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What is social proof?

Social proof is the automatic tendency to think and act like the people around you.

Have you ever wondered why there’s a laugh track in your favorite sitcom? Or why the tip jar at your local bar always has some tips in it, even at the very beginning of the night?

These are small tactics aimed at taking advantage of this social proof bias. TV executives know that if you hear laughter, you’re more likely to laugh. Bartenders know that if you see tips, you’re more likely to tip. Monkey see, monkey do.

Why does social Proof Exist?

Robert B. Cialdini in his textbook, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, points out that social proof is a mental shortcut that helps us find out what the correct behavior is in any given situation.

If we are unsure about how to act, we can just look at the people around us and copy them. We perceive behavior as more correct when other people are doing it.

Why would this be the case? Because from an evolutionary perspective, we make fewer mistakes (survive) when we copy the behavior of others.

Five-thousand years ago, if all the members of your tribe sat down to eat the catch from the day’s hunt, and you wandered into the dark to try and catch your own meal out of spite for the group, you were likely to be killed and eaten yourself. Your genes wouldn’t have been passed down, and the tendency to not do what others are doing is filtered out of the group.

Stress makes social proof worse

Like many of the mental models we discuss, social proof is especially strong when we are stressed or confused.

Take an intervention, for example. There’s a reason why interventions are always a surprise to the addict. The surprise creates a stress response when everyone the addict loves comes barging into their home. This stress makes the social proof response stronger.

If everyone then pulls up a chair and sits in a circle, asking the addict to sit down with them, it takes incredible mental strength not to do so. Stress makes social proof stronger.

Examples of Social Proof

Social Proof in Body Posture

I once played a game with a colleague that he didn’t know he was playing.

He and I were standing and talking when I happened to notice that we both had our arms crossed. I thought there was a pretty good chance that if I uncrossed my arms, he would do the same and uncross his.

I put my theory to the test and uncrossed my arms. Moments later, he followed my action and uncrossed his. Social proof works on body language, too.

Social Proof in Commercials

Charlie Munger, in a speech called “The Psychology of Human Misjudgment,” printed in the book Poor Charlie’s Almanack, notes that TV commercials rely heavily on social proof to sell us products.

If you see two friends in a commercial having the time of their life on a beach-front boardwalk in California, each sipping a Coca-Cola, that’s a circumstance you naturally want to recreate for yourself.

The same goes for product placement in our favorite TV shows. We notice that the characters we love are driving certain cars and eating certain candies. It’s the advertiser’s hope that we remember those products and buy them for ourselves.

Social Proof Among Friends

Charlie believes so much in the power of social proof that he recommends you go about manipulating the quality of your child’s friends instead of trying to “fix” your kid’s behavior directly.

As the saying goes, we are the average of the 5 people we spend the most time with. This is because of social proof.

The danger of an Automatic Social Proof Response

Generally, social proof does work to help us. It’s when it becomes an automatic response that it causes trouble.

Canned laughter in sitcoms, as a Cialdini points out, is a manipulation. It’s carefully crafted to encourage you to laugh at jokes and situations that you may not find funny. It’s fake evidence built to manipulate your behavior.

Things like this happen in the entertainment industry all the time. My wife is an actor, and she has actor friends who hire photographers to follow them around and take photos of them on the street, as though they are celebrities.

When a pedestrian stops to try and identify who this ‘celebrity’ is, social proof kicks in and other pedestrians stop as well. Suddenly a crowd forms around this perfect stranger. The actor has succeeded in getting their face in front of the public eye.

Further, Cialdini reminds us that everyone else is influenced by social proof as much as we are. So while you are looking around at others to see what they are doing to determine what your behavior should be, those other people are looking around at you trying to figure out the same thing.

This can create what’s called a “pluralistic ignorance.”

Here’s an example Cialdini provides. Let’s say you see someone on the street who needs help. Maybe they are injured or ill, but you’re not exactly sure what the problem is.

If you’re not 100 percent sure it’s an emergency, the first thing you’ll do is look around to see what others are doing. And because no one wants to seem flustered in public, it’s likely that everyone else is quietly noticing the injured person and looking around as well.

Still, no one is helping.

Next, you may reason that since no one is acting flustered, maybe it’s not actually an emergency. And even if it is an emergency, someone else will probably go and get help. Or someone has already gotten help and it just hasn’t arrived yet. Meanwhile, the injured person still isn’t receiving aid.

This is “pluralistic ignorance.” The group as a whole isn’t reacting to the emergency because of social proof.

But if there was just one person present at the scene, they would absolutely rush to the injured person and provide aid.

Remember this example because it may be useful to you someday.

If you are injured and it’s not clear that you need help, point to a single person in a group of people and tell him or her you need help. Call this person out directly, and it’s likely he or she will swiftly provide aid.

How can you protect yourself from social proof?

As with most mental biases, the first step is knowing it exists and how it works. Then, you can start using the tendency in your favor.

Remember that both good and bad behavior is contagious. This can have consequences in business.

Munger suggests that at a company level, leaders should aim to stop any bad behavior before it begins, so it doesn’t have a chance to spread. Those leaders should also publicly display all good behavior whenever it occurs.

Cialdini also reminds us that we are especially prone to social proof when we are getting the behavior and ideas from people similar to us. So be especially vigilant if you’re surrounded by people who look and think just like you do.

Sometimes social proof occurs naturally from an innocent error instead of being deliberately created.

Cialdini cites an example of two cars who start signaling to change lanes simultaneously by chance. The drivers behind them, seeing two cars signaling at the same time, assume there’s a stalled vehicle or obstruction ahead. So, they start signaling to change lanes themselves. With an influx of cars trying to change into the same lane all at once, accidents occur. All because of a chance event.

One way to guard against this social proof error is to stop giving the group the benefit of the doubt.

If you see a group of people all doing the same thing, don’t automatically assume they have better or more information than you have. It’s very possible that they are just reacting to the social proof principle themselves.

The ‘wisdom’ of the group is no substitute for logic. Make sure you are using both when making decisions about your life and your money.

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Cialdini PhD, Robert B.. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (Collins Business Essentials). HarperCollins e-books. Kindle Edition.

Munger, C. T., & Kaufman, P. D. (2008). Poor Charlie's Almanack: The wit and wisdom of Charles T. Munger. Virginia Beach, Va: Donning Co. Pub.

Photo by Yolanda Sun on Unsplash