It is a change in a person's behavior or opinions as a result of real or imagined pressure form a person or a group of people. Conformity occurs when a person changes his/her attitude or behavior on his/her own to fulfill social norms, or out of a desire to follow the beliefs or standard of others.

Factors that can influence conformity Group size and group unanimity  When there is group cohesiveness and commitment among members, the chances of conformity is higher. Type of person For example personality, gender, self esteem, male/females oriented tasks or social status can influence conformity. When people are in ambiguous situations - When people have reason to doubt their own judgments - feelings of insecurity in the decision When people tend to follow the lead of a high- status individual - to avoid punishment Rewards and punishments

Why do we conform? Two basic sources of influence: Normative social influence: Need to be liked, accepted by others Informational social influence: Need to be correct; to behave in accordance with reality

When do we not conform? Self-aware people (private vs. public) - When people are privately self-aware they are less likely to conform; Self-presentation if one is trying to present himself as intelligent, he will be perceived as more intelligent if he does not conform The need for individuation, that is the desire to maintain one’s uniqueness or the desire for personal control. Behavior that shows that you are exactly like others is avoided. Behavior that greatly restricts your personal freedom.

What is Compliance? Compliance is a type of conformity that occurs when people yield to social pressure in their public behavior, even though their private beliefs have not changed. Compliance is a special kind of conformity that gets behavior change without changing your attitude  a behavior that is motivated by a desire to gain a reward or avoid punishment. A person changes his/her attitude or behavior in response to another's direct request. Simply asking someone to perform a task is a request for compliance. 

What is Obedience? Obedience is as a form of compliance when people follow direct commands, usually from someone with authority (teachers, parents, leaders, boss) an act of compliance or following orders without question because they come from a legitimate authority.