Many studies have been performed that look at the role peer pressure has on our decision-making.
I recall an experiment where a group of people was asked to choose the longest of 3 lines on a piece of paper. Unbeknownst to the test subject was that the rest of the subjects were actors who were instructed to select one of the incorrect answers. The test subjects often abandoned their answer and went instead with the wrong answer provided by the group.
People desperately want to fit in so much so that they often times will ignore their own opinion just to be part of the crowd. No one likes to be wrong, but it is far more acceptable to be wrong with a crowd than be wrong on your own.
The risk of choosing incorrectly and being ridiculed by the group outweighs the reward of choosing correctly. This, I believe, is why so many young people start smoking even if it makes them sick and they know the health risks of smoking.
Moreover, in elections, many voters simply cast their ballots based solely on the popular candidate to be part of the crowd. They want to say they voted for the winner even if the candidate is not aligned with their personal values. Sometimes
Sometimes a critical mass in a crowd is achieved based on the pure laziness of the individuals. They reason that if everyone else is buying a particular product, the other people must know something they don’t. Rather than make their own decision, they choose to just be part of the crowd and buy it too.
When it comes to marketing, the savvy entrepreneur plays on the notion of peer pressure. “4 out of 5 dentists recommend…” and “…is the number one selling brand” are just two examples of how marketers are able to push the peer pressure button.
How do you use a person’s need to fit-in in into your marketing message?
