Social impact theory was created by Bibb Latané in 1981 and consists of four basic rules which consider how individuals can be 'sources or targets of social influence'. Social impact is the result of social forces including the strength of the source of impact, the immediacy of the event, and the number of sources exerting the impact. The more targets of impact that exist, the less impact each individual target has. Social impact theory was created by Bibb Latané in 1981 and consists of four basic rules which consider how individuals can be 'sources or targets of social influence'. Social impact is the result of social forces including the strength of the source of impact, the immediacy of the event, and the number of sources exerting the impact. The more targets of impact that exist, the less impact each individual target has.