Never follow the expected line

The Science Behind Why Some People Don’t Follow the Crowd

Social Proof – at some point most of us will have succumbed to its powerful draw. Perhaps we’ve chosen the busy restaurant over the quieter one, been carried along by the momentum of the Mexican wave at a sports stadium or simply joined the burgeoning line at the airport without really knowing for sure if we are in the right line.

Of course, not everyone follows the crowd in every context. In some instances, some people will purposely not follow the crowd because they want to be different. And some new research is shedding light on when people are most likely to diverge from the social proof of a situation. Understanding these insights could be very useful for anyone looking to ethically and effectively influence others.

Now let’s go back to the study described earlier. Why were the participants more likely to choose the same detergent and paper towels as an older confederate but less likely to choose the same music and clothes? It turns out that it is all about the product domain. People are more likely to be influenced to make choices about products and offers that fall outside of their in-group if those products and offers are identity-neutral (such as the paper towels and detergents). However they are more likely to diverge from, even avoid, options chosen by out-groups in more identity-relevant domains .