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2: Area di apprendimento della psicologia sociale e della psicologia economica e delle decisioni

Conoscenza e comprensione

  • I fondamenti teorici e metodologici della psicologia delle influenze sociali.
  • Le diverse forme di influenze sociali (conformismo, persuasione, obbedienza).
  • Le determinanti delle influenze sociali.
  • I processi dell'influenza sociale nell'era digitale.

Capacità di applicare conoscenza e comprensione

  • Saper individuare e decostruire le diverse forme di influenza sociale.
  • Saper applicare le forme di influenza sociale ai possibili contesti d’uso (e.g., promozione del cambiamento sociale nei gruppi e nelle organizzazioni, salute e benessere, marketing, era digitale).
  • Saper promuovere le capacità di resistenza alle forme indesiderate di influenza sociale.

L’insegnamento è suddiviso in tre moduli tematici. Un modulo si concentra sui fondamenti dell’influenza sociale, considerando le forme indirette (il conformismo) e dirette (l’obbedienza) di influenza. Il secondo modulo riguarda lo studio della persuasione e le diverse strategie per metterla in atto e per resistervi. Infine, il terzo modulo riguarda lo studio degli antecedenti (es. isolamento sociale), degli ambiti di applicazione (es. digitale) e delle forme di resistenza dell’influenza sociale.

I principali modelli teorici e metodologici della psicologia delle influenze sociali

Le diverse forme di influenza sociale

Forme dirette e indirette di influenza sociale

Influenza informativa e normativa

Influenza della maggioranza e della minoranza

L’approccio di Robert Cialdini: le sei armi della persuasione

Gli antecedenti dell’influenza sociale: incertezza ed esclusione sociale

Leggere il cambiamento sociale: come decostruire le forme di influenza sociale

Promuovere il cambiamento sociale: le modalità e gli ambiti di applicazione (es. salute e marketing) delle forme di influenza sociale

L’influenza sociale nell’era digitale.

Resistere all’influenza sociale: come implementare delle modalità di resistenza ai processi di influenza sociale

Nessuno in particolare anche se una buona conoscenza dei fondamenti della psicologia sociale (insegnamenti obbligatori) consente una fruizione più consapevole dei contenuti del corso.

In ogni caso, al fine di rendere il corso fruibile per tutti, le prime lezioni saranno dedicate al ripasso dei concetti fondamentali della disciplina.

I metodi didattici includono l’utilizzo di lezioni frontali, filmati, discussioni in aula ed esercitazioni pratiche. Verranno inoltre utilizzate App (es. Socrative) che permettono agli studenti di rispondere in tempo reale a domande aperte o chiuse poste dal docente tramite un dispositivo elettronico. Tutto il materiale (dispense delle lezioni e, quando possibile, filmati) viene reso disponibile sul sito e-learning del corso, perché sia fruibile anche dagli studenti non-frequentanti.

Agli studenti frequentanti che lo desiderano, è data la possibilità di approfondire alcuni argomenti del corso attraverso due principali attività pratiche. La prima riguarda la capacità di applicare le strategie della persuasione nella prospettiva di Robert Cialdini. La seconda dà la possibilità a ciascun gruppo di far proprio uno dei capitoli proposti del manuale “Oxford Handbook of Social Influence” e presentarlo alla classe tramite l’utilizzo di slide, filmati, e discussioni con l’aula, sotto la supervisione del docente.

Gli studenti/le studentesse Erasmus possono contattare il/la docente per concordare la possibilità di studiare su una bibliografia in lingua inglese e/o la possibilità di sostenere l'esame in inglese.

L’esame prevede una prova orale sull'intero programma. Le domande sono volte ad accertare l’effettiva acquisizione delle conoscenze teoriche e della relativa capacità di applicarle alla realtà sociale. Le risposte a ciascuna domanda saranno valutate in termini di correttezza delle risposte, capacità di argomentazione, sintesi, creazione di collegamenti tra i diversi ambiti, e lettura critica dei fenomeni presentati. I frequentanti avranno modo di esercitarsi sui temi della prova durante il corso. La partecipazione alle attività facoltative proposte durante il corso (vedi metodi didattici) concorre inoltre alla valutazione finale (0-2 punti).

Andrighetto, L. & Riva, P. (Eds.) (2020). Psicologia Sociale: Fondamenti teorici ed evidenze empiriche. Bologna: Il Mulino. ISBN 978-88-15-28794-6 (relativamente ai capitoli 1, 2, 4, e 11).

Cialdini, R. B. (2010). Le armi della persuasione. Giunti Editore. NB: sono da considerare per il programma d'esame le edizioni pubblicate dall'editore dal 2010 al 2021

I seguenti capitoli:

  1. Hales, A. H., Ren, D., & Williams, K. D. (2017). Protect, Correct, and Eject: Ostracism as a Social Influence Tool. In Harkins, S. G, Williams, K. D., & Burger, J (Eds). The Oxford Handbook of Social Influence. Oxford University Press. (Cap. 11)
  2. Sagarin, B. J. & Henningsen, M. L. M. (2017). Resistance to Influence. In The Oxford Handbook of Social Influence. In Harkins, S. G, Williams, K. D., & Burger, J (Eds). Oxford University Press. (Cap. 23).

I seguenti articoli scientifici:

  1. Büttner, C. M., & Rudert, S. C. (2022). Why didn't you tag me?!: Social exclusion from Instagram posts hurts, especially those with a high need to belong. Computers in Human Behavior, 127, 107062.
  2. Chotpitayasunondh, V., & Douglas, K. M. (2016). How “phubbing” becomes the norm: The antecedents and consequences of snubbing via smartphone. Computers in Human Behavior, 63, 9-18.
  3. Cook, J., Lewandowsky, S., & Ecker, U. K. (2017). Neutralizing misinformation through inoculation: Exposing misleading argumentation techniques reduces their influence. PloS one, 12(5), e0175799.
  4. Bertolotti, M., & Catellani, P. (2023). Counterfactual thinking as a prebunking strategy to contrast misinformation on COVID-19. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 104, 104404.
  5. Muscanell, N. L., Guadagno, R. E., & Murphy, S. (2014). Weapons of influence misused: A social influence analysis of why people fall prey to internet scams. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 8(7), 388-396.
  6. Nijssen, S. R., Müller, B. C., Gallinat, J., & Kühn, S. (2022). Applying persuasive messages to reduce public outdoor smoking: A pseudo‐randomized controlled trial. Applied Psychology: Health and Well‐Being.
  7. Pancani, L., Aureli, N., & Riva, P. (2022). Relationship Dissolution Strategies: Comparing the Psychological Consequences of Ghosting, Orbiting, and Rejection. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 16(2), article 9.
  8. Riva, P., Aureli, N., Silvestrini, F. (2022). Social Influences in the Digital Era: When do people conform more to a Human Being or an Artificial Intelligence? Acta Psychologica, 229, 103681.
  9. Timeo, S., Riva, P., & Paladino, M. P. (2020). Being liked or not being liked: A study on social-media exclusion in a preadolescent population. Journal of adolescence, 80, 173-181.
  10. Zonca, J., Folsø, A., & Sciutti, A. (2021). The role of reciprocity in human-robot social influence. Iscience, 24(12), 103424.

Costituisce inoltre materiale d'esame l'ascolto dei seguenti podcast:

a - Io ero il milanese - RaiPlay Sound (https://www.raiplaysound.it/programmi/ioeroilmilanese)
b - Sabrina Efionayi - STORIA DEL MIO NOME (https://choramedia.com/podcast/storia-del-mio-nome/)

Per chi non partecipa ai lavori di gruppo, costituiscono infine parte dei testi di riferimento anche i due seguenti capitoli:

  1. Martin, Leslie R., and M. Robin DiMatteo. (2017). Social Influence and Health. In The Oxford Handbook of Social Influence. Oxford University Press. (Cap. 20)
  2. Kirmani, A., & Ferraro, R. (2017). Social Influence in Marketing: How Other People Influence Consumer Information Processing and Decision Making. In The Oxford Handbook of Social Influence. Oxford University Press. (Cap. 22)
SALUTE E BENESSERE | PARITÁ DI GENERE | RIDURRE LE DISUGUAGLIANZE | CITTÀ E COMUNITÀ SOSTENIBILI
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2: Social psychology, economic psychology and decision-making

Knowledge and understanding

  • The theoretical and methodological foundations of the psychology of social influences.
  • The different forms of social influence (conformity, persuasion, obedience).
  • The determinants of social influence.
  • The processes of social influence in the digital era.

Applying knowledge and understanding

  • Knowing how to identify and deconstruct the different forms of social influence.
  • Knowing how to apply forms of social influence to possible contexts of use (e.g., promoting social change in groups and organizations, health and well-being, marketing, digital age).
  • Knowing how to promote resistance to unwanted forms of social influence.

The course is divided into three thematic modules. One module focuses on the fundamentals of social influence, considering indirect forms (conformism) and direct forms (obedience) of social influence. The second module concerns the study of persuasion and the different strategies to implement and to resist to it. Finally, the third module deals with the study of antecedents (e.g. social isolation), application domains (eg. digital) and forms of resistance of social influence.

The main theoretical models of the psychology of social influences

The different forms of social influence

Direct and indirect forms of social influence

Informational and normative social influence

Influence of the majority and minority

The Robert Cialdini's approach: the six weapons of persuasion

The antecedents of social influence: uncertainty and social exclusion

Reading social change: how to deconstruct the different forms of social influence

Promoting social change: methods and areas of application (e.g., health and marketing) of different forms of social influence

Resisting social influence: how to implement ways of resisting social influence processes

Social influence in the Internet age.

No one in particular; although a good knowledge of the foundations of social psychology enables a more informed understanding of the course contents. In any case, in order to make the course accessible to everyone, the first lessons will be devoted to reviewing the fundamental concepts of the discipline.

Teaching methods include the use of lectures, films, classroom discussions, and practical exercises. Smartphone apps (e.g., Socrative) that allow students to respond in real-time to open or closed questions will be used. All course material (e.g., slides, readings) are made available on the e-learning website of the course so that also non-attending students can use it.

Attending students are given the opportunity to deepen their knowledge of the course contents through two main practical activities. The first concerns the ability to apply the strategies of persuasion from the perspective of Robert Cialdini. The second gives each group the chance to consider one of the proposed chapters of the "Oxford Handbook of Social Influence" and present it to the class using slides, films, and discussions with the classroom, under the supervision of the teacher.

Although this course is held in Italian, for Erasmus students course material can also be available in English, and students can take the exam in English if they wish to do so.

The exam consists of an oral test. Questions are aimed at assessing the effective acquisition of both theoretical knowledge and the ability to apply them to social reality. The answers to each question will be evaluated in terms of correctness of the answers, argumentative capacity, synthesis, ability to form links among the different areas, and the ability to critically present the phenomena. Attending students will be able to practice the topics of the exam during the course. Participation in the optional activities proposed during the course (see teaching methods) also contributes to the final evaluation (0-2 points).

Andrighetto, L. & Riva, P. (Eds.) (2020). Psicologia Sociale: Fondamenti teorici ed evidenze empiriche. Bologna: Il Mulino. ISBN 978-88-15-28794-6 (relativamente ai capitoli 1, 2, 4, e 11).
Cialdini, R. B. (2010). Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. Collins, 2007.

The following chapters:

  1. Hales, A. H., Ren, D., & Williams, K. D. (2017). Protect, Correct, and Eject: Ostracism as a Social Influence Tool. In Harkins, S. G, Williams, K. D., & Burger, J (Eds). The Oxford Handbook of Social Influence. Oxford University Press. (Cap. 11)
  2. Sagarin, B. J. & Henningsen, M. L. M. (2017). Resistance to Influence. In The Oxford Handbook of Social Influence. In Harkins, S. G, Williams, K. D., & Burger, J (Eds). Oxford University Press. (Cap. 23).

The following papers:

  1. Büttner, C. M., & Rudert, S. C. (2022). Why didn't you tag me?!: Social exclusion from Instagram posts hurts, especially those with a high need to belong. Computers in Human Behavior, 127, 107062.
  2. Chotpitayasunondh, V., & Douglas, K. M. (2016). How “phubbing” becomes the norm: The antecedents and consequences of snubbing via smartphone. Computers in Human Behavior, 63, 9-18.
  3. Cook, J., Lewandowsky, S., & Ecker, U. K. (2017). Neutralizing misinformation through inoculation: Exposing misleading argumentation techniques reduces their influence. PloS one, 12(5), e0175799.
  4. Bertolotti, M., & Catellani, P. (2023). Counterfactual thinking as a prebunking strategy to contrast misinformation on COVID-19. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 104, 104404.
  5. Muscanell, N. L., Guadagno, R. E., & Murphy, S. (2014). Weapons of influence misused: A social influence analysis of why people fall prey to internet scams. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 8(7), 388-396.
  6. Nijssen, S. R., Müller, B. C., Gallinat, J., & Kühn, S. (2022). Applying persuasive messages to reduce public outdoor smoking: A pseudo‐randomized controlled trial. Applied Psychology: Health and Well‐Being.
  7. Pancani, L., Aureli, N., & Riva, P. (2022). Relationship Dissolution Strategies: Comparing the Psychological Consequences of Ghosting, Orbiting, and Rejection. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 16(2), article 9.
  8. Riva, P., Aureli, N., Silvestrini, F. (2022). Social Influences in the Digital Era: When do people conform more to a Human Being or an Artificial Intelligence? Acta Psychologica, 229, 103681.
  9. Timeo, S., Riva, P., & Paladino, M. P. (2020). Being liked or not being liked: A study on social-media exclusion in a preadolescent population. Journal of adolescence, 80, 173-181.
  10. Zonca, J., Folsø, A., & Sciutti, A. (2021). The role of reciprocity in human-robot social influence. Iscience, 24(12), 103424.

Listening to the following podcasts also constitutes examination material:

a - Io ero il milanese - RaiPlay Sound (https://www.raiplaysound.it/programmi/ioeroilmilanese)
b - Sabrina Efionayi - STORIA DEL MIO NOME (https://choramedia.com/podcast/storia-del-mio-nome/)

For those who do not participate in group work, the following two chapters will be also required:

  1. Martin, Leslie R., and M. Robin DiMatteo. (2017). Social Influence and Health. In The Oxford Handbook of Social Influence. Oxford University Press. (Cap. 20)
  2. Kirmani, A., & Ferraro, R. (2017). Social Influence in Marketing: How Other People Influence Consumer Information Processing and Decision Making. In The Oxford Handbook of Social Influence. Oxford University Press. (Cap. 22)
GOOD HEALTH AND WELL-BEING | GENDER EQUALITY | REDUCED INEQUALITIES | SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND COMMUNITIES
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Key information

Field of research
M-PSI/05
ECTS
8
Term
First semester
Activity type
Mandatory to be chosen
Course Length (Hours)
56
Degree Course Type
2-year Master Degreee
Language
Italian

Staff

    Teacher

  • Paolo Riva
    Paolo Riva

Students' opinion

View previous A.Y. opinion

Bibliography

Find the books for this course in the Library

Enrolment methods

Self enrolment (Student)
Manual enrolments

Sustainable Development Goals

GOOD HEALTH AND WELL-BEING - Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
GENDER EQUALITY - Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
REDUCED INEQUALITIES - Reduce inequality within and among countries
SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND COMMUNITIES - Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable