Social Influence Theory: its psychological contributions

Human beings live in society. This implies that we are in constant contact with other people who have their own thoughts, behaviors, intentions, attitudes, motivations, and beliefs. These elements are transmitted through different communication processes, causing, according to the theory of social influence, different changes in behavior and even perception of others.

Within the theory of social influence, which explores the reason for these changes, you can find a large number of theories proposed by various authors in order to explain different processes of influence. Throughout this article we will see some of the most relevant contributions in this regard.

• You may be interested in: "The Science of Persuasion: The 6 Laws of Influence by Robert Cialdini"

Social Influence Theory: Fundamental Definition

The theory of social influence is based on changes in behavior or thought that occur in a subject due to a series of mental processes derived from communication with other beings or media.

This influence

can be goal directed or simply due to peer pressure, deriving from what the subject himself considers to be requested or from what is directly communicated to him. In addition, it must be taken into account that regardless of the result, any process of influence is bidirectional. That is to say, a person can change the way of acting of another, but that the second changes or not will also cause an influence on the first. The same applies at the group level and even at the company level.

Some factors that affect the level of influence are group cohesion, which can generate pressure for conformity, the type of social norms, the size of the groups or the positions and roles of the various elements that are going to influence each other, expectations about their own behavior and that of others, or the value given to their own opinion and that of others. the rest.

types of influence

The influence exercised towards a person by another or by a group may be mainly of two types, informative and normative.

informative influence

This type of influence occurs whenever the change in the judgments, thoughts or behaviors of the individual influenced is due to confidence and the conviction that the position of others is more correct than the one held initially. A conversion process takes place in it., having an internalized or private conformity with what is exposed by the others.

Regulatory influence

This second type of influence occurs in cases in which the individual has not really been convinced and continues to think that his position, action or opinion is better. than that coming from outside, but due to other circumstances such as the desire for acceptance or the role played within a group, the individual ends up giving in and acting against their own beliefs. It can be said that the subject submits to the will of the others, maintaining a conformity with it only publicly.

Social influence phenomena

There are various phenomena and processes that social influence theory can focus on due to to the role that the relationship between different people can modify the characteristics and actions of one of them.

These changes in behavior may appear due to persuasion, conformity or obedience, the change being different produced depending on whether only a specific behavior is modified or also the beliefs and attitudes that are behind she.

conformity with the majority

We can call conformity the change in the thoughts, judgments, beliefs or actions that a person would normally do or have due to the exposure of a foreign point of view that ends up being assumed by he. overall compliance is a relationship of influence between the subject and the majority, varying their own behavior due to what the group proposes, believing that the group is going to be more right than the individual. Conformity is usually held with respect to group decisions or with respect to shared attitudes, although it does not have to be due to an attempt to actively influence the subject's behavior

This part of the theory of social influence would be explored by numerous authors such as Ash or Sheriff, showing through well-known experiments that the judgment of individuals could vary depending on what the majority thought.

This compliance will depend to a large extent on self-confidence and self-competence, the degree of confidence in the capacity of others and the level of autonomy and independence shown by the individual in question.

• Related article: "Conformism: why do we submit to group pressure?"

Persuasion

Another of the forms of influence observed by the theory of social influence is persuasion. If in the case of conformity reference is normally made to a process of influence coming from a group that does not it has to be aimed at something specific, in the case of persuasion a relationship is established between two or more individuals with the aim that one or more of them change their minds regarding a specific topic or are prompted to perform or not perform some conduct. This is an active process in which the issuer or issuers intend such a change.

The obedience

Another form of social influence observed by social influence theory is obedience to authority. Explored among other authors by Milgram, obedience is understood as following the instructions of an individual who is considered above or has power or higher social statusregardless of one's attitude, judgment or belief.

Through this aspect, an attempt has been made to explain why some people carry out certain actions that would generally be considered negative by the subjects themselves, such as some that occurred during conflicts warlike. The control to which the subject is subjected, the identity and degree of expertise or authority associated with the person directing the conduct and internal factors such as the personality of the individual and their reactance are aspects that greatly influence the performance of each one.

• Related article: "The Milgram experiment: the danger of obeying authority"

group decision making

Another aspect of great importance studied by the theory of social influence is decision making linked to a group. The roles of each one of the group's components, the existing power relations between them and the success that the group has had in solve problems or situations previously will determine to a large extent the influence between the individual and the rest of the collective. Various studies have shown that, in general, the decisions made by the group tend to be more extreme than those that a subject would make on their own.

Part of this is due to the influence exerted by coincident points of view, as well as the desire to continue belonging to the group. (something that can cause us not to want to be out of tune) or the assessment of the group as a group that has allowed or will allow the success. Also there may be an illusion on the part of the group that everyone thinks alike and that their perspective is the only correct one, something that can cause persecution of the dissidence (as it happens in the process called group thought).

The fact of belonging to a group also means that the responsibility for the final result is shared among the entire group. group, with which positions that an individual by himself might not dare to take can be put into practice.

The influence on attitude change

In the theory of social influence our attitude towards something, understood as the predisposition to act or think in a certain way In the face of a specific situation or stimulus, it is one of the main factors to be altered in the process of changing the behavior of an individual. Exposure to points of view different from our own can change our perception of something, as well as our attitude towards said something.

According to the theory of reasoned action, our final conduct is generally preceded by our intention to act, which has as its main influence the attitude of the individual regarding the conduct to be carried out, the control that is believed to have regarding the possibility of issuing the behavior or managing it and the assessment of what the environment will consider desirable or not and if said consideration is not relevant.

One's own attitude towards the subject in question comes from previous experience and the self-perception and valuation of this, which is largely influenced by the opinion of the environment. They are also socially influenced by what we think is considered socially acceptable influences behavior. In this way, the processes of social influence are of great relevance and, although not totally determinant, somehow shape the performance of individuals.

The role that social influence theory gives to influence processes in attitude change is mainly mediated by a large number of variables. One of the main ones is the fact that what is proposed to us go for or against our attitude, being able to cause in the second case a great dissonance that we would try to reduce by frivolizing the behavior in question or by varying our beliefs. Other factors such as who is trying to influence us, how we perceive them, and how persuasive they are will also vary in the degree to which we are influenced.

When few influence many: the influence of the minority

When influence processes occur between groups and individuals, one generally thinks about how the collective influences the subject or how the large group can cause changes in the small subgroups. However, the theory of social influence also takes into account that on many occasions a single person can change the perspective of a group or that minorities can change the opinion of society in general.

Examples of this have been the fight for women's rights, those of people from different ethnic minorities or those of the LGTB collective, all of them examples of movements initially censored and criticized that with the passage of time have achieved a change in the mentality of society general.

For this change to occur the minority or person has to have a continuing consistent stance on the time and clearly and firmly expose the change, information, attitude or behavior that is intended convey. Also required that in addition to being consistent, the position defended is flexible and understandableThe image that the minority position provokes in the majority is also important. This influence will be accentuated if people initially belonging to the majority position approach and they change their perspective in favor of the minority, causing a snowball effect that will encourage others to follow their example.

Bibliographic references

• Cialdini, R. (1983, 1984). influence. The Psychology of Persuasion. Revised Edition. HarperCollins.

• Morales, J.F. and Huici, C. (2000). Social psychology. Ed. McGraw-Hill. Madrid.

• Rivas, M. & Lopez, M. (2012). Social psychology and organizations. CEDE PIR Preparation Manual, 11. YIELD. Madrid.