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74 Examples of Social Influence

John Spacey, April 23, 2022

Social influence is change to an individual's thoughts, emotions or behaviors caused by other people. This includes compliance whereby you change your behavior and communication due to social pressures without actually believing in the change. Social influence can also be internalized whereby social processes change what you truly think. The following are common types of social influence followed by a few concrete examples.

Appeal to Authority	Appeal to Emotion
Appeal to Logic	Authority
Brand Awareness	Brand Image
Brand Recognition	Bullying
Celebrity Endorsements	Charisma
Conformity	Consensus Building
Countersignaling	Creative Tension
Culture	Culture of Fear
Debate	Direct Messages
Disinformation	Fear of Missing Out
Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt	Framing
Gaslighting	Group Harmony
Groupthink	Identification
Imitation	Indoctrination
Influence of Music, Film, Literature, Fashion and Art	Information Cascade
Informational Influence	Internalization
Kairos	Labelling
Leadership	Manipulation
Media Messages	Minority Influence
Misinformation	Name Dropping
Norms	Nudges
Obedience	Overcommunication
Peer Pressure	Persuasion
Political Correctness	Propaganda
Public Speaking	Reactance
Reciprocity	Reputation
Rumors	Saving Face
Self-fulfilling Prophecy	Signalling
Social Bots	Social Change
Social Cohesion	Social Compliance
Social Conflict	Social Construction
Social Contagion	Social Identity
Social Institutions	Social Media
Social Media Influencers	Social Proof / Social Status
Social Relationships	Social Tension
Storytelling	Subculture
Traditions	Unanimity

An individual obtains inspiration from music that changes the way they think.

A student doesn't say what they really think in class because they feel the others in the class are unanimously against their opinion.

A shopper chooses a cleaning product from many options because they recognize the brand.

A new recruit goes out to buy black socks when they notice all the other new recruits at their firm all wore black socks with their suit.

You begin to internalize corporate rules, policies and processes that you initially rejected as absurd as you spend more and more time at a company.

You start using a new word or term that offers a new concept.

You change your ways of thinking as you learn a second language that offers concepts and nuanced meaning that don't exist in your native language.

You stop using a word because someone tells you it's politically incorrect.

A salesperson drops the name of the ivy league school they attended to try to influence a client.

A university committee agrees to set a policy that most individual members of the committee view as irrational in an environment of groupthink.

Neighbors feel pressure to follow the norm of keeping their grass and garden in trim condition.

A talented developer gets much respect from other people in their organization and leads far beyond their formal authority.

A government overcommunicates a public safety message in a dull and repetitive way that triggers reactance in people who feel they are being manipulated.

A bully only targets people if they think have been socially excluded by others such that they may lack allies.

A student faces peer pressure to drink at a party.

A storyteller changes the future as they inspire others who make elements of story a reality such that it represents a self-fulfilling prophecy.

You adopt some of the mannerisms of a character from film with whom you identify.

You attach significant meaning and purpose to a cultural tradition that you learned from your family in your youth.

The manager of a team prioritizes group harmony over keeping up with change in their industry.

A brilliant strategist avoids management positions because they dislike the social conflict required to engage in office politics.

A film director thrives in the chaos of creative tension and surrounds themselves with talent who will challenge their every decision. This shapes the work of the director and helps them to avoid mediocrity.

A pragmatic manager changes their strategy after collecting negative feedback from stakeholders.

You try to be nice to a neighbor out of a sense of reciprocity after they help you to find your lost dog.

Notes

Norms are also known as normative social influence.

Overview: Social Influence
Type	Influence
Definition	Change to an individual's thoughts, emotions or behaviors caused by other people.
Related Concepts	Influence » Brand Recognition » Name Dropping » Groupthink » Norm » Leadership »