The Herd Instinct
You are on your way to a concert. At an intersection , you encounter a group of people , all staring at the sky. Without even thinking about it, you peer upwards too. Why? Social proof. In the middle of the concert, when the soloist is displaying absolute mastery, someone begins to clap and suddenly the whole room joins in. You do too. Why? Social proof. After the concert is over, you see people in front place a coin on a plate, even though, officially, the service is included in ticket price. What do you do? You probably leave a tip as well. Social proof, sometimes roughly termed as Herd Instinct , dictates that individuals feel they are behaving when act as the same as other people. In other words, more people who follow a certain idea, better we deem the idea to be. Social proof is evil behind bubbles and stock market panic. It exists in fashion, management techniques, hobbies, religion and diets. It can paralyse whole cultures, such as when sects commit collective...