| "When in Rome do as the Roman's do" The Bible
The second letter of the ASSCURL acronym is Social Proof. Social proof is where you do what others are doing. You also will not do what others are not doing. Have you ever been to a baseball game and tried not to stand or take off your hat during the National Anthem? It's very difficult and uncomfortable. Have you ever noticed an empty restaurant next to a crowded one? People will avoid the empty one without knowing whether it's good or not. This video is a great example of social proof. In this video, there are 3 people that are part of the experiment who sit and stand at the ringing of a bell. Then as people enter the room they follow the original 3 people and stand and sit with them without being told to do it. Eventually, the original 3 leave the room and the remaining people continue to follow the original pattern. Some words used in ads and tweets on Twitter are: Some places where Social proof gets you to join in: Questions after a presentation On the other hand, if you've given a presentation and asked for questions you'll often hear silence as nobody wants to ask first and the fact that no one is asking means you shouldn't ask. As a moderator, it helps to have a number of questions to ask to get the ball rolling. Even better is to seed questions in case none are asked. Taking flyers from someone Often you'll see someone handing out flyers and no one will take them. But arrange for a number of cohorts to take them and you'll get others to copy the behavior. Kitty Genovese Effect One of the most famous events of social proof was the story of Kitty Genovese. She was murdered in broad daylight and witnessed by a number of people. No one called the police or helped because no one was helping. Escalator/Elevator behavior If you ride an elevator one thing you may notice is everyone is facing forward towards the door. If you get a number of people to face the back then new people that enter will also face the back. On the escalator, people will keep to the right to stand while others walk up to the left. Jumping a line You can often jump a line by just doing it. If no one says anything within the first 5 seconds then people will follow suit. If someone speaks up then many people will call you on your behavior. Priming the Tip Jar You can increase your tips at a store by just adding money to the tip jar. If a customer sees an empty jar they're less likely to give you a tip then if there is already money there. Used Car Trick One way to use this effect to your advantage if you're selling a used car or house is to place an ad and have all the responders to arrive at the same time. Store or restaurant Find a way to create a line outside your store and you'll get people joining the line just due to social proof. Exercises |