Social Influence Theory

Psychology of Social Influence: refers to the ways people alter the attitudes or behavior of

others, resulting from a specific action, command, or request. However, people also alter

their attitudes and behaviors in response to what they perceive others might do or think.

 Social influence phenomena are divided into conformity, compliance, and obedience

categories.

 People exhibit conformity when they change attitudes or behaviors to reflect a

perceived norm. Can be motivated either by a desire for accuracy, called

informational influence, or a need for social approval, called normative influence.

 Individual’s primary concern is to gain social approval and to avoid the consequences

of appearing deviant, and to avoid the criticism, ridicule, and possible rejection that

may follow a failure to conform.

 Variables: culture, age, gender, and the size of a group

Example: https://www.dazeddigital.com/beauty/head/article/53377/1/a-british-influencer-has-

undergone-plastic-surgery-to-look-like-bts-jimin

 Compliance refers to agreement to an explicit request (elicited by a direct request,

usually called upon the individual to buy a product, do a favor, or donate money or

services).

 People exhibit obedience when they respond to a command from an authority figure.

Although individuals are not physically coerced into these responses, they often feel

as if they have little choice but to obey the command.

Example: https://www.buzzfeed.com/lizmrichardson/bad-parents-toxic-parenting-reddit
Social Media Influence: a marketing term that describes an individual’s ability to affect

other people’s thinking in a social online community.

 The more influence a person has, the more appeal that individual has to companies or

other individuals who want to promote an idea or sell a product.

 SMM: companies can harness social media influence to help generate brand

awareness, sell inventory and increase customer engagement. They can implement a

marketing strategy that focuses on increasing the company’s own social media

influence or by hiring established, trustworthy influencers in the space.

 Social media influencer: A user that has established credibility in a certain industry

or content type that has access to a wide audience. Types: celebrity, consumer, micro

influencers, content creators.

Example: https://thedailycougar.com/2021/10/28/social-media-influencers-arent-real-

celebrities/