<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>This study integrated efforts to identify influential people and to extend theories of structural predictors of compliance. Adults (<italic>N</italic> = 195) were shown a sociogram of 11 people who were connected by friendships. Participants were asked to imagine themselves in this group, identify a position for themselves, select another member for an interaction, and predict their likelihood of complying with the member’s request. Connectors (those wanting to link others) identified with more central positions for themselves and selected more central interaction partners. Agents with greater persuasive impact were more successful in gaining compliance from participants; for connectors, targets’ supportive impact also reduced their likelihood of compliance. Findings have implications for diffusion efforts that depend on interpersonal compliance, and for theories of social influence.</p></abstract>

This study integrated efforts to identify influential people and to extend theories of structural predictors of compliance. Adults (N = 195) were shown a sociogram of 11 people who were connected by friendships. Participants were asked to imagine themselves in this group, identify a position for themselves, select another member for an interaction, and predict their likelihood of complying with the member’s request. Connectors (those wanting to link others) identified with more central positions for themselves and selected more central interaction partners. Agents with greater persuasive impact were more successful in gaining compliance from participants; for connectors, targets’ supportive impact also reduced their likelihood of compliance. Findings have implications for diffusion efforts that depend on interpersonal compliance, and for theories of social influence.

Understanding the Influential People and Social Structures Shaping Compliance

Journal of Social Structure

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

{"article-title":"Understanding the Influential People and Social Structures Shaping Compliance"}

This study integrated efforts to identify influential people and to extend theories of structural predictors of compliance. Adults (N = 195) were shown a...

Understanding the Influential People and Social Structures Shaping Compliance

Published Online: Aug 13, 2019

Page range: 1 - 15

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21307/joss-2019-014

Keywords
Compliance, social networks, network preferences, opinion leadership, diffusion

© 2019 Rachel A. Smith et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Understanding the Influential People and Social Structures Shaping Compliance

Published Online: Aug 13, 2019

Page range: 1 - 15

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21307/joss-2019-014

KeywordsCompliance, social networks, network preferences, opinion leadership, diffusion

© 2019 Rachel A. Smith et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
Compliance, social networks, network preferences, opinion leadership, diffusion