Examining Conformity and Social Proof.

Have you ever wondered why the drive to conform to societal standards, and your concern for social proof for what works and what doesn't is so powerful?

Well, we are going to explore the reasons behind that and the effects that has on your life.

The Three Sources of Social Influence and their History.

Conforming to societal standards and the quest for social proof is the result of three powerful social influences that people find it difficult to escape:

? The influence of the people close to you.

? The influence of the many.

? The influence of the powerful.

Conformity to societal expectations by individuals is usually driven by these three groups.

I suspect that these dynamics have evolutionary underpinnings and benefits. The survival of the human species was dependent on communal living in form of tribes.

The tribe comprised of people who were close to you and their approval of you was something that mattered. If they signaled that something was good for you, you were better off agreeing with them than not.

Tribes would fracture following disputes back then just as social groups fracture now. It would mostly be as a result of constrained resources.

When this happened, it was safer to be on the side of the majority. Your survival depended on it.

The bigger the group, the more formidable it was against attacks by other tribes. It was also more effective in hunting and gathering because of the large number of its members.

In the tribes, there were people who would determine your position in the tribe. These were the leaders of the tribe. What they thought of you determined your status. You were better off aligning yourself with them.

Conforming to social norms for the longest time was for our survival. Failure to conform would result to being sidelined mildly or even being banished entirely. This had negative implications to our chances of survival.

These influences by the close, the many and the powerful have persisted to date. We really care about the opinions of these groups and we always seek to see things their way.

Social Proof as a Salesman Tool.

Salespeople seem to understand this urge to belong in people. They know that no one wants to be left behind by the majority.

They know that we want to do what those we think highly of are doing(the powerful). They also understand that we want to do what our peers are doing(the close).

Salespeople know the value of social proof in nudging people to decide. Social proof is evidence of what the close, the many and the powerful are doing.

Social proof is the reason why salespeople cite the names of your peers, your friends, your neighbors, and pretty much anyone physically and emotionally close to you (the close), who might have recently bought their product.

It is also why celebrities(the powerful) are made brand ambassadors. It is so that they can send signals to others of what is good for society.

Salespeople will also mention how their products are flying off the shelves as evidence of how these products have been embraced by the majority.

The Negative Effects of Conformity.

While this need for conformity worked when our survival depended on it, it is mismatched with the modern environment.

While conforming to what is right by societal standards may have its benefits, it is not ideal for personal goals. You cannot base your goals on what everyone else is doing.

It is not good for company goals either. Sticking strictly to industry standards leads to failure in innovation and the eventual decline of the company.

While conforming may have been useful for our survival in the early human years, it is not as useful for thriving in the modern age.

Conforming to societal standards and seeking for social proof on who else is conforming, should come with a warning sticker: This leads to heard mentality and may result to falling off the cliff!

Call to Action:

Individuals and organizations should have goals and values that drive them and that act as filters for what really matters to them.

This removes them from blindly gathering social proof of what seems to be working and what does not work.

They should also seek to conform only with what is likely to lead to long term growth and not what makes them feel safe in the short term.