SOCIAL INFLUENCES ON LEARNING

• Psychologists have spent decades studying the power of social influence, and the

way in which it manipulates people’s opinion and behaviour. Specifically, social

influence refers to the way in which individuals change their ideas and actions to

meet the demands of a social group, perceived authority, social role or a minority

living a group wielding influence over the majority.

Most of us encounter social influence in its many forms on a
regular basis.
 Why people accept social influence?

• Acceptance
We often conform to the norms of a group to gain acceptance of its
members.
• Cooperation
Group conformity can also encourage cooperation when attempting
to achieve a shared goal.
• Cohesion
Group conformity enables a sense of cohesion within a society. 
 Conformity

• While social influence can have a positive effect on behavior, its

disadvantages have been a motivating factor behind research into conformity

• Conformity to a narrow set of behaviors and views can discourage the nurturing of
new ideas which could improve the lives of a group. It can discourage its members
from questioning and debating the beliefs and held by the majority of a group and
its practices.
 Informative social influence (or social proof)

• People feel the need to be informed by accurate information, and when

they lack confidence in their own knowledge, they turn to others in the
hope that they will provide them with the correct information. By
accepting this information, regardless of whether it is accurate, the
person is subjected to social influence.
 Minority Influence

• While conformity usually occurs in response to the norms of a majority - other members in
a social group - individuals or minorities of a group can also exhibit social influence. This is
known as minority influence.

• Minority influence occurs when an individual presents an opinion that is different to that
held by the majority.

• By presenting new information as having been overlooked by the majority, a minority can
persuade other members to reconsider their opinion. This process is known
as conversion. 
THANK YOU!
 References
• https://
www.psychologistworld.com/influence/social-influence?fbclid=
IwAR0MVKXCr1AjK138K_6yOplCJREpFKlya4PSWKKPx_fvTkmI5
OXLg4Pdegs
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymB1vejFthE