United States Presidential elections of 1940 was revolutionary. It was fought at the backdrop of World War II. The United States was emerging from a great depression. The new president had to take some tough decision about World War, Economy, etc. At that time, an American Sociologist Paul Felix Lazarsfeld was doing a research on influence. Paul was the founder of Columbia University’s Bureau of Applied Social Research. He exerted a tremendous influence over the techniques and the organization of social research and his study was focused on finding out reasons behind people voting for a particular candidate. His finding were not only interesting but also very surprising. A new dimension was emerging. It gave birth to a new communication theory called “Two Step Flow”. 

This research helped Paul to understand the impact of social opinion. He along with another sociologist Elihu Katz discovered the term called “Opinion Leaders”. It explains – in every society there are people unknown to others, unseen to others who influences decisions taken by that society. Those influencing people are Opinion Leaders of that society. During 1940 crucial US elections, people relied more on these opinion leaders and less on any other issue. Initially, the thought process of influence was mainly revolving around 3 Ms – Mass, Media, Message. But, this new discovery changed the traditional communication theory. The impact of an opinion leader was so high that it surpassed the basic elements, 3Ms of decision making. The new era of communication was born.

This was perhaps the first time when social influence was felt at a large scale. This study captured the attention of politicians, businessmen and also several other researchers. The reliance on humans for conveying messages, promoting brands became higher than ever. This study became a milestone for people trying to understand the influence behind decision. And hence, we can rightfully say – This was the beginning of Social Influence.