Social Influence and Groupthink

In a strongly interconnected society, social influence plays an important role in shaping human behavior. Most human decisions are made through interaction with other individuals in various social contexts; the choices made in this way, in turn, influence human attitudes and behaviors. In this sense, it is very difficult to meet behaviors that are not affected by their exposure to the actions of other people. More often than not, social influence leads to changes in feelings, thoughts, perceptions, attitudes, or behaviors of individuals interacting with each other in different social settings. Previous studies show that social influence is responsible for human behavior that is not only biologically determined, as it refers to how people are affected by real or imagined pressures from other people. Depending on the form and the power exercised over the individual, social influence can take four different forms: conformity, compliance, obedience and disobedience or deviance. Another group process, often encountered, is represented by groupthink. Groupthink, defined as an excessive tendency to seek agreement between group members, occurs when three major factors are met: group cohesion, group structure, and situational context that can be amplified by a stressor. In recent years, social influence has been magnified by social media, with implications in various fields, from marketing to public health. By studying how individuals are influenced by others, we can gain a better understanding of human behavior and the complexities of social interaction.