Faculty
Jacob de Lichtenberg, cand.merc.psyk, Business Consultant & Author

Course Coordinator
Signe Vikkelsø, Associate professor, Ph.D

This course is based on introductory social psychology with emphasis on the psychology which takes place between people in the workplace, the psychology inside people in working and decision situations, and in people considering to buy a product or service.

Therefore the only academic requirements are 1) English skills and 2) a basic course in organizational theory. Insight into statistics is recommended to understand the results of psychological experiments. All this taken into account, real life experience from the work life in organizations and influence situations are much higher valued qualifications.

This course does not overlap with any program in CBS, even though students from Business Administration and Psychology (HA(psyk.)) might have learned some of the theory covered in this course. Contrary to many courses in CBS, this course mostly covers person to person(s) psychology and communication - and not organizational theory.

Psychology of influence, psychology of effectiveness, psychology of persuasion, psychology of leading communication, the psychology of leadership, and psychology of human attitudes and attitude change. Courses that studies the science and practice of influence has been called many names and covers many disciplines within businesses: Advertising, selling, human development, management, networking and simply understanding some of the dynamics between people within organizations.

Maybe this is due to the origins of social influence. History shows that evolution has given a clear advantage to the social species. Ants, bees, dogs, porpoises, we humans, and other social groups make up a large portion of the biomass of the animal kingdom. One of the defining attributes of all species of eusocial insects and social animals is a distinct means of social influence—a way for one or more members of the species to direct, coordinate, and influence other members of the species. Such social influence determines the allocation of resources within a community of the species and also provides an evolutionary advantage to social species in their quest to gain the resources needed for survival. To understand a social species and to predict the behavior of its members it is essential to analyze the nature of social influence within that species. Such a social influence analysis consists of a description of the social influence tactics used by species members, principles or psychological processes underlying those tactics, how influence is exchanged within a community, patterning of influence within a species and its communities, and theories and models of the operation of influence. This makes influence a very researched area. And the psychology of influence is a corner stone in social psychology – as a well established research area with its own research groups and journals. Given the significance of social influence for understanding behavior, there should be little wonder that a large number of academic disciplines— psychology, social psychology, consumer behavior, marketing, political science, communication, organizational theory, animal behavior, to name just a few—have increasingly turned their attention to understanding this important process.

Having a point of departure in experimental social psychology, this course in influence examines the relations, dynamics, behavior and development of person-to-person interaction, person to group communication, and how influence takes places in the social room.

To some points the psychology of influence is just as much an art as it is a science. And you do not learn to paint just by reading about paintings. As the course is part of an experimental research tradition, experiments and exercises are therefore part of classes and have to be carried out as homework. Lectures will therefore be accompanied by exercises in influence – going from Persuasion Wars (Loroz, 2007) to being exposed to influence from others (Levine, Fast, & Zimbardo, 2004). Students have to participate and have to document their participation in these exercises to pass the course.

Psychological influence, interpersonal relations, communication, sales, and management.

At the end of the course, the student must be able to use the course material, methods, language and theories to:

· Analyze cases, advertises, communiqués, and conversations

· Apply and suggest influence theories or tactics to achieve a specific goal

· Discuss the details, advantages, problems, and pitfalls of a suggested or analyzed influence strategy

Type: Individual case based exam with 40 minute preparation and 20 minute individual oral presentation of solutions to the case.

Aids: Course material (no internet access)

Assessment: 12-grade scale based on oral presentation

Students must document to have participated in at least one group exercise to be granted access to the exam.

The course uses four main sources:

· Aronson, Wilson & Akert (2009). "Social Psychology" 6th edition

· Kassin & Fein (2009). "Social Psychology" 5th edition

· Robert Cialdini (2001): “Influence – Science and Practice”

· Levine, Robert (2003). "The power of persuasion - how we are bought and sold"

Articles and chapters from relevant books are added in several topics.