2007-07-16 11:45:43 · 2 answers · asked by pontiniak 2 in Social Science ➔ Psychology
Influence: 1 the power or ability to affect someone’s beliefs or actions. 2 a person or thing with such ability or power. 3 the power arising out of status, contacts, or wealth. 4 the power to produce a physical change.
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/influence?view=uk
influence (countable and uncountable; plural influences)
The power to affect, control or manipulate something or someone; the ability to change the development of fluctuating things such as conduct, thoughts or decisions; the status of being able to dictate the actions or behaviors of an object or person; moral or political power over a person or group; ascendancy.
I have absolutely no influence over him.
An action exerted by a person or thing with such power on another to cause change.
I'm not able to exercise influence over him.
A person or thing exerting such power or action.
He has been a great influence on the voters during the elections.
(astrology) An element believed by some to determine someone's character or individual tendencies, caused by the position of the stars and planets at the time of one's birth.
(obsolete) The action of flowing in; influx.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Influence
Social influence is when the actions or thoughts of individual(s) are changed by other individual(s). Examples of social influence can be seen in socialization and peer pressure. This is the effect of other people on a person's behaviour.
In the case of peer pressure, a person might be forced into doing something (such as going to an opera) he might not like but is "necessary" to upkeep the positive relationship with the other party, such as the family of their partner. The person could agree to the offering even if he hated it for many reasons; maybe he is the possible inheritor of the family/person that asks him to come to the opera, the family could want to evaluate the person before letting their son/daughter get married with him/her, etc.
Social influence can also be described by the word power, which means to possess the ability to embrace a person/group of people to one's own will. Usually people who possess beauty, significant sums of money, good jobs and so on will possess social influence on other, "ordinary" people. So even if the person doesn't possess any "real" or political power but possesses the things listed above (good looks, money, etc.), he could persuade other people into doing something.
2007-07-17 01:15:35 · answer #1 · answered by d_r_siva 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you can (re)-direct other people' thoughts
2007-07-17 07:20:23 · answer #2 · answered by Leo A. IV aka Lad 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋