SOCIAL INFLUENCE AND

PERSUASION

Reporter: Adorable, Amor M.

Social Influence and Persuasion
– are fundamental functions of communication.
 Social Influence
– social influence is a phenomenon that involves a
change in behaviour, actions or perspective as a
result of a stimulus in environment. 
– according to French and Raven, agents of change
included not just individuals and groups, but also
norms and roles. 
 Areas of Social Influence
• (3) Three areas of social influence are conformity,
compliance and obedience.
– Conformity refers to the act of changing a particular
belief or behaviour to fit in with one's social
environment.
– Compliance is described as a particular kind of response,
acquiescence to a particular kind of communication, a
request.
– Obedience refers to a social influence in which a person
follows explicit instructions that were given by an
authority figure.
 Two Types of Social Influence
• Normative influence - produces public
compliance
– Inner belief that the group is wrong
• Informational influence - produces private
acceptance
– Genuine inner belief that others are right
 NORMATIVE INFLUENCE
• When we conform to others because we want them to like and accept us.

• Yielding to group pressure because a person wants to fit in with the group.
E.g. Asch Line Study.

• Conforming because the person is scared of being rejected by the group.

• This type of conformity usually involves compliance – where a person

publicly accepts the views of a group but privately rejects them.

• EXAMPLE/S:
– Standing ovations, peer pressure, fashion trends, body image, and following
traditions are just a few examples of normative conformity.
• When we conform to others because we believe they have accurate information.

• This usually occurs when a person lacks knowledge and looks to the group for guidance.

• Or when a person is in an ambiguous (i.e. unclear) situation and socially compares their
behavior with the group. E.g. Sherif's Study.

• This type of conformity usually involves internalization – where a person accepts the views of
the groups and adopts them as an individual.

• EXAMPLE/S:
– In entertainment - use specially planted audience members
– In social media - use ghost followers, exist for the sole purpose of increasing social
proof on social media.
– The environment - is the consumption of bottled water.
– You can simply watch how others are behaving, what they react to, what is going on
when they cheer, when they boo, etc. In this way, you seek information from your social
surroundings, which influence your behavior.
 REFERENCE
Retrived from url:
http://zehrenfriedman.com/influence-skills-blog/2015/10/12/whats-the-
difference-between-persuasion-and-influenceinfluence-tip-2
https://www.civilserviceindia.com/subject/General-Studies/notes/social-
influence-and-persuasion.html
https://www.alleydog.com/glossary/definition.php?
term=Informational+Social+Influence
https://www.simplypsychology.org/conformity.html#ref
Asch, S. E. (1951). Effects of group pressure upon the modification and
distortion of judgments. In H. Guetzkow (Ed.), Groups, leadership and
men. Pittsburg, PA: Carnegie Press.
Sherif, M (1935). "A study of some social factors in perception". Archives of
Psychology. 27: 187.
The techniques of Social
Influence
Reporter: Misoles, L.
 Techniques Based on Commitment
and Consistency

 Once people make a commitment, they feel

both internal and external pressure to behave
consistently with that commitment.
• foot-in-the-door technique.- It is based on the
principle of starting with a small request in
order to get eventual compliance with a larger
request.

• low-ball technique.- the requester first gets a

person to comply with a seemingly low-cost
request and only later reveals hidden additional
costs.
• Bait-and-SwitchTechnique.- a technique
based on commitment, in which one draws
people in with an attractive offer that is
unavailable and then switches them to a less
attractive offer that is available.
• Labeling Technique.- The labeling technique
is related to the self-fulfilling prophecy. People
tend to live up to the label others give them.
• Legitimization-of-Paltry Favors
Technique.- This technique begins with
asking for a ridiculously insignificant favor.
People tend to give more often and more
money if they are told that even a very little
will help.
Techniques Based on Reciprocation

• The appreciation of reciprocity is deeply

rooted in human nature; one sign of this is that
people feel guilty if someone does them a
favor and they cannot repay it in some way.
• Door-i n-the-Face Technique.- people to
comply with a request is to start by making an
inflated request (that will most likely be
rejected) and then later retreat to a smaller
request. The smaller request, the one that was
desired all along.
 That’s-not-all technique.- the one first
makes an inflated request but, before the
person can answer yes or no, sweetens the deal
by offering a discount or bonus.
 Techniques Based on Scarcity
• According to scarcity principle: rare
opportunities are more valuable than plentiful
opportunities.
 people takes more effort to obtain rare items
than plentiful items.
 Techniques Based on Capturing and
Disrupting Attention
• When influencers have strong arguments,
they want to attract the attention of targets
because they want people to think about the
convincing arguments, but when influencers
have weak arguments, they want to disrupt the
attention of targets so they won’t think too
deeply about the unconvincing arguments.
 Reference:
• Deutsch, M. & Gerard, H. B. (1955). 
"A study of normative and informational social influences upon individual judgment"
 (PDF). Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology. 51 (3): 629–636. doi:10.1037/h0046408
. PMID 13286010.
• Aronson, Elliot, Timothy D. Wilson, and Robin M. Akert. Social Psychology. Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2010. Print.
• Wood, W.; Lundgren, S.; Ouellette, J.; Busceme, S. & Blackstone, T. (1994). "Minority
Influence: A Meta-Analytic Review of Social Influence Processes". Psychological
Bulletin. 115 (3): 323–345. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.115.3.323. PMID 8016284.
• Merton, Robert K. (1948), "The Self Fulfilling Prophecy", Antioch Review, 8 (2 (Summer)):
193–210, doi:10.2307/4609267, JSTOR 4609267
 DAGHANG SALAMAT
SA
PAGPAMINAW 
PS: AMEN HAHAHA
Persuasion
Persuasion is a powerful force in daily life and has a
major influence on society and a whole. Politics, legal
decisions, mass media, news, and advertising are all
influenced by the power of persuasion and influence us in
turn.

Perloff (2003) persuasion can be defined as "...a

symbolic process in which communicators try to
convince other people to change their attitudes or
behaviors regarding an issue through the
transmission of a message in an atmosphere of 
free choice."
• Social influence through persuasion is the
most prevalent as well as the most civil means
of social control available to governments as
well as to individuals. In contrast to satisfying
wants and needs by using force, violence,
terror or threats, persuasion provides an
option that is more likely to be successful,
lasting, satisfying, and rewarding for everyone.
• The general model of the Yale approach,
shown in the table below, is still employed as
the basis of contemporary communications
theory in marketing and advertising (see Belch
& Belch).
 Factors Process Outcome
Message Attention Opinion change
•Order of arguments  
•One- vs two-sided arguments
•Type of appeal
•Explicit vs implicit conclusion

Source Comprehension Perception Change

•Expertise
•Trustworthiness
•Likeability
•Status
•Race

Audience Acceptance Affect change

•Persuability .
•Initial position .
•Intelligence Action Change
•Self-esteem
•Personality
 Characteristics of a communication likely to
lead to attitude change
Finding         Factor

•Experts are more persuasive than non-experts (Hovland & Weiss,         Communicator
1952). The same arguments carry more weight when delivered by
someone who presumably knows all the facts.

•Popular and attractive communicators are more effective than         Communicator
unpopular or unattractive ones (Kiesler & Kiesler, 1969).

•People who speak rapidly are more persuasive than people who         Communicator
speak slowly (Miller, Maruyama, Beaber, & Valone, 1976). One reason
is that rapid speech conveys the impression that the speaker knows
what he or she is talking about.
  
How to persuade someone?

• How do you persuade someone?

• Maintain eye contact and smile. Be polite, cheerful, and charismatic. ...

• Know your product. Show them all the benefits of your idea. ...

• Prepare for any contradictions. ...

• Don't be afraid to agree with the person. ...

• Use indirect communication with leaders. ...

• Detach and stay calm in conflict. ...

• Be confident.
References:
• https://theunboundedspirit.com/persuasive-c
ommunication-psychology-of-persuasion/
• https://theunboundedspirit.com/persuasive-c
ommunication-psychology-of-persuasion/
• https://www.realsimple.com/work-life/life-
strategies/change-someones-mind
 Resisting Social Influence

Are people that can resist pressure to

conform or obey because of their
personality.
Factors of Resisting to conform or obey

• - the role of allies – it gives you more confidence in

your own opinion if they give the same answer as
you.
• -moral considerations- research shows that if you
are being asked to conform to something you
consider to be morally wrong, then conforming
levels drop drastically.
• - The non-conformist personality- often a person
who resists majority is just less concerned with social
norms, so they feel less pressure to “fit in”.
 Attitude innoculation
• - is a technique used to make people immune
to attempts to change their attitude ny first
exposing them to small arguments aginst their
position
 Forewarned is Forarmed
• - You are saying that if you know about the
problem or situation in advance, you will be
able to deal with it when you need it.
 Stockpile Resources
• - resisting persuasion requires resources.