Social proof is the human tendency to accept that what everyone else is doing must be the correct course of action. It is the “if the Joneses are doing it, then probably so should I” syndrome.
An example of how a jeweller might use this against you is to tell you that “emerald cuts have been all the rage during the last year and most men tend to be buying ones larger than a carat. Bridal Monthly also ran a survey and found that the cut and size that most women wanted is the emerald cut, greater than 1 carat”.
Here the jeweller has used 3 pieces of social proof against you:
a) A particular cut is fashionable, which is anecdotal unless backed up with proof,
b) That men are buying this cut larger than a carat, again anecdotal unless backed up with proof,
c) That women who have been surveyed prefer this cut bigger than a carat, and again, unless you are shown this survey firsthand, remains anecdotal.
To prevent this tactic from being used against you, firstly question any social proof statistics that the jeweller uses. After all, what they say will invariably be anecdotal. Any actual data they provide should be independent of them and their business otherwise it is too easy to fabricate.
Secondly, you need to realise that just because the majority of people are doing something, doesn’t mean they know something that you don’t. The majority of the crowd are themselves probably acting on the principle of social proof. What is the lesson here? Question everything!
