Opinion leadership

Last updated

Opinion leadership is leadership by an active media user who interprets the meaning of media messages or content for lower-end media users. Typically opinion leaders are held in high esteem by those who accept their opinions. Opinion leadership comes from the theory of two-step flow of communication propounded by Paul Lazarsfeld and Elihu Katz. [1] Significant developers of the opinion leader concept have been Robert K. Merton, C. Wright Mills and Bernard Berelson. [2] This theory is one of several models that try to explain the diffusion of innovations, ideas, or commercial products.

Contents

Opinion leaders play an important role in information flow, because we tend to seek advice from others in the social environment. Information from the mass media does not directly flow to the target audiences, but through a mediation process, in which influential people digest the information and spread it to the public. Opinion leaders have certain characteristics that make them influential in the decision-making process and the behavior of the public. Through knowledge sharing, opinion leaders may help others do jobs better, facilitate personal development and improve personal recognition. [3]

According to Yufu Kuwashima, an opinion leader’s power and influence come from the network their followers create. [4] Dedicated supporters reinforce the leader’s messaging to other media consumers, strengthening their influence. If one were to remove the opinion leader there would still be a network of connected users that could share ideas with one another. An opinion leader has constructed this network, but the ability to influence others lies in the network itself. [4] In order to effectively influence the opinion of followers, they must find the leader to be above them. [5]

Types

Merton [6] distinguishes two types of opinion leadership: monomorphic and polymorphic. Typically, opinion leadership is viewed as a monomorphic, domain-specific measure of individual differences, that is, a person that is an opinion leader in one field may be a follower in another field. [7] [8] An example of a monomorphic opinion leader in the field of computer technology, might be a neighborhood computer service technician. The technician has access to far more information on this topic than the average consumer and has the requisite background to understand the information, though the same person might be a follower at another field (for example sports) and ask others for advice. In contrast, polymorphic opinion leaders are able to influence others in a broad range of domains. Variants of polymorphic opinion leadership include market mavenism, [9] personality strength [10] and generalized opinion leadership. [11] So far, there is little consensus as to the degree these concepts operationalize the same or simply related constructs. [12]

Characteristics

In his article "The Two Step Flow of Communication", Elihu Katz, [13] [14] found opinion leaders to have more influence on people's opinions, actions, and behaviors than the media. Opinion leaders are seen to have more influence than the media for a number of reasons. Opinion leaders are seen as trustworthy and non-purposive. People do not feel they are being tricked into thinking a certain way about something if they get information from someone they know. However, the media can be seen as forcing a concept on the public and therefore will be less influential. While the media can act as a reinforcing agent, opinion leaders have a more changing or determining role in an individual's opinion or action.

This does not mean that opinion leaders can be always easily used by external agents to promote what they want to promote. Influential individuals might not be willing to change their behavior and may even lose their opinion leader status, if they do. [15]

Factors for leadership

In his article, Elihu Katz [1] answers the question, "Who is an opinion leader?" One or more of these factors make noteworthy opinion leaders:

  1. expression of values;
  2. professional competence;
  3. nature of their social network.

There are personal characteristics that make up an opinion leader. Opinion leaders are individuals who obtain more media coverage than others and are especially educated on a certain issue. Opinion leaders that utilize social media are more likely to be introverted. Introverts don't receive as much interpersonal interaction offline. [16] They can compensate by creating a controllable network of followers to interact with and gain recognition from in a social context. Opinion leaders seek the acceptance of others and are especially motivated to enhance their social status. [17] Public individualism is the idea that an individual will act different from others because they are different. [18] Kenny K. Chan and Shekhar Misra found opinion leaders possess this trait. “The individuation process and this personal-influence process both involve a reciprocal interchange which involve a willingness to stand out in a group situation." [19] An opinion leader’s willingness to stand out is what sets them apart from their followers. In the jargon of public relations, they are called thought leaders. Research has also found that opinion leaders tend to be boundary spanners. [20]

In relation to their followers, opinion leaders maintain a particular degree of separation in terms of socio-economic status. According to Gershon Feder and Sara Savastano, it is not effective for leaders to be a part of the same socio-economic status as followers. “opinion leaders who are superior to followers, but not excessively so, are more effective in transmitting knowledge.” [21] Meanwhile the leader must be close enough in standing to relate to the followers they want to influence. [22]

Examples

In a strategic attempt to engage the public in environmental issues and his nonprofit, The Climate Project, Al Gore used the concept of opinion leaders. Gore found opinion leaders by recruiting individuals who were educated on environmental issues and saw themselves as influential in their community and amongst their friends and family. From there, he trained the opinion leaders on the information he wanted them to spread and enabled them to influence their communities. By using opinion leaders, Gore was able to educate and influence many Americans to take notice of climate change and change their actions. [23]

Matthew Nisbet describes the use of opinion leaders as intermediaries between scientists and the public as a way to reach the public via trained individuals who are more closely engaged with their communities, such as "teachers, business leaders, attorneys, policymakers, neighborhood leaders, students, and media professionals." Examples of initiatives that take this approach include Science & Engineering Ambassadors, sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences, and Science Booster Clubs, coordinated by the National Center for Science Education. [24]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leadership</span> Quality of one individual or group influencing or guiding others based on authority

Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "lead", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations.

Public opinion, or popular opinion, is the collective opinion on a specific topic or voting intention relevant to society. It is the people's views on matters affecting them. The term originates from France, and first appeared in the 17th century, though writers had identified the importance of the opinion of the people long before this. Prior to the advent of mass media, public fora such as coffee houses and gentlemen's clubs were used as exchanges of opinion and some reputable locations had great influence.

The hypodermic needle model is claimed to have been a model of communication in which media consumers were "uniformly controlled by their biologically based 'instincts' and that they react more or less uniformly to whatever 'stimuli' came along".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Two-step flow of communication</span> Model of communication

The two-step flow of communication model says that most people form their opinions under the influence of opinion leaders, who in turn are influenced by the mass media. In contrast to the one-step flow of the hypodermic needle model or magic bullet theory, which holds that people are directly influenced by mass media, according to the two-step flow model, ideas flow from mass media to opinion leaders, and from them to a wider population. Opinion leaders pass on their own interpretation of information in addition to the actual media content.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social network analysis</span> Analysis of social structures using network and graph theory

Social network analysis (SNA) is the process of investigating social structures through the use of networks and graph theory. It characterizes networked structures in terms of nodes and the ties, edges, or links that connect them. Examples of social structures commonly visualized through social network analysis include social media networks, meme spread, information circulation, friendship and acquaintance networks, peer learner networks, business networks, knowledge networks, difficult working relationships, collaboration graphs, kinship, disease transmission, and sexual relationships. These networks are often visualized through sociograms in which nodes are represented as points and ties are represented as lines. These visualizations provide a means of qualitatively assessing networks by varying the visual representation of their nodes and edges to reflect attributes of interest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Lazarsfeld</span> Austrian-American sociologist (1901–1976)

Paul Felix Lazarsfeld was an Austrian-American sociologist. The founder of Columbia University's Bureau of Applied Social Research, he exerted influence over the techniques and the organization of social research. "It is not so much that he was an American sociologist," one colleague said of him after his death, "as it was that he determined what American sociology would be." Lazarsfeld said that his goal was "to produce Paul Lazarsfelds". He was a founding figure in 20th-century empirical sociology.

Uses and gratifications theory is a communication theory that describes the reasons and means by which people seek out media to meet specific needs. The theory postulates that media is a highly available product, that audiences are the consumers of the product, and that audiences choose media to satisfy given needs and allow them to enhance knowledge, relaxation, social interactions/companionship, diversion, or escape.

Impression management is a conscious or subconscious process in which people attempt to influence the perceptions of other people about a person, object or event by regulating and controlling information in social interaction. It was first conceptualized by Erving Goffman in 1959 in The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, and then was expanded upon in 1967.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diffusion of innovations</span> Theory on how and why new ideas spread

Diffusion of innovations is a theory that seeks to explain how, why, and at what rate new ideas and technology spread. The theory was popularized by Everett Rogers in his book Diffusion of Innovations, first published in 1962. Rogers argues that diffusion is the process by which an innovation is communicated over time among the participants in a social system. The origins of the diffusion of innovations theory are varied and span multiple disciplines.

In media studies, mass communication, media psychology, communication theory, and sociology, media influence and themedia effect are topics relating to mass media and media culture's effects on individuals' or audiences' thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors. Through written, televised, or spoken channels, mass media reach large audiences. Mass media's role in shaping modern culture is a central issue for the study of culture.

Audience theory offers explanations of how people encounter media, how they use it, and how it affects them. Although the concept of an audience predates media, most audience theory is concerned with people’s relationship to various forms of media. There is no single theory of audience, but a range of explanatory frameworks. These can be rooted in the social sciences, rhetoric, literary theory, cultural studies, communication studies and network science depending on the phenomena they seek to explain. Audience theories can also be pitched at different levels of analysis ranging from individuals to large masses or networks of people.

Media psychology is the branch and specialty field in psychology that focuses on the interaction of human behavior with media and technology. Media psychology is not limited to mass media or media content; it includes all forms of mediated communication and media technology-related behaviors, such as the use, design, impact, and sharing behaviors. This branch is a relatively new field of study because of advancement in technology. It uses various methods of critical analysis and investigation to develop a working model of a user's perception of media experience. These methods are used for society as a whole and on an individual basis. Media psychologists are able to perform activities that include consulting, design, and production in various media like television, video games, films, and news broadcasting. Media psychologists are not considered to be those who are featured in media, rather than those who research, work or contribute to the field.

Influencer marketing is a form of social media marketing involving endorsements and product placement from influencers, people and organizations who have a purported expert level of knowledge or social influence in their field. Influencers are someone with the power to affect the buying habits or quantifiable actions of others by uploading some form of original—often sponsored—content to social media platforms like Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok or other online channels. Influencer marketing is when a brand enrolls influencers who have an established credibility and audience on social media platforms to discuss or mention the brand in a social media post. Influencer content may be framed as testimonial advertising.

Media studies encompasses the academic investigation of the mass media from perspectives such as sociology, psychology, history, semiotics, and critical discourse analysis. The purpose of media studies is to determine how media affects society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Political communication</span> Subfield of communication and political science

Political communication is a subfield of communication and political science that is concerned with how information spreads and influences politics, policy makers, the news media, and citizens. Since the advent of the World Wide Web, the amount of data to analyze has exploded and researchers are shifting to computational methods to study the dynamics of political communication. In recent years, machine learning, natural language processing, and network analysis have become key tools in the subfield. It deals with the production, dissemination, procession and effects of information, both through mass media and interpersonally, within a political context. This includes the study of the media, the analysis of speeches by politicians, those that are trying to influence the political process, and the formal and informal conversations among members of the public, among other aspects. The media acts as a bridge between government and public. Political communication can be defined as the connection concerning politics and citizens and the interaction modes that connect these groups to each other. Whether the relationship is formed by the modes of persuasion, Pathos, Ethos or Logos.

An internet celebrity is an individual who has acquired or developed their fame and notability on the Internet. The growing popularity of social media provides a means for people to reach a large, global audience. Internet celebrities are found on popular online platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Whatsapp, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Myspace, OnlyFans, Telegram, Twitter, Twitch, Reddit, Discord, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Tumblr, and Threads.

In studies of science communication, the information deficit model, also known as the deficit model or science literacy/knowledge deficit model, theorizes that scientific literacy can be improved with increased public engagement by the scientific community. As a result, the public may then be able to make more decisions that are science-informed. The model implies that communication should focus on improving the transfer of information from experts to non-experts.

The multi-step flow theory assumes ideas flow from mass media to opinion leaders before being disseminated to a wider population. This theory was first introduced by sociologist Paul Lazarsfeld et al. in 1944 and elaborated by Elihu Katz and Lazarsfeld in 1955.

The fields of marketing and artificial intelligence converge in systems which assist in areas such as market forecasting, and automation of processes and decision making, along with increased efficiency of tasks which would usually be performed by humans. The science behind these systems can be explained through neural networks and expert systems, computer programs that process input and provide valuable output for marketers.

A social bot, also described as a social AI or social algorithm, is a software agent that communicates autonomously on social media. The messages it distributes can be simple and operate in groups and various configurations with partial human control (hybrid) via algorithm. Social bots can also use artificial intelligence and machine learning to express messages in more natural human dialogue.

References

  1. 1 2 Katz, Elihu; Lazarsfeld, Paul F. (1957). Personal influence (E. ed.). New York: Free Press.
  2. ↑ David Riesman; Nathan Glazer; Reuel Denney (2020). The Lonely Crowd: A Study of the Changing American Character (Abridged and revised ed.). New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 278n2. ISBN   978-0-300-25347-4.
  3. ↑ Yao et al (2021) Construction Safety Knowledge Sharing on Twitter: A Social Network Analysis, Safety Science, 143, 105411, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/353546913_Construction_safety_knowledge_sharing_on_Twitter_A_social_network_analysis
  4. 1 2 Kuwashima, Yufu (2018). "The strength of an opinion leader's supporters". Annals of Business Administrative Science. 17 (6): 241–250. doi: 10.7880/abas.0181009a .
  5. ↑ Bandura, Albert (2002), "Social Foundations of Thought and Action", The Health Psychology Reader, SAGE Publications Ltd, pp. 94–106, doi:10.4135/9781446221129.n6, ISBN   978-0-7619-7271-6
  6. ↑ Merton, R. K. (1957). Social theory and social structure. Glencoe: Free Press.
  7. ↑ Childers, T. L. (1986). "Assessment of the psychometric properties of an opinion leadership scale". Journal of Marketing Research. 23 (3): 184–188. doi:10.2307/3172527. JSTOR   3172527.
  8. ↑ Flynn, L. R.; Goldsmith, R. E.; Eastman, J. K. (1996). "Opinion leadership and opinion seekers: Two new measurement scales". Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. 24 (2): 147. doi:10.1177/0092070396242004. S2CID   145349660.
  9. ↑ Feick, L. F.; Price, L. L. (1987). "The market maven: A diffuser of marketplace information". Journal of Marketing. 51 (1): 83–97. doi:10.2307/1251146. JSTOR   1251146.
  10. ↑ Weimann, G. (1991). "The influentials: Back to the concept of opinion leaders?". Public Opinion Quarterly. 55 (2): 267–279. doi:10.1086/269257.
  11. ↑ Gnambs, T.; Batinic, B. (2011). "Evaluation of measurement precision with Rasch-type models: The case of the short Generalized Opinion leadership Scale". Personality and Individual Differences. 50: 53–58. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2010.08.021.
  12. ↑ Gnambs, T.; Batinic, B. (2011). "Convergent and discriminant validity of opinion leadership: Multitrait-multimethod analysis across measurement occasion and informant type". Journal of Individual Differences. 39: 94–102. doi:10.1027/1614-0001/a000040.
  13. ↑ Katz, Elihu (1957). "The two-step flow of communication: An up-to-date report on an hypothesis". Public Opinion Quarterly. 21: 61–78. doi:10.1086/266687.
  14. ↑ Katz, Elihu (Spring 1957). "The Two-Step Flow of Communication: An Up-To-Date Report on a Hypothesis". University of Pennsylvania Scholarly Commons . Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA: University of Pennsylvania. 21 (1): 61–78.
  15. ↑ Zhang, Aaron (2020). "Forget opinion leaders: the role of social network brokers in the adoption of innovative farming practices in North-western Cambodia". International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability. 18 (4): 266–284. doi: 10.1080/14735903.2020.1769808 .
  16. ↑ Amiel, Tel; Sargent, Stephanie Lee (2004). "Individual differences in Internet usage motives". Computers in Human Behavior. 20 (6): 711–726. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2004.09.002. hdl: 10919/33844 . ISSN   0747-5632.
  17. ↑ Rose, P.; Kim, J. (2011). "Self-Monitoring, Opinion Leadership and Opinion Seeking: a Sociomotivational Approach". Current Psychology. 30 (3): 203–214. doi:10.1007/s12144-011-9114-1. S2CID   143621972.
  18. ↑ Maslach, Christina; Stapp, Joy; Santee, Richard T. (1974). "Individuation: Conceptual analysis and assessment". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 49 (3): 729–738. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.49.3.729. ISSN   1939-1315.
  19. ↑ Chan, Kenny K.; Misra, Shekhar (1990-03-19). "Characteristics of the Opinion Leader: A New Dimension". Journal of Advertising. 19 (3): 53–60. doi:10.1080/00913367.1990.10673192. ISSN   0091-3367.
  20. ↑ Matous, P.; Wang, P. (2019). "External exposure, boundary-spanning, and opinion leadership in remote communities: A network experiment". Social Networks. 56: 10–22. doi:10.1016/j.socnet.2018.08.002. S2CID   53947635.
  21. ↑ Savastano, Sara; Feder, Gershon (2006-05-05). "The Role Of Opinion Leaders In The Diffusion Of New Knowledge : The Case Of Integrated Pest Management" (PDF). Policy Research Working Papers. 34 (7): 1287–1300. doi:10.1596/1813-9450-3916. hdl: 2108/17676 . ISSN   1813-9450.
  22. ↑ Rogers, Everett M.; Cartano, David G. (1962). "Methods of Measuring Opinion Leadership". Public Opinion Quarterly. 26 (3): 435. doi:10.1086/267118. ISSN   0033-362X.
  23. ↑ Nisbit, Matthew C.; Kotcher, John E. (March 2009). "A Two-Step Flow of Influence?: Opinion-Leader Campaigns on Climate Change" (PDF). Science Communication. 30: 341.
  24. ↑ Nisbet, Matthew (2018). "Ambassadors for Science: Harnessing the Power of Opinion-Leaders across Communities". Skeptical Inquirer . 42 (2): 30–31. Retrieved 1 June 2018.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.