ABSTRACT
This chapter explores various social factors that may influence the type and degree of resistance to new information and belief change. As social animals that are innately attuned to the presence, and potential influence, of other people, there are a number of basic social needs that guide our search for, and evaluation of, information. Social scientists have long noted the power of the need to belong in producing social conformity as a result of what are called “normative” and “informational” social influence. By adulthood, social influences, working though physical, emotional, and cognitive means, have inculcated within the average member of that society a set of beliefs and attitudes that may be deeply engrained. Particularly subtle are the influences that affect the values, forms of thought, and frames of reference that are considered acceptable. The influences of norms are often moderated by a social anchoring mechanism involving immediate situational pressures.
