No person is immune from the influence of the people and groups they encounter. As much as we would like to think that every thought we have is original, that every opinion we express is informed by facts alone, the truth is that we use others around us as a reference point for much of our attitudes and behavior. This isn’t a bad thing; it’s human nature.

In this article, we’ll focus on how concepts related to social identity theory — a theory within the psychological field of social influence - can help ux professionals to more effectively incorporate social influence in their work.