ABSTRACT
In any society, people influence and are influenced by others on a day-to-day basis. From birth, parents exert a huge influence over their children’s preferences, opinions and behaviours. As we grow and develop, our peers and friends gradually come to exert a greater influence, teaching us what is appropriate within the group and what is not. Schools and universities influence us through the knowledge they impart and the expectations they impose. Neighbours and colleagues often try to influence us too, attempting to persuade us that their views are right. But probably the most pervasive and recognisable form of influence comes from people we do not even know, in the form of public information and advertising.
