The Effects of Social Influence on Behavior Social influence is generally considered to be the product of information shared among group members leading to common social norms (Simons-Morton, McLeroy, & Wendel, 2012). In regards to the Social Influence Theory (SIT), information refers to opinions, ideas, experiences from any and all sources, about a behavior or thought. Social norms refers to the knowledge, attitudes, values, behaviors, and standards of a population group that is accepted (Simons-Morton et al., 2012). Behavior is effected by social influences through social norms. It is a complicated and dynamic process that is best understood within social contexts and by considering the nature of information as received and interpreted …show more content…
Any programs or interventions developed must address the social context as well as working to change the individuals thoughts about the social norms. The overall strength of SIT is that of the interactiveness of the key constructs (socialization, selection, and social norms). I would point out that the degree to which social influences affect health behavior remains unclear. References DiClemente, R. J., Crosby, R. A., & Kegler, M. C. (Eds) (2009). Emerging theories in health promotion practice and research. (2nd ed). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Flatt, J. D., Agimi, Y., & Albert, M. (20121). Homophily and health behavior in social networks of older adults. Family & community health, 35(4), 312-321. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/FCH.0b01e3182666650 Keyes, K. M., Schulenberg, J. E., O’Malley, P. M., Johnston, L. D., Bachman, J. G., Li, G. & Hasin, D. (2012). Birth cohort effects on adolescent alcohol use: the influence of social norms from 1976 to 2007. Archives of general psychiatry, 69(12), 1304-1313. Retrieved from http://dx/doi.org/10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2012.787 Simons-Morton, B., McLeroy, K. R., & Wendel, M. L. (2012). Behavior theory in health promotion practice and research. Burlington, MA: Jones &
We live in a society where each individual has their own set of thoughts and beliefs. Occasionally one will modify their beliefs and behavior to coincide with a group. This is an example of social influence. Social influence has three main components; conformity, compliance and obedience. The concept of compliance is similar to conformity, however there is a slight difference. Compliance only requires a person to perform a task. The person does not have to agree or disagree with the assignment, just simply complete it. Conformity requires the person being influenced to change their attitudes and or beliefs. An example of this aspect of social psychology is the holocaust in World War II. Adolph Eichmann was a Nazi officer responsible for filling up death camps in Germany. After the war he went on trial in Jerusalem for crimes against the Jewish people, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. On May 31, 1962, he was sentenced to death for the horrible crimes he committed. His defense was "Why me? Why not the local policemen, thousands of them? They would have been shot if they had refused to round up the Jews for the death camps. Why not hang them for not wanting to be shot? Why me? Everybody killed the Jews". A few months after the start of Eichmann’s trial, Stanley Milgram instituted an experiment testing ones obedience to authority. He wanted to find out if good people could do atrocious things if they were just obeying authority. Was Eichmann and millions of others in Nazi Germany decent people who were just following orders? Some other famous experiments that have taken place to test the waters of social psychology are Philip Zimbardo’s Stanford prison experiment and Solomon Asch’s conformity experiments, all ...
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Claim: When making a decision, people are often influenced by the pressure society places on them in order to follow the social norm, or what is socially accepted.
Society is ever changing and the people are just the same. Throughout history, it is shown that people change and mold to their surroundings. But when a deeper look is taken it is revealed that there is a minority that is unwilling or unable to fit these standards as most people do. These people tend to be forced into seclusion or made to fend for themselves. This is shown through the colonization of America and up into more recent times. The Native Americans are the first to make a life on this land, and when the English set up a new society, the Natives are forced onto smaller and smaller plots of land until forced to conform or to live on a reservation. The idea of this societal conformity is shown in “What You Pawn I Will Redeem” by Sherman Alexie, a short story author. Society's pressure to improve an individual living differently is hurting more than it is helping.
Stuart, G. L., Moore, T. M., Elkins, S. R., O’Farrell, T. J., Temple, J. R., Ramsey, S. E.,
The most basic concept in social psychology is conformity. Conformity is the idea that behaviour or a belief is changed in order to follow, or conform, to what is considered the “norm.” One of the oldest experiments to support this notion was conducted in 1935 by Muzafer Sherif (Song, Ma, Wu, Li, 2012 p. 1366). There are two different types of
Social norms are the implicit or explicit rules a group has for the acceptable behaviors, values, and beliefs of its members. Implicit social norms are introduced to us at a very early age, and exert a powerful influence on our behavior into adulthood. Our culture is ruled by social norms. In many situations, people 's perception of these norms have a big influence on their behavior. Implicit social norms are not openly stated, but found out when disobeyed. Implicit rules are rules we conform to as a society, and generally these rules make living together more comfortable. Social norms are important because they define the nature of a group, clarify relationships among members, and express values. They are also important because they create cohesion within the society, and members of that society are very aware when such norms are violated. Social norms are often strictly enforced and offenders are often disliked for their conduct. Also, some norms are more strictly held to in certain situations than in
People are interrelated, so their health is also interrelated. Berkman & Glass (2020) stated that health has been affected by social networks through various types of components including provision of social support, social influence, social
Human behavior is a vital component in the sustainment of health and the prevention of illness. For some decades now there has been an increasing attention to the contribution of psychological and social components to improving and changing health. Health specialists have used the help of models of behavior change in order to reduce health risks. Through all these years psychosocial models have been a leading influence in predicting and explaining health behaviors. The most accustomed are the social cognition models. A central principle of social cognition is that people’s social behavior is comprehended by examining their perceptions about their own behaviour
What is Social behavior? How do we look for it? How does it discern itself from other aspects of psychology? What constitutes social behavior altogether? Social behavior is an extremely diverse field that deals with people in communal situations. It is the study of human behavior in social groups and situations, as opposed to individual situations. It discovers how our behaviors and attitudes are shaped by our interactions with others and the world around us. Humans tend to behave differently when in the presence of others or in group situations, than they would or do when alone. Social behavior, which we may also call social psychology, examines and studies how individuals behave when others are present. Core topics include
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Improves Self- Reported Health Behavior." Psychology & Health 27. (2012): 43-58. Academic Search Premier. Web. 5 Apr. 2014.