4PAHPSOP Psychology and Society Week 5
BSc Psychology Year 1 Social Influence
SOCIAL INFLUENCE
5.1. EXPLAIN THE FACTORS THAT INCREASE THE LIKELIHOOD OF
IMITATING OBSERVED BEHAVIOUR AND GIVE AN EXAMPLE OF
SOCIAL CONTAGION.
SOCIAL LEARNING THEORIES
• Animals learn by watching others model those behaviours
o Mirror neurons are activated both when one performs an action and also just by observing
another person perform the action (Uddin et al., 2007)
• The more we watch someone performing an action, the more we think we could do it ourselves
(Kardas & O’Brien, 2018)
o Self-efficacy (the belief that we can do something) motivates us, causing the failure to
appreciate what it actually takes to perform the steps
• Social learning is more likely if the observes identify with the model and if they are liked
• People also shift their attitudes to what they think another person’s opinions are
o This is stronger when they are motivated to get along with the person
o Sinclair et al. (2005) found that participants shifted their attitudes towards African
Americans if the experimenter, wearing an “Eracism” shirt, was friendly; however, they did
not change their views if the experimenter was rude
o Supports evolutionary drives since we would be more likely to pass on our genes if we could
interact and get on with others
Bandura
• Coined the Social Learning Theory (or Social Cognitive Theory), as a framework for understanding
human behaviour, emphasising observation, modelling and imitation
o Integrates cognitive and behavioural approaches
Modelling: When someone influences an individual in some way, they are called the
model. If the individual imitates their behaviour
Imitation: When an individual observes a behaviour from a role model and copies it -
a stimulation of their behaviour, not copying
Identification: When someone is influenced by another because they are similar to
them or want to be like them (e.g. same gender, ethnicity or greater status, expertise)
- doesn’t occur unless there is a reason
Vicarious reinforcement: When an observer sees a model being rewarded or
punished for their behaviour, making it more or less likely for the observer to imitate
the behaviour themselves
Reciprocal determinism: Behaviour, personal factors and environmental influences
interact and influence each other
Bandura et al. (1961)
• American children, 36 boys and 36 girls aged between 3 and 6.5 years old, were placed in a room
with toys and pictures for 10 mins while either:
1
,4PAHPSOP Psychology and Society Week 5
BSc Psychology Year 1 Social Influence
1. Group 1: 12 girls and 12 boys were shown a model being aggressive with the doll
2. Group 2: 12 girls and 12 boys were shown a model shown a non-aggressive model
3. Group 3: 12 girls and 12 boys (control group) were not shown a model
• Aggression arousal: The children were taken to a room with some attractive toys but were told not
to play with the toys
• Test for delayed imitation: They were taken individually in a room containing a Bobo doll, non-
aggressive toys like pencils and plastic farm animals and aggressive toys like a hammer and a
pistol.
• Each child was in the room for 20 minutes, and their behaviour was observed and rated through a
one-way mirror 5-second interviews (240 responses in total)
Findings
• Children exposed to the aggressive model were more likely to show imitative aggressive behaviour
• Children were more likely to imitate the behaviour if the model was rewarded for the actions and
less likely if the model was punished
• Kids who were frustrated were more likely to imitate the violent model (fitting the motivational
state)
• Boys were nearly three times more likely to replicate violent behaviour than girls, but the levels of
verbal aggression expressed were about the same for both boys and girls
Social Learning in the Media
• There can be positive and negative consequences of social learning generated by the media
• People can be encouraged to perform behaviours through media
o Bandura (2009) found that when the Mexican media used a famous actor to advocate for
literacy, enrolment in a literacy program increased from 90,000 to over 1 million people
• However, Phillips (1974) found that there is an increase in suicides and car accidents are media
portrayals of celebrity suicides, increasing with the more media coverage the suicide gets
• Moreover, the 1978 film The Deer Hunter showed soldiers playing Russian roulette (Universal
Studios, 1978), which was followed by many instances of teenagers playing this dangerous game
The Chameleon Effect (Chartrand & Bargh, 1999)
• The chameleon effect occurs when one unconsciously mimics the mannerisms or behaviour of
someone they are interacting with
o It is more likely to occur if the other person is likeable (Cheng & Chartrand, 2003)
2
, 4PAHPSOP Psychology and Society Week 5
BSc Psychology Year 1 Social Influence
• They found that mimicry enhances rapport and liking; participants felt more positively about those
who mimicked them
• Moreover, those with higher empathy and perspective-taking had increased mimicking behaviours
• Suggests that mimicry strengthens social bonds and promotes affiliation
SOCIAL CONTAGION
• Coined by Le Bon (1897) to describe the phenomenon that ‘ideas, feelings, and behaviours seem to
spread among people like wildfires’
• He suggests people in crowds behave as almost as if they were one mind, finding that everything,
including yawns, laughter, moods and depression, can be contagious (Aarts et al., 2004)
• Anticipatory actions can also be affected by contagion
o Genschow and Brass (2015) found that when participants observed people wrinkling their
noses, they were more likely to scratch their own noses
Factors Affecting Social Contagion
Structural Diversity
• The structural diversity of a social network can affect social contagion
• People with connections across different groups are more likely to be exposed to and spread new
behaviours or ideas because they bridge diverse social clusters (Ugander et al., 2012)
Three degrees of influence
• Christakis & Fowler (2011) suggest that behaviours, attitudes and emotions can spread up to three
degrees of separation, affecting not only (up to friends of friends of friends)
Adolescent susceptibility
• Adolescents are particularly vulnerable to social contagion (Martínez et al., 2023), particularly with
regard to harmful behaviours or suicide
• Exacerbated by peer influence and social media, where trends and emotional states can rapidly
spread
Information visibility feedback
• The visibility of behaviours and explicit social feedback, such as likes or comments on social media,
significantly increase the probability of behaviour spreading
o People are more likely to adopt behaviours when they see others engaging with them and
when they receive positive social reinforcement (Hodas & Lerman, 2013)
Unified Contagion Models
• Incorporate elements of both social and biological contagion and reveal epidemic-like dynamics in
social networks
o Suggests that certain behaviours can spread in ways similar to infectious diseases
Mass Psychogenic Illness
• This can occur when a person develops physical symptoms of an illness with no apparent cause,
leading others to feel convinced that they have the same symptoms (psychologically generated)
• In 1998, a whole school evacuated after a teacher reported a gasoline smell in her classroom and
started developing symptoms, causing the rest of the school to also develop the same symptoms
o It was confirmed that there was no physical cause of the symptoms (Jones et al., 2000)
3
BSc Psychology Year 1 Social Influence
SOCIAL INFLUENCE
5.1. EXPLAIN THE FACTORS THAT INCREASE THE LIKELIHOOD OF
IMITATING OBSERVED BEHAVIOUR AND GIVE AN EXAMPLE OF
SOCIAL CONTAGION.
SOCIAL LEARNING THEORIES
• Animals learn by watching others model those behaviours
o Mirror neurons are activated both when one performs an action and also just by observing
another person perform the action (Uddin et al., 2007)
• The more we watch someone performing an action, the more we think we could do it ourselves
(Kardas & O’Brien, 2018)
o Self-efficacy (the belief that we can do something) motivates us, causing the failure to
appreciate what it actually takes to perform the steps
• Social learning is more likely if the observes identify with the model and if they are liked
• People also shift their attitudes to what they think another person’s opinions are
o This is stronger when they are motivated to get along with the person
o Sinclair et al. (2005) found that participants shifted their attitudes towards African
Americans if the experimenter, wearing an “Eracism” shirt, was friendly; however, they did
not change their views if the experimenter was rude
o Supports evolutionary drives since we would be more likely to pass on our genes if we could
interact and get on with others
Bandura
• Coined the Social Learning Theory (or Social Cognitive Theory), as a framework for understanding
human behaviour, emphasising observation, modelling and imitation
o Integrates cognitive and behavioural approaches
Modelling: When someone influences an individual in some way, they are called the
model. If the individual imitates their behaviour
Imitation: When an individual observes a behaviour from a role model and copies it -
a stimulation of their behaviour, not copying
Identification: When someone is influenced by another because they are similar to
them or want to be like them (e.g. same gender, ethnicity or greater status, expertise)
- doesn’t occur unless there is a reason
Vicarious reinforcement: When an observer sees a model being rewarded or
punished for their behaviour, making it more or less likely for the observer to imitate
the behaviour themselves
Reciprocal determinism: Behaviour, personal factors and environmental influences
interact and influence each other
Bandura et al. (1961)
• American children, 36 boys and 36 girls aged between 3 and 6.5 years old, were placed in a room
with toys and pictures for 10 mins while either:
1
,4PAHPSOP Psychology and Society Week 5
BSc Psychology Year 1 Social Influence
1. Group 1: 12 girls and 12 boys were shown a model being aggressive with the doll
2. Group 2: 12 girls and 12 boys were shown a model shown a non-aggressive model
3. Group 3: 12 girls and 12 boys (control group) were not shown a model
• Aggression arousal: The children were taken to a room with some attractive toys but were told not
to play with the toys
• Test for delayed imitation: They were taken individually in a room containing a Bobo doll, non-
aggressive toys like pencils and plastic farm animals and aggressive toys like a hammer and a
pistol.
• Each child was in the room for 20 minutes, and their behaviour was observed and rated through a
one-way mirror 5-second interviews (240 responses in total)
Findings
• Children exposed to the aggressive model were more likely to show imitative aggressive behaviour
• Children were more likely to imitate the behaviour if the model was rewarded for the actions and
less likely if the model was punished
• Kids who were frustrated were more likely to imitate the violent model (fitting the motivational
state)
• Boys were nearly three times more likely to replicate violent behaviour than girls, but the levels of
verbal aggression expressed were about the same for both boys and girls
Social Learning in the Media
• There can be positive and negative consequences of social learning generated by the media
• People can be encouraged to perform behaviours through media
o Bandura (2009) found that when the Mexican media used a famous actor to advocate for
literacy, enrolment in a literacy program increased from 90,000 to over 1 million people
• However, Phillips (1974) found that there is an increase in suicides and car accidents are media
portrayals of celebrity suicides, increasing with the more media coverage the suicide gets
• Moreover, the 1978 film The Deer Hunter showed soldiers playing Russian roulette (Universal
Studios, 1978), which was followed by many instances of teenagers playing this dangerous game
The Chameleon Effect (Chartrand & Bargh, 1999)
• The chameleon effect occurs when one unconsciously mimics the mannerisms or behaviour of
someone they are interacting with
o It is more likely to occur if the other person is likeable (Cheng & Chartrand, 2003)
2
, 4PAHPSOP Psychology and Society Week 5
BSc Psychology Year 1 Social Influence
• They found that mimicry enhances rapport and liking; participants felt more positively about those
who mimicked them
• Moreover, those with higher empathy and perspective-taking had increased mimicking behaviours
• Suggests that mimicry strengthens social bonds and promotes affiliation
SOCIAL CONTAGION
• Coined by Le Bon (1897) to describe the phenomenon that ‘ideas, feelings, and behaviours seem to
spread among people like wildfires’
• He suggests people in crowds behave as almost as if they were one mind, finding that everything,
including yawns, laughter, moods and depression, can be contagious (Aarts et al., 2004)
• Anticipatory actions can also be affected by contagion
o Genschow and Brass (2015) found that when participants observed people wrinkling their
noses, they were more likely to scratch their own noses
Factors Affecting Social Contagion
Structural Diversity
• The structural diversity of a social network can affect social contagion
• People with connections across different groups are more likely to be exposed to and spread new
behaviours or ideas because they bridge diverse social clusters (Ugander et al., 2012)
Three degrees of influence
• Christakis & Fowler (2011) suggest that behaviours, attitudes and emotions can spread up to three
degrees of separation, affecting not only (up to friends of friends of friends)
Adolescent susceptibility
• Adolescents are particularly vulnerable to social contagion (Martínez et al., 2023), particularly with
regard to harmful behaviours or suicide
• Exacerbated by peer influence and social media, where trends and emotional states can rapidly
spread
Information visibility feedback
• The visibility of behaviours and explicit social feedback, such as likes or comments on social media,
significantly increase the probability of behaviour spreading
o People are more likely to adopt behaviours when they see others engaging with them and
when they receive positive social reinforcement (Hodas & Lerman, 2013)
Unified Contagion Models
• Incorporate elements of both social and biological contagion and reveal epidemic-like dynamics in
social networks
o Suggests that certain behaviours can spread in ways similar to infectious diseases
Mass Psychogenic Illness
• This can occur when a person develops physical symptoms of an illness with no apparent cause,
leading others to feel convinced that they have the same symptoms (psychologically generated)
• In 1998, a whole school evacuated after a teacher reported a gasoline smell in her classroom and
started developing symptoms, causing the rest of the school to also develop the same symptoms
o It was confirmed that there was no physical cause of the symptoms (Jones et al., 2000)
3
