Social Influence Concepts and Models

Social Influence

• Social influence is the effect of words, actions or the presence of others on attitudes, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
• Change in thoughts, feelings, and behaviors due to the behavior or existence of others.
• Conformity is the change in one's behavior due to the real or imagined influence of others. Ash's line study demonstrates this.
• Obedience is the change in behavior in response to a direct order from authority. Milgram's electric shock experiment exemplifies this.

Elaboration Likelihood Model

• Two ways to process social influence:
  • Central Route: Information is thoroughly considered, requiring sufficient time and objective information. Critical thinking, a person's motivation, ability, and opportunity to consider information, are key. Attitude changes are more lasting and behavior is more predictable.
  • Peripheral Route: Utilizing heuristics (rules of thumb), quick thinking, common responses and automatic reactions. This leads to less lasting attitude changes.

Peripheral Route (Langer et al., 1978)

• People quickly comply when presented with a reason, regardless of validity. This tactic is 94% effective.

Tactics of Manipulation

• Manipulation relies on heuristics (mental shortcuts).
• People respond automatically without much consideration when familiar with a stimulus.
• Manipulation aims to influence attitudes.

Tactic of Manipulation 1: Authority

• When someone is perceived as an expert, it's easier to manipulate them.
• People defer to experts for guidance, especially in ambiguous situations.
• Experts don't need to actually have real authority for this to work

Tactic of Manipulation 2: Scarcity

• Perceived scarcity makes things more desirable.
• A limited supply increases desirability.
• "Closing down sales" and limited time offers exemplify the tactic.

Tactic of Manipulation 3: Reciprocity

• People feel obligated to repay gifts or favors.
• Regan (1971) study showed how offering a free drink led to a marked increase in raffle ticket purchases.
• Returning a favor makes people feel indebted.
• Cultural difference is a factor, collectivist cultures emphasize indebtedness more, leading to more compliance.

Tactic of Manipulation 4: Reciprocity and Concessions (Door-in-the-Face)

• A large, initially rejected request is followed by a smaller, more acceptable request, increasing compliance.

Tactic of Manipulation 5: Liking

• People tend to favorably react and comply with people they know and like.
• Liking someone increases compliance.

Liking Heuristic Mental Shortcuts

• Contact and Cooperation: Increased interaction and cooperation fosters liking. Repeated exposure increases liking.
• Conditioning and Association: Conditioning associates people or objects with positive attributes increasing liking.

Tactic of Manipulation 6: Liking: Physical Attractiveness (Halo Effect)

• People perceive attractive individuals as having positive traits, including expertise, trustworthiness, intelligence, and social skills. This bias is automatic.

Tactic of Manipulation 7: Liking: Physical Attractiveness: Conditioning and Association

• There's a positive correlation between attractiveness and perceived expertise and trustworthiness. Attractive people in advertisements increase persuasiveness and belief in the message.

Tactic of Manipulation 8: Liking: Similarities

• People who share similar characteristics often foster instant bonds.
• Shared variables like age, education, or even birthdays can increase liking and compliance.

Tactic of Manipulation 9: Liking: Similarity—The Chameleon Effect

• Unconscious mimicry of postures, mannerisms, expressions, and other behaviors is a way to build rapport.
• Mimicking increases social interaction and rapport, making people appear friendly and likeable. The mimicry needs to be unnoticed.

Tactic of Manipulation 10: Liking, Similarity—The Echo Effect

• Mirroring a person's speech or paraphrasing their words creates a sense of connection and increases compliance by building rapport .

Tactic of Manipulation 11: Consistency and Commitment

• People strive to maintain consistency between their actions and words.
• Maintaining consistency is valued, and inconsistency is seen negatively.
• Behavior and consistency of belief has a significant effect on our attitudes.

Tactic of Manipulation 12: Consistency and Commitment—Foot-in-the-Door Tactic

• Gaining compliance through a series of small requests, gradually escalating to larger ones, creates an obligation to comply with subsequent requests.
• The person agrees to the small request leading to obligation through consistency.

Tactic of Manipulation 13: Consistency and Commitment—Low-Ball Tactic

• Initial attractive offer is followed by hidden additional costs. People are more likely to comply when initially presented with a seemingly good deal.

Tactic of Manipulation 14: Consistency and Commitment—Bait and Switch

• Appealing offer for a product is then unavailable. Customers are then encouraged to purchase a different, potentially more expensive/inferior, product.

Social Validation

• People look to others for guidance on how to think, act and feel. The actions of others justify our own decisions and behaviors.

Tactic of manipulation 15: Social Validation: Quantity = Quality

• Behaviors are more likely when there is evidence that others are already performing them, and especially if there are tangible signs of popularity/success, such as "best-sellers", or likes on a social platform).

Tactic of Manipulation 16: Social Validation & Liking

• Social validation is enhanced when the model for the behavior is similar to the target.

Tactic of Manipulation 17: Cultural Differences

• Collectivist cultures typically value social validation more compared to their individualistic counterparts, thus complying more readily to requests utilizing social validation. Cultural style, regardless of a given culture, is a stronger indicator of compliance.

Explore the fundamental ideas of social influence, including conformity and obedience, and how they are illustrated through studies like Ash's and Milgram's experiments. Understand the Elaboration Likelihood Model and its two routes for processing information—central and peripheral. This quiz will test your knowledge on these psychological principles.