SOCIAL INFLUENCE

Influence investigates the causes of human change--whether that change is a behavior, an attitude, or a belief. Inducing a change in behavior is called compliance. Inducing a change in attitude is called persuasion. Inducing a change in belief is called either education or propaganda--depending on your perspective. Effort by one or more individual to change the attitudes, beliefs, perceptions, or behavior of others.

Social influence is said to be employed by an agent or practitioner upon a target. The agent's message is called her advocacy. If your goal is to get your husband to stop overeating, you may seek compliance-- by getting him to stay out of the refrigerator--or you may influence him to internalize different eating habits, in which case he would be persuaded. You are the agent, your husband is the target, and your tactics or message would be your advocacy.

Social influence is when the actions or thoughts of individual(s) are changed by other individual(s).

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Examples of social influence can be seen in socialization and peer pressure. This is the effect of other people on a person's behavior.

In the case of peer pressure, a person might be forced into doing something (such as going to an opera) he might not like but is "necessary" to upkeep the positive relationship with the other party, such as the family of their partner. The person could agree to the offering even if he hated it because of many reasons; maybe he is the possible inheritor of the family/person that asks him to come to the opera, the family could want to evaluate the person before letting their son/daughter get married with him/her, etc.

Social influence can also be described by the word power, which means to possess the ability to embrace a person/group of people...