Social Influence: Nonverbal And Non-Verbal Communication

Social influence refers to the effects of the presence of others on the way people think, feel, and behave (Kowalski & Westen, 2011, p.686). Human interaction is grounded in verbal and non-verbal communication which can have a huge impact on the people we interact with every day. When people conform to those around them, they tend to combine together into one body, and they become compliant to an authority figure. Sometimes this will get to the point where an authority figure will give a command, and the group will obey without question. Non-verbal and verbal communication allows humans to interact, conform, and obey each other, as well as their superiors. Human interaction can be broken down into two basic fundamentals, non-verbal and verbal communication. Non-verbal communication can include everything from how a person looks, walks, and acts to their body language. People often form immediate first impressions based on these things alone, before that person ever opens their mouth to speak (Hockenbury & Hockenbury, 2008). Verbal communication can influence this impression and

Large groups of people are subject to a phenomenon known as groupthink which is a psychological phenomenon that occurs within a group of people, in which the desire for harmony or conformity in the group results in an irrational or dysfunctional decision-making outcome (Hockenbury & Hockenbury, 2008). The responsibility that comes with wielding that much power over a group of people can be heady and needs to be taken seriously for the simple fact that it can be abused. Lack of responsibility is easy to see as multiple examples are spread throughout history; Adolf Hitler or Joseph Stalin are great examples of abuse of power, but Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandi exemplify how this responsibility can be used for the greater good as