Social Proof Explained

Social proof is one of the most powerful weapons of influence that Cialdini talks about in his book Influence: Science and Practice. This technique so powerful that everyone uses social proof, often without even realizing it.

The idea behind social proof is that in ambiguous situations (especially social ones), we tend to look to others to determine what behavior is appropriate. By looking to someone else for guidance, we are essentially allowing their behaviors to influence ours. While nothing can guarantee compliance, social proof can be used to make us act in ways that are not in our best interests.

One way social proof can work against us is during emergency situations. The bystander effect is a phenomenon where bystanders of a group often fail to offer help in emergency situations. The reasoning is that each person looks to the others to see what to do. Since no one is doing anything (except looking to see what theirs neighbor are doing) no one does anything.

Whats interesting is that social proof is universal, it applies to everyone regardless of race, culture, religion, etc. This is because there are evolutionary advantages for social proof. We tend to make less mistakes if we follow what others are doing. For example, next time youre driving on the freeway and encounter an accident, think back to when you started braking. If youre on a busy freeway, its quite possible that you started braking before you could see the accident. You relied on the actions of others (braking) to figure out what to do.

How can you use social proof to increase the chance of compliance during an interaction? Essentially, you want to structure the interaction so that the person you are trying to persuade is aware of other people who have complied with your request. So next time you write that social engineering email (during a pen test of course), remember social proof.

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