On the nature of influence: identifying and characterizing superdiffusers in seven countries

Abstract

An important component of theoretical and applied work on social influence is identifying influential people. Boster et al.’s theoretical framework on superdiffusers provides one method of doing so, but important questions on the nature of influence remain. In particular, because existing studies have primarily sampled U.S. college students, it remains unclear whether (a) the framework adequately characterizes superdiffusers in different populations and (b) our current understanding of superdiffusers applies outside of the United States. To address these questions, we used an online survey to examine factorial validity, metric invariance, and correlates of superdiffuser characteristics in the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore, South Africa, India, Pakistan, and Australia (total N = 3,476). Results suggest the superdiffuser framework can fruitfully be used to describe and identify influential individuals in diverse contexts. Influence also appears to be a relatively trait-like individual difference rather than a matter of unique fit to a particular country or culture.