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 communicative 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, a large number of theories proposed by various authors can be found in order to explain different influence processes. Throughout this article we will see some of the most relevant contributions in this regard.
The theory of social influence is based on the 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 It may be goal-directed or simply due to peer pressure, derived from what the subject himself considers to be asked of him or from what is directly communicated to him. Furthermore, it must be taken into account that regardless of the result, every influence process is bidirectional. That is, one person can change the way another person acts, but whether or not the second person changes will also cause an influence on the first. The same applies at the group level and even at the society 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 will influence each other, the expectations about one’s own and others’ behavior or the value given to one’s own opinion and that of others.
Types of influence
The influence exerted towards a person by another or a group can be mainly of two types, informative and normative
Informational influence
This type of influence occurs whenever the change in the judgments, thoughts or behaviors of the influenced individual is due to the trust and conviction that the other’s position is more correct than the one initially held. A conversion process occurs in it there being an internalized or private conformity with what is stated by others.
Normative influence
This second type of influence occurs in cases where the individual has not really been convinced and continues to think that his position, action or opinion is better than that coming from the 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 your own beliefs It can be said that the subject submits to the will of the others, maintaining conformity with it only publicly.
There are various phenomena and processes on which the theory of social influence can focus its attention due to the role that the relationship between different people can modify the characteristics and actions of one of them.
These behavioral changes may appear due to persuasion, conformity or obedience, with the change produced being different depending on whether only a specific behavior is modified or also the beliefs and attitudes behind it.
Conformity with the majority
We can call conformity the change in thoughts, judgments, beliefs or actions that a person would normally do or have due to the exposure of another’s point of view that ends up being assumed by them. In general, conformity It is a relationship of influence between the subject and the majority, varying one’s own behavior due to what the group proposes, believing that the group will be more right than the individual. Conformity is usually held with respect to group decisions or 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 conformity will depend largely on self-confidence and self-competence, the degree of confidence in the ability of others and the level of autonomy and independence shown by the individual in question.
Persuasion
Another form 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 have to be directed at something specific, in the case of persuasion a relationship is established between two or more individuals. with the aim of one or more of them changing their minds regarding a specific topic or are driven to carry out or not carry out some behavior. This is an active process in which the issuer or issuers intend said 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 greater social status regardless of one’s own 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 war conflicts. The control to which the subject is subjected the identity and the degree of expertise or authority associated with the person who directs the behavior and internal factors such as the personality of the individual and their reactance are aspects that greatly influence the performance of each one.
Group decision making
Another aspect of great importance studied by the theory of social influence is making decisions linked to a group The roles of each of the group’s components, the power relationships that exist between them, and the success that the group has previously had in solving problems or situations will largely determine the influence between the individual and the rest of the group. 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 alone.
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 (which can cause us not to want to clash) or the valuation of the group as a collective that has allowed or will allow success. Also there may be the illusion on the part of the group that everyone thinks alike and that their perspective is the only correct one, which can lead to persecution of dissent (as occurs in the process called groupthink).
The fact of belonging to a group also means that the responsibility for the final result is distributed among the entire group, so that 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 toward something, understood as the predisposition to act or think in a certain way when faced with a specific situation or stimulus, is one of the main factors to alter in the process of varying 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 behavior is generally preceded by our intention to act, which has as its main influence the attitude of the individual regarding the behavior to be carried out, the control that one believes one has regarding the possibility of emitting the behavior or managing it, and the assessment of what the environment will consider desirable or not and whether said consideration is relevant to us.
Your own attitude towards the topic in question comes from previous experience and self-perception and assessment of this, which is largely influenced by the opinion of the environment. Behavior is also socially influenced by what we believe is considered socially acceptable. In this way, social influence processes are of great relevance and, although not totally determining, they somehow shape the actions 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, and in the second case it could cause 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 the persuasiveness they enjoy 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, we generally think about how the group influences the subject or how the large group can cause changes in small subgroups. However, the theory of social influence also takes into account that in many cases 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 LGBT community, all of them examples of movements initially censored and criticized that over time have achieved a change in the mentality of general society.
For this change to occur, the minority or person must have a consistent position continued over time and clearly and firmly state the change, information, attitude or behavior that is intended to be transmitted. It is also required that, in addition to being consistent, the defended position is flexible and understandable, the 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 change their perspective in favor of the minority, causing a snowball effect that will encourage others to follow their example.
Rivas, M. & López, M. (2012). Social and organizational psychology. CEDE PIR Preparation Manual, 11. CEDE. Madrid.
