The study of social influence has been central to social psychology since its inception. In fact, research on social influence began in the 1880s, predating the coining of the term social psychology. The area's influence continued through the 1960s, when it made seminal contributions at the beginning of social psychology's golden age, but by the mid-1980s, interest in this area had waned. Now the pendulum is swinging back, as seen in growing interest in motivational accounts. The chapters in this volume, written by leading scholars, cover a variety of topics in social influence, incorporating a range of levels of analysis (intrapersonal, interpersonal, and intragroup) and both source and target effects. The book also includes chapters on theories that are most relevant to social influence, as well as a set of chapters on social influence in applied settings. This text can contribute to the renaissance of interest in social influence in a variety of ways. Some chapters show us that it is time to reexamine classic topics in social influence in the context of what has been learned since the original research was conducted. Others show how integrations/elaborations that advance our understanding of social influence processes are now possible. The chapters also reveal lacunae in the social influence literature and suggest future lines of research. Perhaps the most important of these will take into account the change from traditional social influence that occurs face-to-face to social media–mediated influence that is likely to characterize many of our interactions in the future.
The significance of the social identity concept for social psychology with reference to individualism, interactionism and social influence
