Social influence on decision-making

Seminar organized by Jean Decety, 2021-2022 Paris IAS Fellow, as part of his "Social neuroscience" series

Individual cognition and behavior are influenced by the presence of others. It affects cognition, motivation, and decision-making, whether on a basic (e.g., food consumption or sex) or complex (e.g., political attitudes) level. Specific forms of social influence –conformity, obedience, and persuasion—play a critical role in human social interactions. Social influence serves to increase the benefits and/or lower the costs of membership in a social group, promoting efficiency and stability, predictability and coordination, affiliation, and protection.

With the participation of Sébastien Lemerle (sociologist) – Université Paris Nanterre.

Recommended readings:

- Mahmoodi, A., Bahrami, B., & Mehring, C. (2018). Reciprocity of social influence. Nature Communications, 9(1), 1-9.

- Richetin, J., Perugini, M., Mondini, D., & Hurling, R. (2016). Conserving water while washing hands: The immediate and durable impacts of descriptive norms. Environment and Behavior, 48(2), 343-364.

- Stallen, M., Smidts, A., Rijpkema, et al. (2010). Celebrities and shoes on the female brain: The neural correlates of product evaluation in the context of fame. Journal of Economic Psychology, 31, 802–811.