If Everyone Is Thinking Alike, Then Somebody Isn’t Thinking

Sociology and Psychology

Photograph: John Lau

Humans have always had animalistic instincts. Tracing our history and evolution through millions of years past tells us that humans are still intrinsically animals. While evolution has allowed us to change drastically over time, we have still retained a sense of animalism which previously aided our survival as a species. These genetically hard-wired behaviours still guide and influence our lives more often than people tend to think. As a result, several psychological and social phenomena are attributed to the innate human tendency of following our basic instincts. One such example of this is social proof.

The term ‘Social Proof’ was first coined by Robert Cialdini in his book ‘Influence’, which was published in 1984. The concept itself is relatively simple and extremely widespread, centring around elements of crowd psychology. Also known as ‘herd instinct’, social proof revolves around the idea that you are behaving correctly if you act in a similar manner to those around you. Simply put, we believe that the ‘correctness’ of a certain behaviour is proportional to the number of people who follow it. As more and more people follow a certain behaviour that is perceived as ‘correct’, the more likely that others will feel obligated to follow. This creates a self-perpetuating cycle whereby outsiders deem this certain behaviour as ‘better’ or more ‘correct’ purely based on the number of people who follow it before choosing to follow it themselves, leading to an increased likelihood of other outsiders being induced to follow this behaviour.

Social proof also has roots in our instincts of self-preservation: following others has always been a good survival strategy. Going back into the distant past, we eventually reach a point when humans were far from the dominant species on earth - a time when our ancestors constantly feared those above themselves in the food chain: the apex predators. In those times, it benefitted us to follow the actions of others. If you were among a group of people who all simultaneously bolted, would you stay behind and wonder what everyone else had managed to spot? No. There would be a general consensus that everyone else had sensed the danger and thus had acted correctly. Undoubtedly, there would have been some who chose not to follow the behaviour of the crowd, and would have subsequently became the afternoon snack of a lion. The ‘different’ ones who were not as willing to follow the crowd had lower chances of survival, eventually exiting the human gene pool. This leads us to the realisation that modern humans are the direct descendants of those who religiously followed the actions of others. The instinct of following others granted our ancestors their strong survivability, an instinct which was passed on to us to allow higher chances of survival. Although modern society no longer demands this type of animalistic instinct, it is so deeply rooted within our minds that we have not been able to fully abandon the idea.

Examples of the exploitation of social proof are seen regularly throughout our lives on a day-to-day basis. The rapid development of technology and its integration into our society has only served to accentuate the effect of this phenomenon. Social proof is the very phenomenon behind stock market panics and the existence of bubbles which plague the world economy. It exists all around us - from fashion to marketing, from hobbies to diets. If you were a stranger in a foreign land looking for a suitable restaurant, social proof would lead you to go for a crowded restaurant full of locals. One of the most notable uses of social proof can be found on talk shows or comedy shows. Think about the last time you watched a comedy, be it Friends or The Big Bang Theory. While both shows are subjectively funny, the examples listed (and undoubtedly many more) both utilise the famous ‘laugh tracks’. Such audio cues are strategically placed at moments of peak humour to induce laughter in the actual audience, and is generally quite successful in doing so. Videos of these shows with the ‘laugh tracks’ edited out can be found on the internet, and watching these videos really gives us perspectives on how important this single audio cue is. Without the ‘laugh tracks’, these comedy shows often lose some of their charm and wit. Scenes which once seemed hilarious now seem dull because no one is laughing along. That is the strong effect of social proof on our minds.

So now that you know a bit about social proof, how can you nullify its effects? Well, the truth is, some elements of it will always be ingrained in our minds due to the evolution of humans as a species over thousands of years. However, while social proof is not objectively bad, it is often abused by marketing and advertising industries, which like to claim that their product is the ‘most popular’ or boasts thousands of positive reviews. There is a lesson to be learnt in that these types of advertisements are only there to wreak havoc with your logical thinking by activating your instinct of capitulating to social proof. So, before you impulsively purchase these products, it would be worth being sceptical. Is this product really better than the other one just because more people have bought it? Modern times no longer demand the use of social proof; we as a species are now in a position in which we no longer need to mindlessly follow our instincts. So think for yourself and think logically. In the words of General George S. Patton, “if everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking.”