Social Influence Flashcards
What are the sources of social influence for consumers
- Opinion leaders
- Word of mouth
What is social influence
the effect that people or groups have upon the beliefs, emotions and behaviours of others
what is social influence driven by
The need to be right (informational social influence) and liked (normative social influence)
What are the three types of social influence
- Conformity
- Compliance
- Obedience
What is conformity
Tendency for people to change their attitudes and/or behaviour in order to adhere to existing social norms
What is a norm
Agreed upon standards of behaviour, of what’s considered “appropriate” or “acceptable”
-can change according to environment or situation
-may be modified over time
What are the two general norm kinds
- Descriptive - what most people ACTUALLY do - most people do not engage in tax fraud
-Can backfire - Injunctive - what people SHOULD do - engaging in tax fraud is wrong
-Moral tone, puts pressure
What are the two experiments for conformity
- The Autokinetic Effect
- Line Study
The Autokinetic Effect
Ps put in dark room - told to watch a pinpoint of light
Had to report how much it moved
1. Participants reacted individually and established a norm.
2. Next, groups 2-3 were asked to agree on judgement
Even after a week participates would still report the number, group answer, not individual answer
Line Study
Test of perceptual judgement
Matching length of a line segment to comparison lines
Group went along with erroneous group judgement 75% of the time
Factors that influence conformity
- Size of the majority
- Presence of a dissenter
- Private responses
- Attractiveness of other group members
- Complexity or difficulty of the task
What is compliance
Doing something because someone asked you to
What are they two types of compliance
- Commitment-based techniques: by getting us to commit to a small item, we are likely to commit to larger items
- Norm of reciprocity-based technique: we should do for those who have done for us
What is obedience
Doing something because a legitimate authority figure asked us to
Difference between compliance and obedience
Compliance = direct request
Obedience = direct orders to perform
Obedience experiment - Stanley Milgram’s seminal experiments 1960s
Two roles: teacher and leaner
If learner made error, teacher had to shock him
As shock increases, teacher could heat that the learner was in pain
65% of the administrated did 450 volt shock - people in lab coats saying its okay
Factors that influenced obedience in experiment
-Make participants feel more responsible for behaviour
-Emphasising the learners pain, increasing physical presence
-Physical presence of authority
-Other ps stop obeying
What is a brand community
Specialised, non-geographically bound community, based on a structured set of social admirers of a brand
Three key components of brand communities
- Consciousness of kind: intrinsic connection and the collective sense of difference from others not in the community.
- Rituals and traditions: social practices which seek to celebrate behavioural norms and values
- More responsibility: sense of duty or obligation to the community as a whole.
Who are special sources of influence
- Opinion leaders
- Not well-known people - friends, family, bloggers, doctors, politicians, celebrities, athletes, business leaders
What is an opinion leader
Act as an information broker between the mass media and the opinions and behaviours of an individual group
How must an opinion leader act
-Knowledgeable about products and willing to share info
-Heavy users of mass media - well connected
-Buy new products when introduced
-Perceived as credible
-Info specific to his/her domain of expertise
What is word-of-mouth
the passing of information from one person to person by oral or written communication
-telling someone time of day, product recommendations, reviews
-15% of everyday conversations include a mention of products, brands, or services
-61% of consumers rely on the advice from others before making product decisions
What makes an idea “sticky”
SUCCES
S - simple
U - unexpected
C - concrete
C - credible
E - emotional
S - stories
