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Kelman's 3 Processes of Social Influence, Explained

Explore the three different depths at which people take on someone else's attitude.

Compliance

Outwardly going along with an attitude or behavior to gain a reward, avoid punishment, or make a good impression on someone, even without agreeing internally. The behavior tends to hold only while someone is watching or a reward or punishment is in play, and it's described as the shallowest of the three levels of influence, likely to revert once that surveillance or incentive disappears.

Identification

Adopting the attitudes or behavior of a person or group you admire or want to resemble, in order to maintain a valued relationship with them. It's less about fully agreeing with the content itself and more about the relationship with that person or group feeling meaningful and satisfying. Following a respected role model or a group you belong to is a classic example, and it tends to persist as long as that relationship does.

Internalization

The deepest level, where an adopted attitude or belief aligns so completely with your own values that you genuinely accept it as your own, believing it to be right. At this level the attitude or behavior holds regardless of surveillance or any specific relationship. The credibility, or expertise, of the source often plays a role, and this is treated as the most stable, long-lasting form of attitude change among the three.

What is Kelman's theory of social influence?

American social psychologist Herbert Kelman proposed this framework in a 1958 paper, β€œCompliance, Identification, and Internalization,” distinguishing three different depths at which people change their attitudes or behavior under the influence of others or a group: compliance, identification, and internalization. The core insight is that these three processes can look like the same behavior change on the surface while differing sharply in their underlying psychological mechanism and how long they last.

Why the distinction matters

The same behavior change is likely to revert the moment surveillance disappears if it came from compliance, but tends to stick around much longer if it came from internalization. This theory gets referenced often in designing organizational culture, education, and campaigns, specifically around whether the goal is temporary compliance or genuine, lasting internalization.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do the three processes always happen in order?

Not necessarily. Sometimes compliance deepens into identification or internalization over time, but internalization can also happen from the start, so the three processes aren't always sequential stages.

Is this theory used in marketing or advertising?

Yes. Ads using celebrity endorsers are often framed as tapping into consumers' desire for identification, while ads featuring experts or credible sources are framed as aiming for internalization. It's a framework frequently cited in marketing as well.