Other people's behaviour acts as a cue for what to do, buy, or believe.
More quotesA warning reads: “Millions of people fail to pay on time.” The writer intends alarm. The reader may hear membership. That is the wicked little difficulty with social proof. Describing bad behaviour as widespread can recruit for it. Missing the deadline becomes normal, littering becomes what visitors do here, and excessive prescribing becomes an understandable local habit. The communication deplores the conduct while supplying a crowd to hide inside.
Influence works far beyond purchasing. Roommates alter study habits. Broadcasters copy formats whose success made them feel safe. Judges shift with the composition of a panel. People rarely announce that they are copying; the group changes what looks ordinary, noticeable and socially costly.
Good norms can be made visible too, but the reference group must feel real. “Most people in your building pay on time” has a recognisable neighbourhood. A grand national percentage can smell like statistical air freshener. Movement can help when the desired behaviour is growing: it signals direction without pretending everybody has already become a saint.
There is still a danger in worshipping the majority. Groups preserve rotten habits as efficiently as good ones because each member treats the others as evidence. Popularity answers what people currently do. It cannot decide what they should do.
Before announcing that “people like you” behave in some particular way, read the sentence as an invitation. Who, exactly, will be pleased to accept?