Psychology of management

Imitation
. In the process of imitation there happens not the simple acceptance of external 
peculiarities in behavior as in the case of contagion, but the reproduction by an individual of 
other people’s traits and modes of behavior, i.e. a more active way of their adoption. In the 
“imitation theory” by G. Tard, this phenomenon is absolutized as the main principle of people’s 
socializing, their interaction in conflict groups, etc. Including many useful observations, this 
theory at the same time oversimplifies the processes of people’s relations history. 
A special role is played by imitation at childhood and teenage, being the main form of 
reality perception. It passes the number of stages – from passive mimicking of adults’ behavior 
by children (A.S. Makarenko) to conscious mirroring of adults by teenagers. For adults imitation 
is an additional means of mastering social reality. Usually, external features of behavior are 
accepted as the example, but this process does not touch the individual’s stable personal 
characteristics. In adults, imitation occurs in those cases when it is impossible to use any other 
means of mastering new activities (for example, when mastering a simple work-skill or 
elementary professional action). But usually the main way to master new information for adults 
is active means of forming and acquisition of knowledge. That is why the imitation mechanisms 
as well as contagion mechanisms in adults are much more complicated. Contagion faces an adult 
personality’s criticism of the impact it causes, as well as the personality’s feedback attention to 
the influencing object. These interactions get especially complicated in a group. In the context of 
a group, when assimilating the observed behavior pattern an individual displays two levels of 
imitating: either a certain person (most often the leader), or the norms of behavior developed by 

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the group. In the last case the phenomenon of imitation close in with the problem of conformism, 
i.e. the pressure of the group on an individual. 
Suggestion
is the form of deliberate, non-argumentative influence of one person or a 
group on another person or a group. In the situation of suggestion information is assimilated 
uncritically, non-argumentatively. The phenomenon of suggestion is long since noted in 
psychology and has been adopted from medical practice and from the practice of upbringing. 
The phenomenon of suggestion in social psychology is viewed as a specific phenomenon of 
“social suggesting” and for the first time was studied by V.M. Bekhterev (1903). The specific of 
suggestion as opposed to contagion is the following: 
1) here, there is no mutual experiencing identical emotions, but a unidirectional active 
influence by the “suggestor” on another person or a group; 
2) as a rule, suggestion is verbal in character, while contagion includes rhythms, 
movements, pantomime, etc.; 
3) unlike convincing, suggestion doesn’t demand logical argumentation, because here not 
an individual’s agreement is achieved but his/her acceptance of information with ready-made 
conclusions. In suggestion there prevails emotional-and-volitional and not rational impact by a 
suggestor. 
There is a number of well-known conditions influencing the efficiency of suggestions: 
a) age influence (children and teenagers are easier to be suggested than adults); 
b) mental and physical state of adults (tired and physically weakened people are easier to 
be suggested); 
c) suggestor’s authority, especially that of an executive or a leader which creates an effect 
of trust to the source of information. Authority of trust is manifested in relation to not only the 
personality of the executive, but also to the group (s)he represents. Authority can influence by 
way of “indirect argumentation” which exchanges direct logical argumentation in the course of 
suggestion; 
d) peculiarities of personalities undergoing suggestion (suggerents). 
The phenomenon of suggestion is manifested in close connection with phenomena of 
social perception, of unity. A previously formed social attitude may serve as an important factor 
of suggestion. Thus, the inherent in employees attitude on necessity of submitting to the 
executive increases the suggestion effect expected by him/her. The phenomenon of suggestion is 
also connected with an individual’s conformity, and hence with the issues of group unity. 

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Suggestion effect takes place in such spheres of social influence as 
propaganda
and 
advertising
. In propagandistic influence appealing mainly to the audience’s emotions suggestion 
is used in a considerable degree. And if propaganda is aimed mostly at people’s logic and 
consciousness, the method of 
convincing
prevails in it. 
Suggestion methods are manifested especially brightly in 
advertising
. Thereis applied the 
method of 
image shaping for the perceived object
when the viewpoint is intentionally shifted, 
and attention is accentuated only on an object’s certain qualities with appeal to people’s 
emotions. Also, the image’s paint is often laid on thick, it gets exaggerated, and thus suggestion 
effect is achieved. 
Convincing, unlike other phenomena of mental influencing people discussed above, does 
not represent a kind of sporadic, involuntary impact. Convincing ensures an individual’s 
conscious perception of the information imparted to them, and is related to deliberate social 
impacts of educational, political, economic character under which an individual manifests a 
certain analyticity and criticality of perception. Convincing is widely used in managerial process 
as an executive’s voluntary influencing certain employees and a group in order to ensure a 
certain final result of their activity and to form their personalities. That is why we shall further 
consider conviction as a means for an executive to influence the members of the group headed 
by him/her. 
All the viewed kinds of influencing people can be fulfilled in the conditions of both out-
of-collective spontaneous behavior and in mutual group activity; nevertheless thy always take 
place during social interactions. The character and efficiency of these impacts depend on the one 
hand on unity levels of given social entities, and on the other hand they considerably influence 
the formation of interpersonal relations in groups and their unity levels.