Lessons in Effective Persuasion and "Social Proof"

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  tekwrytr@...06/20/08 Report as spam
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  social proof

  Persuasion is a fascinating area of research, and one easily confounded. Specifically, attributing causality to one factor when other factors may be confounding the results. In the case given for evidence of social proof, the key is in the interpretation of the "cause" as being "social proof." It would be as easy to make the argument that the motivating factor was implied scarcity ("other people are buying all the good stuff and if I don't buy right away, I might not get any") as that it was social proof.
  
  As with most social research, the labeling comes after the fact; it is difficult or impossible to predict the effect, and the labeling is applied after the effect to "explain" it. That attitude--prevalent if not universal in marketing--is costly; attributing causality to the wrong factor can be the basis of entire marketing campaigns that go essentially nowhere, or that produce a small fraction of what a more appropriate (and technically more sophisticated) approach might achieve.
  
  Yes, there is a desire in people to "jump on the bandwagon" (the "bandwagon effect") and do what other people seem to be doing. However, it is conceptually impoverished to attribute causality to persuasive "effects" that are interpreted (and labeled) after the fact.
  tekwrytr