Social Influence

Direct and Indirect Processes

Joseph P. Forgas, Kipling D. Williams

• Publisher: Psychology Press
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781317710295
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: History & Theory in Psychology
• Index: Psychology

Social influence processes play a key role in human behavior. Arguably our extraordinary evolutionary success has much to do with our subtle and highly developed ability to interact with and influence each other. In this volume, leading international researchers review and integrate contemporary theory and research on the many ways people influence each other, considering both explicit, direct, and implicit, indirect influence strategies. Three sections examine fundamental processes and theory in social influence research, the role of cognitive processes and strategies in social influence phenomena, and the operation of social influence mechanisms in group settings. By applying the latest research to a wide range of interpersonal phenomena, this volume greatly advances our understanding of social influence mechanisms in strategic social interaction, and should be of interest to all students, researchers and practitioners interested in the dynamics of everyday interpersonal behavior.

Part I
Social Influence: Fundamental Processes and Theories

1
Social Influence

Introduction and Overview

JOSEPH P. FORGAS KIPLING D. WILLIAMS

Social Influence in Social Psychology

Social Influence and Social Integration

Social Influence: Some Historical Antecedents

Outline of the Book

Part I. Social Influence: Fundamental Processes and Theories

Part II. The Role of Cognitive Processes and Strategies in Social Influence

Part III. Social Influence and Group Behavior

Conclusion

The study of social influence processes is one of the core issues in psychology. All interpersonal behavior involves mutual influence processes, and coordinated interaction by larger social units, such as groups, and even whole societies, is only possible because our behavior is guided by pervasive and shared forms of social influence. The remarkable capacity of human beings to cooperate and collaborate with each other, and to establish ever-more complex forms of social organization provides ultimate evidence for our highly developed ability to influence, and to be influenced by others (see Schaller, this volume). Social influence is thus arguably the main currency of social life. Indeed, Allport's (1924) classic definition of social psychology as the study of how individuals are influenced by the real or imagined presence of others clearly illustrates how crucial influence processes are to all aspects of social life (see also Ng, this volume).

Surprisingly, social psychologists typically think about social influence processes in a much more restrictive way. Although all our textbooks contain key sections on 'social influence' processes, what is discussed there is usually limited to dramatic illustrations of various forms of direct interpersonal influence, such as social facilitation effects, conformity, obedience, and persuasion. It seems that our fascination with these impressive demonstrations of direct influence in classic experiments by Sherif, Asch, and Milgram perhaps limited our interest in the much more general and pervasive aspects of influence processes.

We want to argue in this book that social influence should be conceptualized in a much more broad and inclusive manner. All forms of human interaction involve mutual influence processes, and these function at a variety of levels—cognitive, interpersonal, and cultural. Further, influence is frequently indirect rather than direct. Others often influence us in ways we are not even aware of (see Dijksterhuis, this volume), and social influence shapes not only our behaviors, but also our thoughts, memories, and cognitive representations (see Bless, Strack, and Walther, also Petty, and Strack and Mussweiler this volume). This book, then, seeks to provide an informative, scholarly yet readable overview of recent advances in this field. But this is not all; we also hope to advocate a new, radically expanded vision of what social influence entails.

Rather than merely focusing on traditional research areas mainly concerned with direct, face-to-face influence processes, contributions to this volume advocate an expanded theoretical approach that also incorporates many of the insights gained from contemporary research on social cognition and motivation. Few attempts have been made so far to integrate the contributions to social influence research made by these distinct theoretical frameworks, or to directly link research on social influence processes with recent work on social cognitive and motivational processes. Yet with the rapid accumulation of empirical evidence, there is now a pressing need for such a more inclusive and integrative theoretical treatment of this field. This is one of the main objectives of this volume.

The book is organized into three main sections. After this general introductory chapter by the editors the first section considers some fundamental processes and theories applicable to social influence research (chapters by Cialdini, Knowles, Latané & Bourgeois, Schaller, Dijksterhuis, and Tedeschi). The second section of the book also contains six chapters, and looks at the role of cognitive processes and strategies in social influence phenomena (chapters by Petty, Forgas, Bless, Ng, Strack, and Williams & Dolnik). The third section of the book turns to perhaps the most complex domain of social influence research: the operation of social influence mechanisms in group settings (chapters by Stangor & Sechrist, Terry & Hogg, Harkins, David & Turner, Martin & Hewstone, Spears, Postmes, Lea, & Watt), This introductory chapter surveys the major themes covered in the book, highlights the links between the various chapters, and proposes future avenues for research in this area.

Social Influence in Social Psychology

Of course, the study of social influence processes has a long and proud tradition in social psychology. Indeed, our textbooks continue to feature social influence research prominently, and some of our most intriguing research findings come from this area. When we want to impress our students, friends, and mothers-in-law with the importance and relevance of our discipline, the work of Sherif, Asch, and Milgram on conformity and obedience are often the first examples that come to mind. Despite this proud tradition, it is fair to say that contemporary interest in direct social influence processes has been somewhat in decline. Very few people continue to do this kind of research. At a recent meeting of experimental social psychologists, Eliot Aronson commented on the sad demise of what he called "impactful" research on "real" interpersonal behavior. What has happened?

Social psychology has undergone something like a paradigmatic revolution since the "crisis" of the 1970s. With the emergence of the social cognitive paradigm, we now spend much more time studying the internal cognitive representations, thoughts, and motivations of isolated social actors rather than their reactions to real social situations. During the past few decades social psychology has increasingly adopted an individualistic social cognitive paradigm that has mainly focused on the study of individual thoughts and motivations (Forgas, 1981); as a consequence, the study of direct interpersonal behaviors has declined in relative importance (Wegner & Gilbert, 2000). Although we have made major advances in understanding how people process information about the social world, relatively few attempts have been made to explore how processes of social cognition and motivation may find expression in interpersonal influence behaviors.

Within the social influence field, this shift towards social cognition has been reflected in a growing interest in persuasive communication phenomena, and in particular, research on the influence of different information processing strategies on how individuals respond to persuasive messages (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986). Clearly both approaches are necessary if we are to understand social influence processes. However, perhaps the time has come when we should look toward a greater integration between impactful, behavioral research, and cognitive and motivational approaches. As several contributors to this volume argue, social influence research has been handicapped by a rather restrictive conceptualization of what influence entails. We now know that social influence often works not because people are exposed to explicit pressures, but because they are encouraged to imagine events (Cialdini, this volume), experience particular moods (Forgas, this volume), are subconsciously influenced by incidental observations (see chapters by Dijksterhuis and by Petty, this volume), or engage in spontaneous group interactions (Latané & Bourgeois, Stangor & Jost, Sechrist & Jost, Terry & Hogg, David & Turner, this volume). In other words, in addition to highly familiar direct and face-to-face influence phenomena, influence also operates at cognitive, group, social, and cultural levels.

Mass societies function well because they have developed efficient ways of influencing and coordinating the behavior of 'strangers' in ways of which we are barely aware. We are constantly bombarded with influence messages designed by a new class of 'social influence professionals' (see chapter by Cialdini, this volume), and we certainly need to understand better how these often invisible influence processes operate (see chapters by Schaller, Dijksterhuis, Petty, Ng, Terry & Hogg, David & Turner).

We also want to argue in this volume that the traditional juxtaposition of the 'behavioral' and the 'cognitive' aspects of social influence is neither helpful nor necessary. A meaningful explanation of social influence phenomena must be based on an integrated analysis of the thoughts and motivations of individual social influence agents and recipients (see, for example, chapters by Cialdini, Knowles, Butler, & Linn, Forgas, Ng, this volume). On the other hand, social influence always occurs in real social settings, and we must pay careful attention to the personal relationships, group memberships, and cultural expectations that provide the pragmatic context for all influence processes (see Terry & Hogg, David & Turner, Spears, Postmes, Lea, & Watt, this volume). In a way, the dichotomy between cognitive and behavioral, and indirect and direct influence processes reflects one of the oldest debates in the history of psychology. Should psychology be primarily the study of 'mind,' or the study of 'behavior' (Hilgard, 1980)?

We believe that understanding social influence processes, by definition, requires paying as much attention to the thoughts, motivations, and feelings of social actors—the 'mental world'—(Bless & Forgas, 2000) as to actual interpersonal behaviors. Thus, the proper focus of influence research should be the analysis of the interaction between the mental (cognitive) and the behavioral aspects of social influence processes. We referred to 'direct' and 'indirect' processes in the title of this book intentionally, to signify the close interdependence between the mental (cognitive) and the behavioral, interpersonal aspects of social influence.

Surprisingly, the important insights gained from the cognitivist paradigm that has dominated social psychology for the past few decades have only rarely been applied to enrich our understanding of social influence processes. One important objective of this book is to rectify this imbalance by focusing on both the study of explicit, direct influence strategies, and implicit, indirect influence mechanisms as they interact in many kinds of real-life influence episodes.

The terms direct and indirect social influence also indicate another, related distinction. Social influence doesn't always operate in a direct, observable way as one persons behavior is manifestly influenced by an influence agent. Often we are influenced in more indirect ways. For example, the norms, values, and beliefs of the social groups we belong to all exert a profound influence on our thoughts and behaviors in subtle and not so subtle ways—yet people are not always aware of such influences. Social influence can thus be exercised not only by direct person-to-person mechanisms such as social facilitation, conformity, obedience, or persuasion, but also by more indirect, diffuse means such as attempts to change the attitudes and norms of larger social groups. Further, many kinds of influence mechanisms operate in ways that influence recipients are not even aware of. Cognitive and behavioral priming effects as discussed by Dijksterhuis and Petty in this text represent examples of such indirect influence processes.

Some contributors to this volume, such as Ng, argue that we should distinguish between three fundamentally different kinds of influence phenomena. According to Ng, Level 1 influence involves direct, person-to-person influence. Level 2 influence relies on the indirect manipulation of group norms and customs and social and cultural attitudes. Level 3 influence is the most elusive and indirect, when influence recipients are not e...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• About the Editors
• Contributors
• Preface
• I. SOCIAL INFLUENCE: FUNDAMENTAL PROCESSES AND THEORIES
• II. THE ROLE OF COGNITIVE PROCESSES AND STRATEGIES IN SOCIAL INFLUENCE
• III. SOCIAL INFLUENCE AND GROUP BEHAVIOR
• Author Index
• Subject Index