Predicting social influence with faction sizes and relative status

•We develop a formal model of social influence based on faction sizes and relative status.•The model links both psychological and sociological research on social influence.•We evaluate the formal model using experimental data.•Results indicate that the model fits the experimental data.

Building on a recent theoretical development in the field of sociological social psychology, we develop a formal mathematical model of social influence processes. The extant theoretical literature implies that factions and status should have non-linear effects on social influence, and yet these theories have been evaluated using standard linear statistical models. Our formal model of influence includes these non-linearities, as specified by the theories. We evaluate the fit of the formal model using experimental data. Our results indicate that a one-parameter mathematical model fits the experimental data. We conclude with the implications of our research and a discussion of how it may be used as an impetus for further work on social influence processes.