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. 2024 Feb 16:12:438.
doi: 10.12688/f1000research.133295.3. eCollection 2023.

Social influence and external feedback control in humans

Martin Weiß  1 , Mario Gollwitzer  2 , Johannes Hewig  3
Affiliations

Social influence and external feedback control in humans

Martin Weiß et al. F1000Res. .

Abstract

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.

Keywords: feedback control; social influence; social interaction.

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Conflict of interest statement

No competing interests were disclosed.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Five entrance gates (a-e) to manipulate the feedback loop in social interactions.
The ± sign reflects the “comparator” and indicates that a possible discrepancy can be either positive or negative.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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