Communication is
a wide world of many definitions that is said to have mysterious aspects, which
behind them stand theories
based on theories based on theories.
During my
academic studies, I became acquainted with the matter "Definition and
Characteristics of Influence".
In this essay
I will describe briefly three major influence processes I've learned:
Compliance is a process in which an
individual agrees to adopt the recommendations or requirements of an "Influence
Agent", hoping to receive positive feedback.
The power of the
"Influence Agent" lies in his ability to provide "rewards" and
"punishments" according to his own personal requirements.
For example, the relationship between a
captive and his captors; the captor will cooperate with his captors, so
they are pleased with him and therefore reward him by improving his
living conditions in captivity (more food, more sleep, etc).
Another example is an employer-employee relationship; A junior
employee will try to please his boss, so that one day he
might promote him.
Identification is when an individual adapts
the attitude and behavior of the "Influence Agent",
which is derived by wishing to be like him.
Unlike in the process of compliance, the
"Influence Agent" doesn't have the ability to reward
the "Affected Individual", for good or bad behavior, but he
does have the power to gain his affection and admiration.
The identification helps the
individual define his identity and align himself with the
desired social group.
An example of this process
can be best seen among teenagers, who idolize a certain person, so they
imitate their style of dress and behavior, hoping to
be like them.
Internalization happens when an
individual agrees to take a point of view introduced to him, since it
matches his perception of reality or finds it compatible to
his moral system.
In this process, a person accepts
the idea only after examining and judging the message logically and
understanding its relevance in solving the problem on the matter.
Contrasting the previous
processes, in this process the individual is not affected by the power
of the "Influence Agent".
Taking a specialist's
recommendation is a good way to demonstrate internalization.
If a person takes the
doctor's advice to practice more sports, it is because he understands,
logically, that it is good for his health.
After examining the Influence
Processes, I began to wonder about the meaning of various
actions all of us with an active profile do on the social network –
Facebook.
Do we click "Like" on
another person's update because we want to please him so he might "Like"
us back? Was the "Like" meant for us to let another person know how
much we admire them? Maybe the "Like" button is because we internalize
and empathize with the content of the updates or displayed image?
Even though clicking
"Like" is a very basic action in social networking, it might
have great significance in this world.
The influence processes I
mentioned earlier apply to any action we take in the social
network, from a happy birthday or good luck wish or commenting on a status
update to an article or picture on your profile page after seeing it on
someone else's profile.
Until
now, I haven't really thought about the things I do when I'm exposed to certain
content and respond to
them.
Now, before your
finger hits "Like" or before you respond to
something or share content that someone else introduced to you - think to
yourself, on which level were YOU affected when you saw the content?
:Just for fun
.feel free to comment and upload songs with "I like it" in them
!And stay tuned for more
Ben
