Social influence
Encyclopedia
Social influence occurs when an individual's thoughts, feelings or actions are affected by other people. 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.
Morton Deutsch and Harold Gerard described two psychological need
s 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.
. For more information, follow the main article links provided.
as defined by Harvard psychologist Herbert Kelman
in his 1958 paper in the Journal of Conflict Resolution. The purpose of defining these processes was to help determine the effects of social influence: for example, to separate public conformity (behavior) from private acceptance (personal belief).
but not necessarily attitude
- one can comply due to mere obedience
, or by otherwise opting to withhold one’s 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).
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). There are naturally more than two or three variables in society influential on human psychology and conformity; the notion of "varieties" of conformity based upon "social influence" is ambiguous and undefinable in this context.
In the case of peer pressure
, a person is convinced to do something (such as illegal drugs) which they might not want to do, 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 within the group members, or from compliance of some members to appease others.
) because the majority may be indifferent to the liking of the minority.
and behavior
. A prophecy declared as truth (when it is actually false) may sufficiently influence people, either through fear or logical confusion, so that their reactions ultimately fulfill the once-false prophecy. The term is credited to sociologist Robert K. Merton
and is defined in his book Social Theory and Social Structure.
, Zimbardo’s Stanford prison experiment
, and the Hofling hospital experiment are three particularly well-known experiments on obedience, and they all conclude that humans behave surprisingly obedient in the presence of perceived legitimate authority figures.
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
.
in 1981. It states that there are three factors which will increase people's likelihood to respond to social influence:
defines six "Weapons of Influence" that can contribute to an individual's propensity to be influenced by a persuader:
, 65% of participants complied with fake authority figures to administer "maximum shocks" to a confederate. In iterations of the Milgram experiment where three people administered shocks (two of whom were confederates), once one confederate disobeyed, only 10% of subjects administered the maximum shocks.
, a tool of social influence from which one draws upon the notion of trust. People believe an individual to be credible for a variety of reasons, such as perceived experience, attractiveness, knowledge, etc. Additionally, pressure to maintain one's reputation and not be viewed as fringe may increase the tendency to agree with the group, known as groupthink
. Appeals to authority may also especially affect norms of obedience
. The compliance of normal humans to authority in the famous Milgram experiment
demonstrate the power of perceived authority.
Those with access to the media may use this access in an attempt to influence the public. For example, a politician may use speeches to persuade the public to support issues that he or she does not have the power to impose on the public. This is often referred to as using the "bully pulpit
". Likewise, celebrities don't usually possess any political power but are familiar to many of the world's citizens, and therefore possess social status
.
appears to play a role in willingness to conform to a group. Stanley Milgram
found that conformity was higher in Norway
than in France
. This has been attributed to Norway's longstanding tradition of social responsibility, as compared to France's cultural focus on individualism. Japan likewise has a collectivist culture and thus a higher propensity to conform; however, in a 1970 Asch-style study
, it was found that, when alienated, Japanese students would be susceptible to anticonformity (giving answers that were incorrect even when the group had coincided on correct answers) one third of the time- significantly higher than has been seen in replications of Asch studies before.
While gender
does not significantly affect likelihood to conform, gender roles will in the right conditions. For example, studies from the 1950s and 1960s concluded that women were more likely to conform than men. However, in a 1971 study it was found that there was experimenter bias involved (all of the researchers were male). Studies thereafter found that likelihood to conform was close to equal and that, furthermore, men would conform more often on feminine topics, as women would conform more often on masculine topics- ignorance on a subject can lead to deferral to "social proof".
“influence is interpreted as a consequence of similarity or resemblance…” (p.91)
They continue to give examples of influence and compare the works of two composers.
• Author Kevin Korsyn describes influence through the discussion of "intertextuality". He goes further by explaining that the model to help map out influence as a term deals completely with the relationship between musical works and ideas.
EX: "Johannes Brahms" Op. 4, 1851 and "Frederic Chopin" Op. 31, 1837 two of their musical compositions in the form of a "scherzo". Brahms scherzo resembles the theme of Chopin at the opening, which Korsyn classifies as a type of imitation.
• Author Joseph Straus delves further into the term influence touching upon the idea of modernism. Composers like "Bartok", "Berg", "Schoenberg", "Stravinsky" and "Webern" have ties to genres and different techniques of the past through tones and various tonal traditions.
EX: "Alan Berg"’s Violin Concerto (1935) represents modernism in a very direct way through its use of serialism and “strong echoes of the tonal past” (p.92)
is a social structure
made up of nodes (representing individuals or organizations) which are connected (through ties, also called edges, connections, or links) by one or more types of interdependency (such as friendship, common interests or beliefs, sexual relations, or kinship). Social network analysis uses the lens of network theory
to view social relationships. Social network analysis as a field has become more prominent since the mid-20th century in determining the channels and effects of social influence. For example, Christakis
and Fowler
found that social networks transmit states and behaviors such as obesity, smoking, drinking and happiness.
discusses the way new ideas are transmitted by social influence. New products or fashions are introduced by innovators, who tend to be creative and nonconforming. Then early adopters join in, followed by the early majority. By this time, a substantial number of people are using the idea or product, and normative and informational influence encourages others to conform as well. The early majority is followed by a second group that Gladwell calls the late majority, and then finally by the laggards, who tend to be highly conventional and resistant to change.
Conformity
Conformity is the process by which an individual's attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors are influenced by other people.Conformity may also refer to:*Conformity: A Tale, a novel by Charlotte Elizabeth Tonna...
, socialization
Socialization
Socialization is a term used by sociologists, social psychologists, anthropologists, political scientists and educationalists to refer to the process of inheriting and disseminating norms, customs and ideologies...
, peer pressure
Peer pressure
Peer pressure refers to the influence exerted by a peer group in encouraging a person to change his or her attitudes, values, or behavior in order to conform to group norms. Social groups affected include membership groups, when the individual is "formally" a member , or a social clique...
, obedience
Obedience (human behavior)
In human behavior, obedience is the quality of being obedient, which describes the act of carrying-out commands or being actuated. Obedience differs from compliance, which is behavior influenced by peers, and from conformity, which is behavior intended to match that of the majority. Obedience can...
, leadership
Leadership
Leadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task". Other in-depth definitions of leadership have also emerged.-Theories:...
, persuasion
Persuasion
Persuasion is a form of social influence. It is the process of guiding or bringing oneself or another toward the adoption of an idea, attitude, or action by rational and symbolic means.- Methods :...
, sales
Sales
A sale is the act of selling a product or service in return for money or other compensation. It is an act of completion of a commercial activity....
, and marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
. In 1958, Harvard psychologist, Herbert Kelman
Herbert Kelman
Herbert C. Kelman is the Richard Clarke Cabot Professor of Social Ethics, Emeritus at Harvard University. He was known for his work in the Middle East including a 1989 off-the-record meeting between members of the P.L.O. and Israeli politicians and academics in an effort to bring the two sides...
identified three broad varieties of social influence.
- ComplianceCompliance (psychology)Compliance refers to a response — specifically, a submission — made in reaction to a request. The request may be explicit or implicit . The target may or may not recognize that he or she is being urged to act in a particular way.Social psychology is centered on the idea of social influence...
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.
- InternalizationInternalizationInternalization has different definitions depending on the field that the term is used in. Internalization is the opposite of externalization.- General :...
is when people accept a belief or behavior and agree both publicly and privately.
Morton Deutsch and Harold Gerard described two psychological need
Need
A need is something that is necessary for organisms to live a healthy life. Needs are distinguished from wants because a deficiency would cause a clear negative outcome, such as dysfunction or death. Needs can be objective and physical, such as food, or they can be subjective and psychological,...
s 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
Normative Social Influence
Normative social influence is one form of conformity. It is "the influence of other people that leads us to conform in order to be liked and accepted by them." This often leads to public compliance—but not necessarily private acceptance—of the group's social norms. When people tend to conform to...
). 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. Below are some major types of social influence that are being researched in the field of social psychologySocial psychology
Social psychology is the scientific study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. By this definition, scientific refers to the empirical method of investigation. The terms thoughts, feelings, and behaviors include all...
. For more information, follow the main article links provided.
Kelman's varieties
There are three processes of attitude changeAttitude change
Attitudes are the evaluations and associated beliefs and behaviors towards some object. They are not stable, and because of the communication and behavior of other people, are subject to change by social influences, as well as an individual's motivation to maintain cognitive consistency when...
as defined by Harvard psychologist Herbert Kelman
Herbert Kelman
Herbert C. Kelman is the Richard Clarke Cabot Professor of Social Ethics, Emeritus at Harvard University. He was known for his work in the Middle East including a 1989 off-the-record meeting between members of the P.L.O. and Israeli politicians and academics in an effort to bring the two sides...
in his 1958 paper in the Journal of Conflict Resolution. The purpose of defining these processes was to help determine the effects of social influence: for example, to separate public conformity (behavior) from private acceptance (personal belief).
Compliance
Compliance is the act of responding favorably to an explicit or implicit request offered by others. Technically, compliance is a change in behaviorBehavior
Behavior or behaviour refers to the actions and mannerisms made by organisms, systems, or artificial entities in conjunction with its environment, which includes the other systems or organisms around as well as the physical environment...
but not necessarily attitude
Attitude (psychology)
An attitude is a hypothetical construct that represents an individual's degree of like or dislike for something. Attitudes are generally positive or negative views of a person, place, thing, or event— this is often referred to as the attitude object...
- one can comply due to mere obedience
Obedience
The term obedience can refer to:* Obedience ** The educational film Obedience about the Milgram experiment on obedience to authority figures* Vow of obedience as an evangelical counsel* Obedience training for dogs...
, or by otherwise opting to withhold one’s 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 that is liked. Advertisements that rely upon celebrities to market their products are taking advantage of this phenomenon. The desired relationship that the identifier relates with the behavior or attitude change is the “reward”, according to Kelman.Internalization
Internalization is the process of acceptance of a set of norms established by people or groups which 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 belief or behavior in order to fit in with a group. It is the most common and pervasive form of social influence. Social PsychologySocial psychology
Social psychology is the scientific study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. By this definition, scientific refers to the empirical method of investigation. The terms thoughts, feelings, and behaviors include all...
research in conformity tends to distinguish between two varieties: informational conformity (also called social proof, or "internalization" in Kelman's terms ) and normative conformity
Normative Social Influence
Normative social influence is one form of conformity. It is "the influence of other people that leads us to conform in order to be liked and accepted by them." This often leads to public compliance—but not necessarily private acceptance—of the group's social norms. When people tend to conform to...
("compliance" in Kelman's terms). There are naturally more than two or three variables in society influential on human psychology and conformity; the notion of "varieties" of conformity based upon "social influence" is ambiguous and undefinable in this context.
In the case of peer pressure
Peer pressure
Peer pressure refers to the influence exerted by a peer group in encouraging a person to change his or her attitudes, values, or behavior in order to conform to group norms. Social groups affected include membership groups, when the individual is "formally" a member , or a social clique...
, a person is convinced to do something (such as illegal drugs) which they might not want to do, but which they perceive as "necessary" to keep a positive relationship
Interpersonal relationship
An interpersonal relationship is an association between two or more people that may range from fleeting to enduring. This association may be based on limerence, love, solidarity, regular business interactions, or some other type of social commitment. Interpersonal relationships are formed in the...
with other people, such as their friends. Conformity from peer pressure generally results from identification within the group members, or from compliance of some members to appease others.
Minority influence
Minority influence takes place when a majority is influenced to accept the beliefs of behaviors of a minority. Minority influence can be affected by the sizes of majority and minority groups, the level of consistency of the minority group and situational factors (such as the affluence or social importance of the minority). Minority influence most often operates through informational social influence (as opposed to normative social influenceNormative Social Influence
Normative social influence is one form of conformity. It is "the influence of other people that leads us to conform in order to be liked and accepted by them." This often leads to public compliance—but not necessarily private acceptance—of the group's social norms. When people tend to conform to...
) because the majority may be indifferent to the liking of the minority.
Self-fulfilling prophecy
A self-fulfilling prophecy is a prediction that directly or indirectly causes itself to become true, due to a positive feedback between beliefBelief
Belief is the psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true.-Belief, knowledge and epistemology:The terms belief and knowledge are used differently in philosophy....
and behavior
Behavior
Behavior or behaviour refers to the actions and mannerisms made by organisms, systems, or artificial entities in conjunction with its environment, which includes the other systems or organisms around as well as the physical environment...
. A prophecy declared as truth (when it is actually false) may sufficiently influence people, either through fear or logical confusion, so that their reactions ultimately fulfill the once-false prophecy. The term is credited to sociologist Robert K. Merton
Robert K. Merton
Robert King Merton was a distinguished American sociologist. He spent most of his career teaching at Columbia University, where he attained the rank of University Professor...
and is defined in his book Social Theory and Social Structure.
Reactance
Reactance is the adoption or a view contrary to the view that they are being pressured to accept, perhaps due to the perceived threat to behavioral freedoms. This behavior has also been called anticonformity. While the results are the opposite of what the influencer intended, this reactive behavior is the 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 when the influence is clearly correct.Obedience
Obedience is a form of social influence that derives from an authority figure. The Milgram ExperimentMilgram experiment
The Milgram experiment on obedience to authority figures was a series of notable social psychology experiments conducted by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram, which measured the willingness of study participants to obey an authority figure who instructed them to perform acts that...
, Zimbardo’s Stanford prison experiment
Stanford prison experiment
The Stanford prison experiment was a study of the psychological effects of becoming a prisoner or prison guard. The experiment was conducted from August 14th-20th, 1971, by a team of researchers led by psychology professor Philip Zimbardo at Stanford University...
, and the Hofling hospital experiment are three particularly well-known experiments on obedience, and they all conclude that humans behave surprisingly obedient in the presence of perceived legitimate authority figures.
Persuasion
Persuasion is the process of guiding oneself or another toward the adoption of some attitude by some rational or symbolic means. Robert CialdiniRobert Cialdini
Robert B. Cialdini is Regents’ Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University.He is best known for his popular book on persuasion and marketing, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. Influence has sold over 2 million copies and has been translated into twenty-six...
defined six “weapons of influence”: reciprocity
Norm of reciprocity
The norm of reciprocity is the social expectation that people will respond to each other in kind—returning benefits for benefits, and responding with either indifference or hostility to harms. The social norm of reciprocity often takes different forms in different areas of social life, or in...
, commitment, social proof
Social proof
Social proof, also known as informational social influence, is a psychological phenomenon where people assume the actions of others reflect correct behavior for a given situation...
, authority
Authority
The word Authority is derived mainly from the Latin word auctoritas, meaning invention, advice, opinion, influence, or command. In English, the word 'authority' can be used to mean power given by the state or by academic knowledge of an area .-Authority in Philosophy:In...
, liking, and scarcity
Scarcity
Scarcity is the fundamental economic problem of having humans who have unlimited wants and needs in a world of limited resources. It states that society has insufficient productive resources to fulfill all human wants and needs. Alternatively, scarcity implies that not all of society's goals can be...
. These “weapons of influence” attempt to bring about conformity by directed means. Persuasion can occur through appeals to reason
Reason
Reason is a term that refers to the capacity human beings have to make sense of things, to establish and verify facts, and to change or justify practices, institutions, and beliefs. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, science, language, ...
or appeals to emotion
Appeal to emotion
Appeal to emotion is a potential fallacy which uses the manipulation of the recipient's emotions, rather than valid logic, to win an argument. The appeal to emotion fallacy uses emotions as the basis of an argument's position without factual evidence that logically supports the major ideas endorsed...
.
Social impact theory
Social Impact Theory was developed by Bibb LatanéBibb Latané
Bibb Latané is a United States social psychologist. He is probably most famous for his work with John Darley on bystander intervention in emergencies, but he has also published many articles on social attraction in animals, social loafing in groups, and the spread of social influence in populations...
in 1981. It states that there are three factors which will increase people's likelihood to respond to social influence:
- Strength: The importance of the influencing group to the individual.
- Immediacy: Physical (and temporal) proximity of the influencing group to the individual at the time of the influence attempt.
- Number: The number of people in the group.
Cialdini's "Weapons of Influence"
In his work, Robert CialdiniRobert Cialdini
Robert B. Cialdini is Regents’ Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University.He is best known for his popular book on persuasion and marketing, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. Influence has sold over 2 million copies and has been translated into twenty-six...
defines six "Weapons of Influence" that can contribute to an individual's propensity to be influenced by a persuader:
- ReciprocityNorm of reciprocityThe norm of reciprocity is the social expectation that people will respond to each other in kind—returning benefits for benefits, and responding with either indifference or hostility to harms. The social norm of reciprocity often takes different forms in different areas of social life, or in...
: People tend to return a favor. - Commitment and Consistency: People do not like to be self-contradictory. Once they commit to an idea or behavior, they are averse to changing their minds without good reason.
- Social ProofSocial proofSocial proof, also known as informational social influence, is a psychological phenomenon where people assume the actions of others reflect correct behavior for a given situation...
: People will be more open to things they see others doing. - Authority: People will tend to obey authority figures.
- Liking: People are more easily swayed by people they like.
- ScarcityScarcityScarcity is the fundamental economic problem of having humans who have unlimited wants and needs in a world of limited resources. It states that society has insufficient productive resources to fulfill all human wants and needs. Alternatively, scarcity implies that not all of society's goals can be...
: A perceived limitation of resources will generate demand.
Unanimity
Social Influence is strongest when the group perpetrating it is consistent and committed. Even a single instance of dissent can greatly wane the strength of an influence. For example, in Milgram's first set of obedience experimentsMilgram experiment
The Milgram experiment on obedience to authority figures was a series of notable social psychology experiments conducted by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram, which measured the willingness of study participants to obey an authority figure who instructed them to perform acts that...
, 65% of participants complied with fake authority figures to administer "maximum shocks" to a confederate. In iterations of the Milgram experiment where three people administered shocks (two of whom were confederates), once one confederate disobeyed, only 10% of subjects administered the maximum shocks.
Status
Those perceived as experts may exert social influence as a result of their perceived expertise. This involves credibilityCredibility
Credibility refers to the objective and subjective components of the believability of a source or message.Traditionally, modern, credibility has two key components: trustworthiness and expertise, which both have objective and subjective components. Trustworthiness is based more on subjective...
, a tool of social influence from which one draws upon the notion of trust. People believe an individual to be credible for a variety of reasons, such as perceived experience, attractiveness, knowledge, etc. Additionally, pressure to maintain one's reputation and not be viewed as fringe may increase the tendency to agree with the group, known as groupthink
Groupthink
Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon that occurs within groups of people. It is the mode of thinking that happens when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives. Group members try to minimize conflict and reach a consensus decision without...
. Appeals to authority may also especially affect norms of obedience
Obedience
The term obedience can refer to:* Obedience ** The educational film Obedience about the Milgram experiment on obedience to authority figures* Vow of obedience as an evangelical counsel* Obedience training for dogs...
. The compliance of normal humans to authority in the famous Milgram experiment
Milgram experiment
The Milgram experiment on obedience to authority figures was a series of notable social psychology experiments conducted by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram, which measured the willingness of study participants to obey an authority figure who instructed them to perform acts that...
demonstrate the power of perceived authority.
Those with access to the media may use this access in an attempt to influence the public. For example, a politician may use speeches to persuade the public to support issues that he or she does not have the power to impose on the public. This is often referred to as using the "bully pulpit
Bully pulpit
A bully pulpit is a public office or other position of authority of sufficiently high rank that provides the holder with an opportunity to speak out and be listened to on any matter...
". Likewise, celebrities don't usually possess any political power but are familiar to many of the world's citizens, and therefore possess social status
Social status
In sociology or anthropology, social status is the honor or prestige attached to one's position in society . It may also refer to a rank or position that one holds in a group, for example son or daughter, playmate, pupil, etc....
.
Culture
CultureCulture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
appears to play a role in willingness to conform to a group. Stanley Milgram
Stanley Milgram
Stanley Milgram was an American social psychologist most notable for his controversial study known as the Milgram Experiment. The study was conducted in the 1960s during Milgram's professorship at Yale...
found that conformity was higher in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
than in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. This has been attributed to Norway's longstanding tradition of social responsibility, as compared to France's cultural focus on individualism. Japan likewise has a collectivist culture and thus a higher propensity to conform; however, in a 1970 Asch-style study
Asch conformity experiments
The Asch conformity experiments were a series of studies published in the 1950s that demonstrated the power of conformity in groups. These are also known as the Asch Paradigm.-Introduction:...
, it was found that, when alienated, Japanese students would be susceptible to anticonformity (giving answers that were incorrect even when the group had coincided on correct answers) one third of the time- significantly higher than has been seen in replications of Asch studies before.
While gender
Gender
Gender is a range of characteristics used to distinguish between males and females, particularly in the cases of men and women and the masculine and feminine attributes assigned to them. Depending on the context, the discriminating characteristics vary from sex to social role to gender identity...
does not significantly affect likelihood to conform, gender roles will in the right conditions. For example, studies from the 1950s and 1960s concluded that women were more likely to conform than men. However, in a 1971 study it was found that there was experimenter bias involved (all of the researchers were male). Studies thereafter found that likelihood to conform was close to equal and that, furthermore, men would conform more often on feminine topics, as women would conform more often on masculine topics- ignorance on a subject can lead to deferral to "social proof".
Emotions
Emotion and disposition may affect likelihood of conformity or anticonformity. In 2009, a study concluded that fear increases the chance of agreeing with the group, while romance or lust increases the chance of going against the group.Musicological Influence
"Music" and the study of "Musicology" is an art from that is constantly evolving, for it is always in a state of motion through the influence of other composer, genres or time periods. This can be done through specific techniques, through a replication of complete phrases or it can be heard through the overall theme. Lectures from "Cardiff University" David Beard and Kenneth Gloag define influence from a musicological standpoint as follows.“influence is interpreted as a consequence of similarity or resemblance…” (p.91)
They continue to give examples of influence and compare the works of two composers.
• Author Kevin Korsyn describes influence through the discussion of "intertextuality". He goes further by explaining that the model to help map out influence as a term deals completely with the relationship between musical works and ideas.
EX: "Johannes Brahms" Op. 4, 1851 and "Frederic Chopin" Op. 31, 1837 two of their musical compositions in the form of a "scherzo". Brahms scherzo resembles the theme of Chopin at the opening, which Korsyn classifies as a type of imitation.
• Author Joseph Straus delves further into the term influence touching upon the idea of modernism. Composers like "Bartok", "Berg", "Schoenberg", "Stravinsky" and "Webern" have ties to genres and different techniques of the past through tones and various tonal traditions.
EX: "Alan Berg"’s Violin Concerto (1935) represents modernism in a very direct way through its use of serialism and “strong echoes of the tonal past” (p.92)
Social networks
A social networkSocial network
A social network is a social structure made up of individuals called "nodes", which are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, common interest, financial exchange, dislike, sexual relationships, or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige.Social...
is a social structure
Social structure
Social structure is a term used in the social sciences to refer to patterned social arrangements in society that are both emergent from and determinant of the actions of the individuals. The usage of the term "social structure" has changed over time and may reflect the various levels of analysis...
made up of nodes (representing individuals or organizations) which are connected (through ties, also called edges, connections, or links) by one or more types of interdependency (such as friendship, common interests or beliefs, sexual relations, or kinship). Social network analysis uses the lens of network theory
Network theory
Network theory is an area of computer science and network science and part of graph theory. It has application in many disciplines including statistical physics, particle physics, computer science, biology, economics, operations research, and sociology...
to view social relationships. Social network analysis as a field has become more prominent since the mid-20th century in determining the channels and effects of social influence. For example, Christakis
Nicholas A. Christakis
Nicholas A. Christakis is a Greek American physician and sociologist known for his research on social networks and on the socioeconomic and biosocial determinants of health, longevity, and behavior...
and Fowler
James H. Fowler
James H. Fowler is an American social scientist specializing in social networks, cooperation, political participation, and genopolitics...
found that social networks transmit states and behaviors such as obesity, smoking, drinking and happiness.
"The Tipping Point"
In his book, The Tipping Point, Malcolm GladwellMalcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Gladwell, CM is a Canadian journalist, bestselling author, and speaker. He is currently based in New York City and has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1996...
discusses the way new ideas are transmitted by social influence. New products or fashions are introduced by innovators, who tend to be creative and nonconforming. Then early adopters join in, followed by the early majority. By this time, a substantial number of people are using the idea or product, and normative and informational influence encourages others to conform as well. The early majority is followed by a second group that Gladwell calls the late majority, and then finally by the laggards, who tend to be highly conventional and resistant to change.
See also
Further reading
- Cialdini, Robert B. (2001). ‘‘Influence: Science and practice (4th ed.)’’. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. ISBN 0-321-01147-3.
- Ellul, JacquesJacques EllulJacques Ellul was a French philosopher, law professor, sociologist, lay theologian, and Christian anarchist. He wrote several books about the "technological society" and the interaction between Christianity and politics....
. Propaganda: The Formation of Men's AttitudesPropaganda: The Formation of Men's AttitudesPropaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes is a landmark work on the subject of propaganda by French philosopher,theologian, and sociologist Jacques Ellul. This book appears to be the first attempt to study propaganda from a sociological approach as well as a psychological one...
. Trans. Konrad Kellen & Jean Lerner. New York: Knopf, 1965. New York: Random House/ Vintage 1973 - Hogan, Kevin (2004) The Science of Influence: How to Get Anyone to Say "Yes" in 8 Minutes or Less! (ISBN 978-0-471-67051-3 ).
- Kaiser, C., Kröckel, J., Bodendorf, F. (2010): "Ant-Based Simulation of Opinion Spreading in Online Social Networks". Proceedings of the 2010 IEEE/WIC/ACM International Conference on Web Intelligence and Intelligent Agent Technology, pp. 537-540.