Social influence

St. Paul defends his preaching (Giovanni Ricco).

The Apostle Paul taught: "Do not be deceived:‘Bad company ruins good morals.’" (1 Corinthians 15:33).

According to ScienceDirect and the International Encyclopedia of Education: "Social influence refers to the phenomenon where an individual's behaviors, opinions, or beliefs change as a result of their network ties, often becoming more similar to those with whom they are connected." The Royal Society indicates: "Social learning is fundamental to human development, helping individuals adapt to changing circumstances and cooperate in groups. During the formative years of adolescence, the social environment shapes people's socio-cognitive skills needed in adulthood."

The abstract for the book chapter Sociology of Social Influence from the 2015 book Behavior Sciences states:

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Social influence involves intentional and unintentional efforts to change another person's beliefs, attitudes, or behavior. Unlike persuasion, which is typically intentional and requires some degree of awareness on the part of the target, social influence may be inadvertent or accidental. Social influence often operates via peripheral processing. Hence, the target may be unaware of the influence attempt. Unlike compliance gaining, which is usually goal directed, social influence is often nongoal directed and the outcomes may be inconsistent with, or unrelated to, a communicator's goals. Social influence encompasses such strategies as indebtedness or reciprocity, commitment, social proof, liking and attractiveness, authority, and scarcity.

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Studies in psychology show that social environments strongly influence mental health and success. Being around achievers boosts motivation, enhances creativity, and even improves psychological resilience during challenging times. By choosing and building your social circle wisely, you invest in your personal growth and well-being.

Social network

See also: Social network

A social network "refers to a group of individuals who voluntarily interact on the basis of the interest which they profess for an idea, a problem, a product, etc. A social network may be defined as having three principal elements: consciousness of kind, rituals and traditions of the community and the moral responsibility of the individuals it comprises."

Social influence and Christianity

The Apostle Paul taught: "Do not be deceived:‘Bad company ruins good morals.’" (1 Corinthians 15:33).

In addition, the concept of excommunication and removing an evil person in a church is discussed in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 5:13; Matthew 18:15–17).

Bible verses on surrounding yourself with good people

• Bible verses on surrounding yourself with godly people

Social influence and achievement goals/orientation

See also: Achievement orientation and Goal setting

The abstract for the 2024 journal article Achievement Goals: A Social Influence Cycle published in the journal Annual Review of Psychology indicates:

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Achievement goals have been defined as the purpose of competence-relevant behavior. In this respect they connect one of the basic human needs, i.e., competence, to one of society's core values, i.e., achievement. We propose to look at achievement goals through the lens of social influence. We review both the influence that cultural, structural, and contextual factors have on achievement goal endorsement and the influence that endorsing achievement goals allows people to have within their social space. The review allows us to propose a circular model of the influence on and of achievement goals: The culture, social structures, and contexts that are typical of a certain society shape the specific environments in which individuals develop their achievement goals, which in turn has an influence on the expression and circulation of these achievement goals into society, in a social influence cycle.

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Positive social influence and developing more positive thinking

See also: Positive thinking and Self-talk

According to the Mayo Clinic, surrounding yourself with positive people helps foster positive thinking.

Making one's self-talk employ more positive thinking and employing more constructive/realistic/problem solving/creative thinking is better for one's physical/mental health and increases one's performance at tasks.

According to the Mayo Clinic, "Positive thinking just means that you approach unpleasantness in a more positive and productive way. You think the best is going to happen, not the worst."

Social influence and adolescents

An abstract of a chapter of the 2018 book Advances in Child Development and Behavior by Eva H. Telzer, Jorien van Hoorn, Christina R. Rogers and Kathy T. Do indicates:

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Susceptibility to social influence is associated with a host of negative outcomes during adolescence. However, emerging evidence implicates the role of peers and parents in adolescents’ positive and adaptive adjustment. Hence, in this chapter we highlight social influence as an opportunity for promoting social adjustment, which can redirect negative trajectories and help adolescents thrive. We discuss influential models about the processes underlying social influence, with a particular emphasis on internalizing social norms, embedded in social learning and social identity theory. We link this behavioral work to developmental social neuroscience research, rooted in neurobiological models of decision making and social cognition. Work from this perspective suggests that the adolescent brain is highly malleable and particularly oriented toward the social world, which may account for heightened susceptibility to social influences during this developmental period. This chapter underscores the need to leverage social influences during adolescence, even beyond the family and peer context, to promote positive developmental outcomes. By further probing the underlying neural mechanisms as an additional layer to examining social influence on positive youth development, we will be able to gain traction on our understanding of this complex phenomenon.

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Journal and academic articles

• Positive Social Norms: Research Review, University of Minnesota

• Following the Majority: Social Influence in Trusting Behavior, Frontiers in Science, 2019

• Social Influence and the Collective Dynamics of Opinion Formation, PLoS One. 2013; 8(11): e78433. Published online 2013 Nov 5. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0078433

People's tendency to associate with likeminded people

• New study finds our desire for 'like-minded others' is hard-wired, Science Daily, 2016

• Academic Achievement and Its Impact on Friend Dynamics. Sociology of Education. 2012 Jan; 85(1): 61–80. doi: 10.1177/0038040711417014

Social influence and weight gain

Most individuals are overweight due to their dietary and exercise habits.

See also: Obesity

The article You’re NOT The Average Of The Five People You Surround Yourself With states:

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The first major study on the breadth of social influence was conducted by Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler. The duo was examined the data set from the Framingham Heart Study, one of the largest and longest running health studies ever, when they realized that it covered more than just the heart health of the participants. They were studied for all sorts of medical conditions, and during interviews they were probed with all sorts of demographic questions, including questions about family members and friends. So they started analyzing the data to see what the effects of family members and friends was on something fairly easy and objective: obesity. According to their results, if a friend of yours becomes obese, you yourself are 45 percent more likely than chance to gain weight over the next two to four years. More surprisingly, however, Christakis and Fowler found that if a friend of your friend becomes obese, your likelihood of gaining weight increases by about 20 percent — even if you don’t know that friend of a friend. The effect continues one more person out. If a friend of the friend of your friend develops obesity, you are still 10 percent more likely than random chance to gain weight as well. Your friends make you fat, but so do their friends, and so do their friends of friends.

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Quote

"Associate with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for it is better to be alone than in bad company." - George Washington

Books

• Invisible Influence: The Hidden Forces that Shape Behavior by Jonah Berger. Simon & Schuster; First Edition (June 14, 2016)
• Techniques of Social Influence: The psychology of gaining compliance by Dariusz Dolinski. Routledge; 1st edition (July 3, 2015)
• Conformity: The Power of Social Influences by Cass R. Sunstein and Robert H. Frank. NYU Press (May 28, 2019)
• Friend Of A Friend . . .: Understanding the Hidden Networks That Can Transform Your Life and Your Career by David Burkus, ‎Harper Business (May 1, 2018)
• The Psychology of Social Influence: Modes and Modalities of Shifting Common Sense by Gordon Sammut and Martin W. Bauer

See also

• Social analysis
• Social intelligence
• Accountability partner
• Mentor
• Sociology
• Virtue
• Character
• Reputation

Essay:

• Essay: Positive social influence

External link

• Social Influence: Conformity, Social Roles, and Obedience, Sage Publications
• How Surrounding Yourself With High-Achievers Can Improve Your Performance, Forbes
• I Refuse to Be the Average of the Five People Surrounding Me
• Benefits of positive social influence

Video:

• Social influences | Individuals and Society
• Social influence - video series
• Social Influence: Crash Course