Proposal of a four-dimensional model of social response.

Descriptive models of social response attempt to identify the conceptual dimensions necessary to define and distinguish various types of influence. Building on previous approaches, the authors propose a new response model and demonstrate that a minimum of 4 dimensions is necessary to adequately provide for such influence phenomena as conformity, minority influence, compliance, contagion, independence, and anticonformity in a single model. In addition, the proposed model suggests 5 potential types of response that have not been previously identified. These new types suggest directions for future research and theoretical development. Selected empirical evidence is reviewed in support of the validity and integrative power of the proposed model.

Contagion: a theoretical and empirical review and reconceptualization.

We have reviewed theories and research in the area of contagion with an emphasis on definitions of contagion. The review shows that a great deal of the confusion surrounding the term is due to the fact that the phenomena involved in contagion are extremely heterogeneous, yet they typically have been placed under homogeneous rubrics. Accordingly, we propose herein that contagion should be conceptualized as a general type, social contagion, and three subtypes: disinhibitory, echo, and hysterical. In this article, we have distinguished social contagion and its subtypes from other types of social influence phenomena and reclassified theoretical and research articles under the newly proposed definitions. The proposed reconceptualization shows how contradictions in the literature can be resolved by distinguishing the type of contagion in question and provides the foundation for a more comprehensive and useful psychology of contagion.