1. Submitted To: Ma’am Irum Abbasi
Submitted By: Hina Anjum
Submitted On: Sept. 27, 2012
CHAPTER 8
2012
SOCIAL INFLUENCE:
Changing Others’ Behavior
ANALYSIS
( F A C U L T Y O F S O C I A L S C I E N C E S - D E P A R T M E N T O F M E D I A & C O M M U N I C A T I O N S T U D I E S )

2. Social Influence: Changing Others’ Behavior
November 1, 2012
A Formal Analysis of ‘Social Influence’
The focus of the present chapter is to understand the role of social norms in conformity, the
different techniques for gaining compliance, the role of mood in compliance and the role of
automaticity with respect to situational norms.
Social influence refers to the various ways in which one or more individuals produce changes in
behavior, attitudes, beliefs, or perceptions of others. Most people show strong inclination toward
conformity—a type of social influence in which individuals change their attitudes or behaviors to
obey social norms most of the time. Norms tend to manipulate our behavior chiefly when they
are relevant to us. However, other norms such as situational norms can influence our behavior in
an automatic way even when we are not knowingly aware of them. We show strong tendency
towards conformity because of our desire to be liked by others and the desire to be right or
accurate. In some situations, pressures to conform often produce harmful effects. Strong
pressures to conform can result in situation in which good people commit evil acts because their
personal values are overwhelmed by strong situational forces. So we must try to avoid such
situations in which pressure overpower our personal values. In some situations, minorities can
persuade even large majorities to change their attitudes or behavior.
Individuals use many different tactics for gaining compliance—getting others to do want they
want them to do. Many different and widely used tactics that are common in the social side of
life are foot-in-the-door, flattery, the door-in-the-face, playing hard to get, and deadline
technique. We must be familiar with them so that we can know when they are being directed at
us. Some other people can persuade us even when they are not present through our mental
representation of them and our relationship with them. We are often influenced by them so we
must watch out for such symbolic social influence. Such influence often involves goals related to
our relationships with them or goals with which these people themselves are linked. Obedience is
the most direct form of social influence. In such influence one person orders one or more to do
something, and they do so. Many people readily obey orders from a comparatively powerless
source of authority, even if these orders are unethical, immoral and require them to harm another
person. Such destructive obedience plays a role in much real life violence. Several factors can
help to reduce the happening of destructive obedience such as reminding individuals that they
share in the responsibility for any harm produced, reminding them that beyond some point
obedience are inappropriate, calling the motives of authority figures into question, and informing
the general public about it.