Abstract
The Psychology of Social Influence: Modes and Modalities of Shifting Common Sense by Sammut and Bauer highlights the many competing facets of ideological influence that sway public political opinion. Doing so, Sammut and Bauer pull back the curtains on the foundations of populism, conspiracism and political groupthink. A timely look into influences on the political public, The Psychology of Social Influence is an examination of what drives modern political phenomena like Trumpism, Brexit and the far reach of fake news. The authors argue that regardless of specific mechanisms – whether leadership or conformity – these influences serve to shift a prevailing common sense. Through what they call ‘normalization, assimilation, and accommodation’ of new ideas and perspectives, fringe beliefs become the. As the discussion of political psychology often finds itself fixated on singular explanations for political trends – from authoritarian personality types to unconventional leadership – The Psychology of Social Influence offers a refreshingly nuanced take on how social influence takes shape in the political sphere. Sammut and Bauer reframe the conversation into one not of a single facet of social influence, but the ‘whirling cyclone’ of ongoing and interacting modes of influence.
An explorative look into the different facets of social influence, the authors cultivate what often reads as comprehensive literature review. They delve into the historical and modern scholarship of eight major social psychological influences. As most of the book remains at a relatively high level of abstraction, the authors do not so much offer a novel explanation for the trends of modern politics, as break down decades worth of social psychology research into eight digestible pieces. They do well to highlight the prevailing research surrounding each of the topics. They tie common theories into understandable real-world examples. As a result, the work avoids being altogether too prescriptive or overly simplistic. Those who may be unfamiliar with the field of social psych are given an effective rundown in the manner of just about a 100 pages.
In addition to elucidating an extensive body of research, the book does well to reframe an existing scholarly conversation under the lens of a changing mass media. The rise of technology and social media has had no small impact on modern democratic interactions. The authors bring about new considerations to an existing body of social psychological theory to highlight how a recent technological boom is able to bring these trends to a much larger scale. The effectiveness of their ‘cyclone model’ of influence is reflected in its vivid imagery. There is an inherent volatility – and they argue often almost violence – to the many factors of social influence at play. Many of these factors exist in a morally dubious grey area between force and persuasion, truth and pandering.
While the Psychology of Social Influence is not void of novel interpretations of the social psychology of the political sphere, much of the author’s original argument is relegated to the third and final section. The breadth and objectivity that make it such an effective rundown of the many facets of social influence also preclude it from building a novel theory or approach to the study of social influence in politics. The periodic table of social influence is a contemporary and interesting way to amalgamate and categorize a myriad of modalities into their three unique phases: normalization, assimilation and accommodation. However, much like the book as a whole, benefits of summary are lost on the sheer size and scope of what is included. The book often feels that it is missing the ease of a bare-bones, high-level model or argument, not bogged down by the dozens of factors or considerations in play. One shortcoming of the book is likely that it lacks a broader argument that can be extracted – it’s ‘elevator pitch’ per say.
Regardless, The Psychology of Social Influence remains a relevant and comprehensive take on the factors which influence political behaviour. Whether it be denying a vaccine or storming a capitol, social psychology is deeply entrenched in the political sphere, and Sammut and Bauer do well to delineate its influences.
