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Social Proof: Source: Crazy Egg

Social proof is a cognitive bias where people look to others for cues on how to behave when uncertain. It occurs when people copy the actions of others, especially those perceived as similar. Several factors drive social proof, including uncertainty, similarity to others, the number of people doing an action, and expertise. While social proof can be used positively, such as for education, it can also be manipulated and influence people to make poor decisions against their self-interest. Modern social media exacerbates people's reliance on social proof through metrics like likes, shares, and follower counts.

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96 views4 pages

Social Proof: Source: Crazy Egg

Social proof is a cognitive bias where people look to others for cues on how to behave when uncertain. It occurs when people copy the actions of others, especially those perceived as similar. Several factors drive social proof, including uncertainty, similarity to others, the number of people doing an action, and expertise. While social proof can be used positively, such as for education, it can also be manipulated and influence people to make poor decisions against their self-interest. Modern social media exacerbates people's reliance on social proof through metrics like likes, shares, and follower counts.

Uploaded by

Parul Singh
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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SOCIAL PROOF

“When we feel uncertain, we all tend to look to others for answers as to how we should behave, what
we should think and what we should do”. 1

Social proof is a cognitive bias which generally implies trust in others. This social phenomenon is very
recurrent nowadays where people tend to copy the other people’s actions in given situations. “The
term social proof was derived in Robert Cialdini’s - Influence: Science and Practice in 1984 and this
bias could also be referred to as Informational Social Influence”. 2

Source: Crazy Egg

Source: AdEspresso

1 Social Proof: Why We Should Look to Others for What We Should Think and Do – Mental Models, Farnam
Street
2 CP Social Proof - Wikipedia
Source: Jumpermedia

There are several mechanisms and causes of social proof. One very prominent cause of social proof is
uncertainty. This factor is the like engine that drives social proof. If an individual is face with an
uncomfortable situation with little or no prior experience, that person tends to refer to others for
guidance.

Another important factor is similarity or resemblance. People are prone to adopt or copy the
behavior and attitudes of the people they regard as similar to them. Demographic factors such as age,
gender, physical appearance, life experiences etc. give them a sense of belonging to a particular
group. They tend to trust the actions of their peers and eventually choose to make the same
decisions as them.

Furthermore, quantity is one pertinent factor that drives social proof. Nowadays it seems that the
greater the number of people who think an idea is correct, the more credible that idea will be for the
individual. If the masses believe in a concept, it become relatively easy for the concept to become
acceptable within a community. The power of masses has been reinforced with the presence of mass
media communication.

More so, expertise or skillfulness considerably influences the mechanism of social proof. If someone
is surrounded by people that are thought to be skillful or versed with a particular subject, the
individual will easily be influenced by their decisions.

On the bright side social proof can have several advantages. The concept can be used effectively for
academic purposes, where brighter students can be a great tool of instruction to slower counterparts.
Instructors use this form of social proof to assist students that are lagging behind without making
them uncomfortable.

Secondly, social proof could also be used to support good and social causes. When properly
communicated, missions that support social and sustainable work can encourage masses to join the
cause and produce substantial results.
Social proof has also proven to be one of the most efficient marketing there is. It can be used to
persuade customer to purchase a particular good or service. The use of recommendations and
reviews or even catch phrases such as “product of the year”, “best seller” etc. can improve the
chances of a good or service being purchased.

Despite the numerous advantages of social proof, concept also has a dark side. It could be
detrimental and dangerous.

The five most dangerous words in Business are: ‘Everybody else is doing it’” – Warren E. Buffett.3 One
very important element in business is the fact that one cannot make decisions based on emotions or
what others are doing with a reasonable basis for this action. This may prompt hasty and bad
business decisions which is bad for business and worst-case scenario could mean the end of the
business.

Social proof is a powerful tool of manipulation that can used in a negative way to influence the
decisions of individuals. Therefore, negative attitude or action may be perceived as good by the
observer. Not only is this detrimental, but the individual is unable is account for their choices and
actions.

Social Media (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) is a very prominent example that illustrates
social proof in this era. Due to the thirst and hunger for one’s content to go viral, people tend to rely
on the “snowball effect” that occurs at a given time. Getting content to be liked and/or shared on
social media can be cumbersome. The first share is very hard to come by, but once you can get over
100 shares the perception users have about your page changes. Also, your social media following can
also be a form of social proof. Users have the tendency to think that an account with a few thousands
of followers is not as active and interesting as one with millions of followers.

A five-star rating obviously does not have the same psychological impact as a one-star rating. Goods
and services that have higher ratings are perceived to have superior quality, better user experience,
better price-quality offers and so on and so forth. This example is very common with one online
shopping on platforms such as Amazon, Zalando, eBay etc. From an academic perspective, institutions
with better and more accreditations are also perceived to better and therefore ranked higher. These
institutions are automatically preferred to schools with fewer accreditations or rankings.

Credentials cannot be ignored when it concerns social proof. Typical examples could be attending top
tier schools such as Harvard, obtaining a prestigious certification such the CFA Designation or even
exceling in aerospace engineering. Such credentials give more leverage to its holders, who are
perceived as more qualified and credible in certain situations.

Furthermore, when a company decides to use a celebrity for the endorsement of a brand as a brand
ambassador, the face of the brand and even a product commercial, this results in the association of
these brands to the said celebrities by users. Fans of such celebrities may try the good or service just
because the said celebrity is involved.

Finally, social and word of mouth work practically hand in gloves. When people hear from actual
person about a particular subject, they tend to at least give it a thought if not trust completely the
person’s opinion. This is even more powerful when the person involved is known. The effect is even
more explosive if the observer hears from not one but several people about the same product or
service.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
3 Warren E Buffett Memorandum – Warren E Buffett (2006)
Farnam Street, (n.d), “Social Proof: Why We Should Look to Others For What We Should Think and
Do”, retrieved from FS Blog: https://fs.blog/2009/09/mental-model-social-proof/

Wikipedia, (July, 6 2019), “Social Proof”, retrieved from Wikipedia:


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_proof

Robert. B Cialdini Ph.D., (1984), “Influence: Science and Practice”.

Alexandra, (March 10, 2018), “What is the Social Proof Theory”, retrieved from The Psychology Notes
HQ: https://www.psychologynoteshq.com/social-proof/

Warren E. Buffett, (September 27, 2006), “To Berkshire Hathaway Managers (The All Stars)”, Warren
E. Buffet Memorandum.

Bailey Richert, (n.d), “12 Types of Social Proof”, retrieved from Bailey Richert Blog:
https://baileyrichert.com/12-types-of-social-proof.html

Aleh Barysevich, (n.d), “The Psychology of Social Proof and Why it Makes Word-of-Mouth Marketing
So Effective”, retrieved from Convince & Convert: https://www.convinceandconvert.com/word-of-
mouth/social-proof/

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