The Influentials: Back to the Concept of Opinion Leaders

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The Influentials Back to the Concept of Opinion
Leaders?

• Gabriel Weimann
• Weimann,G. (1991) The Influentials Back to the
  Concept of Opinion Leaders? Public Opinion
  Quarterly 55, (1991), 2, pp. 267-279
• Daniela Mitkovová

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Who are the Influentials?

• There are two main concepts
• Opinion Leaders and The Influentilas
• New measurement of opinion leadership was
  developed by Allensbach Institute in Germany
  Personality strenght scale (the research project
  conducted by Noelle-Neumann)

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Strenght of Personality Scale

• New instrument to identify Opinion Leadership
• The resulting scale includes 10 items established
  after a factorial reduction of a 34-item
  questionaire administrated to a representative
  sample of respondents of German population
• Validation of scale by an external criterion
  comparison of scale ratings with the
  interviewers impression

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Israeli study

• PS scale was administrated to two samples
• First sample
• N650, randomly drawn from adult, Jewish
  population of Israel.
• This sample was used to examine the
  applicability of the PS scale to another society
  and to study corss-cultural differences.
• Second sample
• N270, Israeli kibbutz community. Served for
  validation of PS scale findings.
• Measurement of two variables
• sociometric mapping of personal communication
  network
• sociometric mapping of the flow of information
  and influence in this network
• Finally PS scale

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The Personality Strenght Scale Items

• I usually count on being succesful in everything
  I do.
• I am rarely unsure about how I should behave
• I like to assume responsibility
• I like to take the lead when a group does things
  together
• I enjoy convincing others of my oppinion
• I often notice that I serve as a model for others
• I am good at getting what I want
• I am often a step ahead of others
• I own many things others envy me for
• I often give others advice and suggestions

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Findings Cross-cultural comparison of the
scales results (German and Israeli sample)

• In both samples a factor analysis of the
  responses to the 34-item questionnaire was
  performed
• Factorial reduction led in both samples to the
  same set of 10 items used for the PS scale
• When the 10-item scale itself is factor analyzed,
  two distinct factors emerge
• Firts factor measures internal sources of
  influenceability F1
• Second factor describes external origins
  derived form comparison with other people - F2
• Analyzes revealed
• a stability across social and cultural settings
• PS scale is related to the various
  sociodemographic variables, and these relations
  are very similar for both populations
• Sharp difference between male and female
• PS scale unevenly distributed by age groups
• strongest distinction by SES clasification

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• These relationships does not indicate direction
  of causality opinion leaders may achieve their
  leadership through social acknowldgemenf of their
  education, income, occupation, and popularity,
  but they may also achieve higher social positions
  because of their stronger personality.

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Testing validity of PS scale based on external
criteria

• Conducted on second Israeli group, kibbutz
  community
• External control mapping the communication
  links, personal position and flow of information
  and influence
• Comparison of results from network analysis and
  aplication of PS scale on same respondents
  strong correlation between these measures

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Network Position and Strenght of Personality
Educing from the strong relationship with
sociometric centrality the PS scale is also
useful instrument which reflects social position.

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Crucial validity test of PS Scale

• Testing PS scales ability to predict
  communicative and influential behaviour
• Comparison of measures of actul flow of various
  information and desicion-making items with PS
  scores in kibbutz community
• 6 items were spreaded out a moth prior to the
  study by means of interpersonal communication 2
  general news, 2 consumer information, 2
  gossip

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• To trace the flow, respondents were asked for
  awarenness of these items and for the source of
  their knowledge.
• 2 decision-making items were added for measuring
  the flow of influence
• The Individuals with the stronger PS are more
  active as communicators of news and consumer
  information and are clearly the influentials for
  desicion-making items.

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Oppinion leadership x Influentials
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Thank you for your attention