Humans and animals alike practice herd behavior, drawing cues from one another as to how to behave. We call these cues “social proof.”
In the book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini, Ph.D., the author offers this definition of social proof: “…one means we use to determine what is correct is to find out what other people think is correct…We view a behavior as more correct in a given situation to the degree that we see others performing it.”
The American bison, or buffalo, relies on herd behavior to form stronger protection against predators. Their stampede behavior is a primary defense. In earlier times, stampeding a herd was used to kill large quantities of bison by running them off the edge of a cliff. The animals’ instinct was to blindly follow the herd even if it led to their death. In this instance, the “cue” led to a destructive result.
4 Examples of Social Proof in Humans
Animals are not alone in their instincts to rely on one another for ways of behavior. We humans, for better or worse, also look to each other to decide whether to go along with the crowd.
- “Canned” laughter or laugh tracks on television shows is a proven way to stimulate the audience (and those of us at home) to laugh more, even if the joke is a poor one. We figure, if we hear others laughing, it’s got to be funny so we are more likely to laugh as well.
- Bartenders “salt” the tip jar by adding cash at the beginning of their shift. It provides proof that patrons have already contributed and makes it more likely that others will also add tips to the jar.
- We are more likely to frequent a restaurant where the parking lot is full of cars, reasoning that the food must be good to be so popular. We reason, if that many people are there for a meal, it’s likely the place is a safe bet.
- We’ve seen social proof in action every time we purchase something online and look for the reviews to see what others have to say about the product. Were they happy with their purchase? How many “stars” were ranked in the box next to the product description? Have you ever changed your mind about a purchase based on testimonials? Because testimonials are a powerful way to persuade consumers to purchase products or services, sales and motivational consultant Cavett Robert gave this advice to his sales trainees: “Since 91 percent of the people are imitators and only 5 percent initiators, people are persuaded more by the actions of others than by any proof we can offer.”
Proof Positive From Others Who Are Similar
We can use social proof to teach or train others to change their behavior. It’s especially powerful when we can show others who are similar to us doing the desired behavior. We use their actions to decide on proper behavior for ourselves. This is why having a role model or mentor is so effective. We emulate what we see in them to guide our own actions.
In the book, Influence, the author writes about a small child who would only swim using a “floatie.” He refused to swim without it. His father tried everything to teach the little boy, but to no avail, until they put him near a group of other children his own age who were swimming freely. The little boy then wanted to remove the floatie and swim like the other kids.
A similar experience occurred with children who were afraid of dogs. They watched a video of children their own age petting and playing with dogs without fear. That’s all it took for the fearful children to gain confidence and play with dogs too. Their thinking may have been, “Well, if HE can do it, then I can too!”
But Is the Crowd Really Wiser?
In James Surowiecki’s book, The Wisdom of Crowds, he asserts that “large groups of people are smarter than the few, no matter how brilliant — better at solving problems, fostering innovation, coming to wise decisions, even predicting the future.”
And Cialdini explains, “In general, when we are unsure of ourselves, when the situation is unclear or ambiguous, when uncertainty reigns, we are most likely to look to and accept the actions of others as correct.”
However, in the Jonestown Massacre, 909 people followed friends and family to their deaths by ingesting a cyanide-laced drink. The group had moved to Guyana, a remote settlement in South America far away from their home base in San Francisco. In that case, the crowd followed a deadly protocol.
Police officers report that car accidents frequently occur when two cars coincidentally signal to move into the same lane at the same time. If you’ve ever been in this situation, you know that most of us assume there’s an obstruction ahead, like a disabled auto. So we follow the leader and change lanes too. Even at slow speeds, the likelihood of an accident increases with everyone jockeying to get over into the other lane. It just happened that the first two drivers only wanted to move over at the same time — there was no obstruction.
In these ways, social proof can help us or harm us depending on the circumstances. On one hand, it’s wise to question the “group think” that comes along with following the crowd. It’s also wise to pay attention to our surroundings and the ways others are reacting to events. Sometimes they have better information than we do!