The Issue: The idea of social proof, as presented in Robert Cialdini’s “Influence: Science and Practice.” Cialdini defines social proof as “determining what is correct by finding out what other people think is correct” (2009, p. 99) and describes how social proof influences the public.
Major Strength: The major strength of these chapters lies in the detail in which Cialdini describes social proof. He thoroughly explains what social proof is, how it is used in sales and other professions, and gives detailed examples of social proof in action.
Major Weakness: Cialdini spends a large portion of the chapter giving examples of social proof, which I find helpful, but his choices of examples are not my favorite. Not only are the examples somewhat dark, they are also incredibly specific, and most of the readers are not likely to ever be in a similar situation. These unique situations make me less engaged with the reading.
Underlying assumption: All individuals are impacted by social proof, but one should not fully trust social proof.
Provocative Questions: Are there more positive examples of social proof? At what point in life do we begin to recognize that we are following others and acting as they do?