Persuasion vs Social Influence

People form groups based on ideology and common interests among them. Harmonization of discordant ideologies is the focus of persuasion in such contexts. Social influence is only witnessed when members conform, comply and obey the already established social norms, setting norms, and cohesiveness. this paper I will explore how persuasion has a big effect on social influence within today’s society. Persuasion Perloff (2010) defines persuasion as a “symbolic process in which communicators try to convince other people to change their attitudes or behaviors about an issue through transmission of a message in an atmosphere. Essentially attitude changes depending on the quality of arguments and the presence of strong persuasion cues (Petty & Robber, 2014). Some of the elements of persuasion are credibility and attractiveness.

The message should be credible and flawless. Moreover, other aspects that may affect persuasion process are fear, self-esteem, credibility (which can either be high or low). The social impact theory establishes the framework that influences an attempt of persuasion is a direct function of social status and psychological distance. Compliance refers to the response to communication; usually, a subject of group strength, immediacy, number of people as well as pertinent similarities. Obedience is an order of respect after a contemplated compliance is actualized (Ziller, 2013). Social influence may broadly be classified into three ways: social institutions which include affiliations to religious ties, political parties or labor unions; interaction with other people at work or home, as well as individual socialization which begins at birth to adulthood through the influence of culture.

The extent to which people are privy to social influence depends on how they are absorbed into the social system. Social Influence & Persuasion. Significantly, persuasion leads to the communication process. (Petty et al, 2014) Perloff (2010) argues that persuasion has become part of the social system because today it is one of the precursors of effective management. In his analysis, he highlights that persuasive message is continuously growing within societies and organizations, and groups, the messages travel faster and further becoming subtler. The impact of the tendency has an overall impact on the functioning of the social system. usually, people will be forced to adjust their attitudes and behaviors according to the principles advocated by the messages. Routledge, 2015. Hogg, Michael A. "Social identity theory.