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Evan Koross

Mr. Cooper

SOC 210

September 24, 2018

Observation #5

Social Influence is defined a “exerting group control over others’ decisions” (Ferris &

Stein 2016). I have experienced being effected by social influence from the places I have visited

like England or Kenya and the people I have spent time with while at those places. Looking at

this from a functionalist perspective, I would have to wonder if traveling to different places and

spending time with different people would be a functional representative of experiencing social

influence or peer pressure and if this would effect the way a person would act.

I experienced different social influences when my family and I traveled to England and

Kenya to visit our cousins while on vacation. Experiencing these different types of social

influences first hand by traveling to and spending time in these two different countries was

difficult and strange to deal with at first but through the adjustments, I was able to find out how I

acted differently. While watching videos showing ways that people are affected by social

influences was another possibility to experience these types of influences, it would be realized

that being involved in these different groups and experiencing social influences would be a more

functional way of showing how social influences occur.

I also experienced these social influences from the same values, but becoming involved

in the different environments was highly present in achieving social influences in the different

countries I visited. Some of the influences I experienced while in England ended up being

different than those I experienced while in Kenya. The reasons behind that was because England
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and Kenya have two completely different environments and the people in those countries act

completely different from one another. For example, I would be watching movies that show the

different ways people react towards social influences and this reminded me of a time when I was

with my cousins in England and I had a change in the way I was acting.

Reunions among friends are other instances where social influence can be effectively

seen. This is where people could be acting one way when they are alone and once together with

one another, their attitude and decisions change whether in a positive or a negative way. These

ideals were driven by what I saw in several movies.

Through the examples that were listed, social influences were functional and are backed

up by being shown in movies and described in stories. These movies and stories attempt to

accurately show how people react towards the pressure they receive from their friends and

family. Actually being involved in these groups and experiencing these influences is more

functional in a person achieving the affects of these forms.

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Work Cited

Ferris, K., & Stein, J. (2016). The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology. New York: W.W.

Norton & Company, Inc.