ABSTRACT
Social influence can be defined as broadly as “direct or indirect effects of one person on another” (Stang & Wrightsman, 1981, p. 47). However, its usual textbook treatment is confined to specific forms of influence, in particular, conformity, imitation, and persuasion. More important for the thesis of this paper is the fact that social influence tends to be operationalized in terms of movement to the position advocated. Thus, Kiesler and Kiesler (1969) define conformity as a “change in behavior or belief toward a group as a result of real or imagined group pressure” (p. 2). Baron and Byrne (1984) emphasize influence as altering subjects' “behavior, attitudes, or feelings in ways we desire” (p. 248). The italics are mine.
