Third-Party Validation, Social Proof, and Why 9 Out Of 10 Dentists Agree: The 10th Dentist Just Doesn't Get It
Submitted by chris cudnoski on Tue, 06/19/2012 - 15:11I've never met that tenth dentist, but if I did I might ask him what he thinks he knows that the other 9 don't. Dentists are trained experts. You wouldn't argue with one dentist, why would you oppose nine? You've got to be either pretty brave or pretty dim to stand against 9 guys your certain to encounter at conventions and award ceremonies throughout your career.
If one of the other 9 dentists really wanted to get that 10th guy over on to their team, rather than trying to convince him of the error of his ways through rhetoric, pleading or threats, they would be better off using Third-Party Validation, aka Social Proof.
Third-Party Validation is simply when someone believes something because someone else believes it. It's easy to justify buying a certain toothbrush because 9 out of 10 dentists recommended it, finding someone more attractive if they are 'spoken for', or even voting for a candidate because so-and-so endorsed them.
Outside of the 9-1 dentist war that has been raging most of my life, the most familiar version of TPV is the car dealership scenario. Here, a person goes in to look at cars and they talk to a salesman. A first time buyer believes that they will be negotiating with the salesman and buying the car from the salesman. Then, suddenly, the salesman stops them and says "Wait, I'm sorry. I'll have to go ask the manager about that."
After a very, very long time the salesman returns. He tells them he's sorry, but the manager said that they can't upgrade the tires unless they pay $65 for labor, and they'll quickly agree. The salesman apologizes for giving the wrong figure. You forgive them bacause, after all, the manager must be smarter about cars than the salesman, and they're certainly smarter than the customer.
Social Proof (SP) is another version of TPV which occurs in social situations where you can see everybody, managers and all. The people who are talking will have others drift towards them, rather than other lone people. Guys who walk in with a woman will have every other female's attention. The simple fact that this man has the approval of just one female will be proof enough to the others that he is at least worth investigating.
And on TeeVee, between the toothbrush commercials, we can hear newscasters spout lines like 'some people say' or 'we just had an expert on who would disagree with you' or 'how is the MARKET going to react?' Always pitting the 'guest' against some unseen, all-knowing, omniscient 3rd Party. A third party is even created when one talking head tells another that they can both agree on at least one thing - stocks are a great investment at any time.
What does all this have to do with Ron Paul Activism?
(Before that, for those who are starting to think that TPV is some evil trick, a fourth and final example of SP/TPV is the question 'What Would Jesus Do?' He is the most unobtainable and omniscient of all Third Parties, and everybody knows what Jesus would say was the right thing to do. So this can be used for good or evil, and even if you never use it to get something from someone, you should know that it will be used against you at some point.)
I saw an expert on TV who said Ron Paul will win it all
http://www.dailypaul.com/235843/i-saw-an-expert-on-tv-who-sa...
This Paulistinian's daughter told him Ron Paul will be president:
http://www.dailypaul.com/240992/ron-paul-will-be-president-m...
One thing I have said to people is "I'm not a soldier, but my uncle and grandfather were, and I know that the military gives more to Ron Paul than all the other candidates combined. I'm certain these soldiers know more than I do about national defense."
Another will be 'Have you heard of Joe Scarborough on CNBC? He voted for Ron Paul."
http://www.dailypaul.com/240266/joe-scarborough-why-i-voted-...
Enough of mine. What do you all think?
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This is an excellent article and should be read by EVERYONE
Understand this concept of social proof / third party validation and you will start seeing it everywhere.
Once I learned this, it was like a light shining on everything social. I'll never see things the same again.
And I am not in the dark about a whole lot of things that used to mystify me.
If you learn to recognize where it is operating (which is, just about all of the time, everywhere) it can completely transform your life.
EDIT:
I see that a few people have recognized the Upvote / Downvote feature as a perfect example of this in operation.
Good call. It is :)
Right on, Von. I'm there with
Right on, Von. I'm there with ya. I know what you mean. :)
School's fine. Just don't let it get in the way of thinking. -Me
Just Say No to Pre-judice
Although, I believe the arrow indicator doesn't influence most DPers. I place my arrow according to what I think about the post or comment, not the arrows, not the judgments before mine. No to pre-judging.
School's fine. Just don't let it get in the way of thinking. -Me
Mob Mentality - the dark side of Social Proof
Rioting and looting are largely the result of 'everybody else is doing it' logic.
The Under-Lying Truth
Anti-Panda Propaganda Systems
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Ron Paul: "If you ever can bring about revolutionary changes two things would be required: young people... and music."
A good example
here on the DP would be those who mistakenly think that getting a lot of upvotes on their cheerleading thread has any bearing on the validity of the thread.
Or that cheerleading for the downvoting of another thread means that the other thread is not valid.
Anybody doing that might be considered "The Jerk".
Perfect example lol
That little feature has way more to do with what happens on a board than most people probably realize ..
ie. What they post. What they don't post.
Whether or not to step out in defense of something or somebody.
Perfect example
I find myself wanting to down-vote posts about war
even though it's important information - I still don't feel good 'voting up' a story about war or TSA assault. It feels like I'm saying 'yay! I approve of what I'm reading here,' when I don't.
The Under-Lying Truth
Anti-Panda Propaganda Systems
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Ron Paul: "If you ever can bring about revolutionary changes two things would be required: young people... and music."
TPV
Great post! Thanks for it.
School's fine. Just don't let it get in the way of thinking. -Me
A-B--B-A - I love that quote in your signature.
School's fine. Just don't let it get in the way of learning. -Me
Tell me, who is this philosopher you quote named 'Me'? I have not heard of him (or her?) before. Have many of his books survived?
The Under-Lying Truth
Anti-Panda Propaganda Systems
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Ron Paul: "If you ever can bring about revolutionary changes two things would be required: young people... and music."
Me is me
Hi, Chris. Oh, Me isn't the name of a philosopher. Me is me, ABBA. lol. As for my books, I haven't written them. They're pending. lol.
School's fine. Just don't let it get in the way of thinking. -Me
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The Under-Lying Truth
Anti-Panda Propaganda Systems
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Ron Paul: "If you ever can bring about revolutionary changes two things would be required: young people... and music."
Hey...
I posted about Social Proof last night... did you get that from me?
A New Movement? Nullification Starts NOW!
Yes. Thanks for reminding me. Thanks to commenters to my post
http://www.dailypaul.com/235843/i-saw-an-expert-on-tv-who-sa...
Was going to do that in an edit but will take the free bump by doing it here. We should also probably explore some of the other names that Third-Party Validation goes by:
Social Proof
Expert Witness Testimony
Political Endorsements
Everybody Else is Doing It
...???
The Under-Lying Truth
Anti-Panda Propaganda Systems
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Ron Paul: "If you ever can bring about revolutionary changes two things would be required: young people... and music."
More things to look into...
Look up a guy named Robert Cialdini. He's a Social Psychologist who studied all of these principles of Influence and wrote a very famous book on the subject.
6 Key Principles of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini
Reciprocity - People tend to return a favor, thus the pervasiveness of free samples in marketing. In his conferences, he often uses the example of Ethiopia providing thousands of dollars in humanitarian aid to Mexico just after the 1985 earthquake, despite Ethiopia suffering from a crippling famine and civil war at the time. Ethiopia had been reciprocating for the diplomatic support Mexico provided when Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1935. The good cop/bad cop strategy is also based on this principle.
Commitment and Consistency - If people commit, orally or in writing, to an idea or goal, they are more likely to honor that commitment because of establishing that idea or goal as being congruent with their self image. Even if the original incentive or motivation is removed after they have already agreed, they will continue to honor the agreement. For example, in car sales, suddenly raising the price at the last moment works because the buyer has already decided to buy. Cialdini notes Chinese brainwashing on American prisoners of war to rewrite their self image and gain automatic unenforced compliance. See cognitive dissonance.
Social Proof - People will do things that they see other people are doing. For example, in one experiment, one or more confederates would look up into the sky; bystanders would then look up into the sky to see what they were seeing. At one point this experiment aborted, as so many people were looking up that they stopped traffic. See conformity, and the Asch conformity experiments.
Authority - People will tend to obey authority figures, even if they are asked to perform objectionable acts. Cialdini cites incidents such as the Milgram experiments in the early 1960s and the My Lai massacre.
Liking - People are easily persuaded by other people that they like. Cialdini cites the marketing of Tupperware in what might now be called viral marketing. People were more likely to buy if they liked the person selling it to them. Some of the many biases favoring more attractive people are discussed. See physical attractiveness stereotype.
Scarcity - Perceived scarcity will generate demand. For example, saying offers are available for a "limited time only" encourages sales.
If you want a top-notch education in social psychology and writing to influence, look into Copywriting.
A New Movement? Nullification Starts NOW!
The third party can be mythical, hypothetical, stereotypical,
or a straw man.
The Under-Lying Truth
Anti-Panda Propaganda Systems
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Ron Paul: "If you ever can bring about revolutionary changes two things would be required: young people... and music."
Again, it's more important to know that these tactics will be
used against you, rather than to learn them with the purpose of using them.
The Under-Lying Truth
Anti-Panda Propaganda Systems
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Ron Paul: "If you ever can bring about revolutionary changes two things would be required: young people... and music."