Blog post #3- Round 1 of ressearch

WHAT IS SOCIAL INFLUENCE?

The methods by which individuals change their behaviour to satisfy the needs of a social context are referred to as social influences (1). These influences can arise from numerous factors, such as a command, a specific action, or a request, but people can also adjust their attitude to how others perceive and act (1). In other words, individuals rely on their observations of others and their environment to revise judgments and make decisions. Social influence can also lead to an individual having a strong opinion about a subject when interacting with others with similar beliefs (2). This influence can also be seen in many social contexts, such as with friends who are exchanging opinions or family members who have the same willingness toward a certain subject. When combined with the media, these impacts shape public opinion on social issues as well as political beliefs during elections (2). But to what extent will we do to “fit in” with a specific group of people?

In the early 1950s, Polish-American psychologist Solomon Asch experimented with the power of compliance (4). He’d put five individuals in a room and ask them a question with an obvious solution. Four of the volunteers, however, were actors, a frequent trick in social psychology experiments (4). The actors then purposely picked the incorrect response, forcing the actual participants to doubt their intuition or to feel reassured to choose the same answers as the rest of the group (4). About one-third of the participants went along and conformed with the incorrect majority on the critical trials (4). After interviewing the individuals who picked the wrong answer, there were two primary reasons why they opted to cooperate with the group:

• because they want to fit in with the group
• because they believed the group was better informed than they are

This experiment highlighted how humans are significantly impacted by the behaviors and decisions of others, whether they are motivated by sentiments of reassurance or pressure.

Social influence can also arise from past experiences, leading some individuals to act or respond in a certain way to a specific situation. This may be because we use our past experiences as a point of reference for our current situation; regrets, mistakes, and pain that we experienced are used as markers for what we do not want in our lives (3).Work environments, cultural expectations, and beliefs also play a large role in how we act and think, although there are numerous other factors that I have not listed.

To summarize, social influence occurs when we change our own judgment and ideas to belong in our surroundings (1). These effects originate from our experiences, our work environment, the people we associate with, and our errors (3). We create stronger ideas and judgments when we engage with those who share our beliefs, such as friends or family members (2), and we feel reassured when we comply with others (4).

Thank you for reading my blog!

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_influence
2. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0078433#:~:text=Social%20influence%20is%20the%20process,social%20interactions%20with%20other%20people.
3. https://psychcentral.com
4. https://www.simplypsychology.org/conformity.html#Why-Do-People-Conform