Social Proof
People generally look to other people similar to themselves when making decisions. This is particularly noticeable in situations of uncertainty or ambiguity.
This trait has led compliance professionals to provide fake information on what others are doing. Examples of this are staged interviews on television advertisements or "infomercials".
Read more about this topic: Influence: Science And Practice
Famous quotes containing the words social and/or proof:
“The demonstrations are always early in the morning, at six o’clock. It’s wonderful, because I’m not doing anything at six anyway, so why not demonstrate?... When you’ve written to your president, to your congressman, to your senator and nothing, nothing has come of it, you take to the streets.”
—Erica Bouza, U.S. jewelry designer and social activist. As quoted in The Great Divide, book 2, section 7, by Studs Terkel (1988)
“Talk shows are proof that conversation is dead.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)