Influence often takes place in a social context, as people interact with others. Social interactions motivate people to agree or disagree with others. In review articles, we highlighted three basic social influence motives involving the self, others, and the relevant issue or topic (Prislin & Wood, 2005; Wood, 2000). When concerned about the self, people hold attitudes that promote a particular self view, perhaps by enhancing or validating the self-concept (Christensen, Rothgerber, Wood, & Matz, 2004). When concerned about others, people hold attitudes that establish certain social relations, maybe ones that align with valued groups or differentiate from derogated groups (Oriņa, Wood, & Simpson, 2004). Finally, when concerned about understanding reality, people hold attitudes that best represent their understanding of the issue. Strongly-held motives are met through careful, systematic processing of available information. When milder, motives are met through more superficial processing, such as use of heuristic cues.

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Matz, D., & Wood, W. (2005). Cognitive dissonance in groups: The consequences of disagreement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology: Attitudes and Social Cognition, 88, 22-37. [request paper]

Prislin, R., & Wood, W. (2005). Social influence: The role of social consensus in attitudes and attitude change. In D. Albaraccin, B. T. Johnson, & M. P. Zanna (Eds.), Handbook of attitudes and attitude change (pp. 671-706). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. [request paper]

Christensen, P. N., Rothgerber, H., Wood, W., & Matz, D. C. (2004). Social norms and the self: A motivational model of normative impact. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 30, 1295-1309. [request paper]

Oriņa, M., Wood, W., & Simpson, J. A. (2002). Styles of influence in close relationships. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 459-472. [request paper]

Wood, W. (2000). Attitude change: Persuasion and social influence. Annual Review of Psychology, 51, 539-570. [request paper]