Social influence and external feedback control in humans [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]

This article aims to unravel the dynamics of social influence by examining the processes that occur when one person is the target of another’s influence. We hypothesized that these processes are part of a feedback loop system in an individual. This loop involves the situation (input), a goal state (...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mario Gollwitzer, Johannes Hewig, Martin Weiß
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: F1000 Research Ltd 2024-01-01
Series:F1000Research
Subjects:
Online Access:https://f1000research.com/articles/12-438/v2
Description
Summary:This article aims to unravel the dynamics of social influence by examining the processes that occur when one person is the target of another’s influence. We hypothesized that these processes are part of a feedback loop system in an individual. This loop involves the situation (input), a goal state (reference), a comparator, a selection mechanism, a feedback predictor, and an action (output). Each element can become the target of social influence, and different types of social influence can be classified and explained by how these elements are targeted. For instance, attempting to persuade another person with strong arguments targets the goal state of the affected individual, while obedience targets the selection mechanism, and violence targets the action. In summary, this article aims to categorize, order, and explain phenomena in social influence research using a feedback loop framework focusing on the influenced individual.
ISSN:2046-1402