social proof
SOH-shul PROOF
ˈsoʊʃəl pruːfListen
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Dictionary meaning
the psychological and social phenomenon whereby individuals look to the behaviour of others as evidence of the correct course of action in uncertain situations, assuming that if many people are doing something it must be the right or desirable thing to do; coined by Robert Cialdini in Influence (1984), social proof operates through mechanisms such as customer reviews, crowd behaviour, testimonials, celebrity endorsements, and the display of how many others have already made a particular choice; it is widely exploited in marketing, fundraising, and platform design, and intersects with behavioural economics through its role in shaping norms-based nudging strategies
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