Edward Bernays: From Propaganda to Influencers
How Edward Bernays concept of engineering consent is seen in the tactics and methods used by modern influencers to persuade their followers.
EVERYDAY PERSUASION
How we form our opinions, make our decisions, and come to believe the things we believe.
Social Proof Definition and Examples
Everyone is doing it, so it must be good
What is Social Proof in Psychology?
Imagine you’ve just launched a new fitness app. You get a few views on day one but no one downloads it. There’s no ratings, no comments, and people are unsure. But then an influencer mentions it, a few of their followers try it out, and by the next week the app store shows 1,200 downloads today.
Nothing about the app has changed, but it’s now being endorsed by others. It feels popular, trusted, worth a try. People tap “download” not because they’ve assessed its quality, but because others already have. That’s social proof in action: the crowd supplies the evidence of quality.
We take these signals of popularity far more seriously than we realise. A number, a queue, a burst of activity — they act as quiet shortcuts, suggesting that other people have already done the thinking for us.
And this instinct isn’t new or irrational; it’s deeply human. To understand why it works so reliably, we need to look at the psychology behind social proof and how it shapes our choices every day.
Social Proof Definition
Social proof is our tendency to treat other people’s behaviour, choices, and opinions as evidence for what we should do or believe. When we are uncertain — or simply busy — we instinctively assume that the crowd knows something we don’t. Their behaviour becomes a shortcut for our own judgement.
It feels rational, but it’s often nothing more than inherited instinct. For most of human history, following the group increased your chances of survival. Today, it mostly increases your chances of clicking on whatever everyone else is clicking.
Social Proof Example
Look at these two phrases and imagine you have to make a quick decision between A and B …
“Most people choose option A.”
“Option A is the highest-rated.”
Even without knowing what A is, your brain probably felt a tiny tilt towards it — a sense that it is safer, more approved, more sensible. That small shift is social proof in miniature.
How Social Proof Works
Social proof operates through several simple, powerful mechanisms:
1. Uncertainty
When we aren’t sure what the “right” choice is, we default to copying others. The less confident we feel, the stronger the effect.
2. Effort Reduction
It takes time to evaluate options. It takes no time to follow the crowd. Convenience often gets disguised as consensus.
3. Safety in Numbers
We assume a group will correct individual mistakes: If everyone else thinks it’s fine, it must be fine.
A modern translation of ancient herd behaviour.
4. Popularity as Quality
Our brains treat popularity as evidence: the busier restaurant must be better; the trending article must be important; the most-watched show must be the best one.
5. The Illusion of Consensus
We often believe “everyone thinks this” when, in reality, only a visible minority has signalled a view. The appearance of group agreement is enough to create real group agreement.
The crowd is not always right. They’re just very good at looking like they must be.
- By Will Camden
- Everyday Persuasion Articles, The Theory
Author of the Underground Classic
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- Reading Time 6 Minutes
Table of Contents
The articles found in the pages of this hub can be seen as background information for the themes which run throughout our books
Key People
Robert Cialdini
The psychologist most associated with formalising the concept of social proof.
In his book Influence, he identified it as one of the core principles of persuasion and demonstrated its power across marketing, politics, and everyday behaviour.
Solomon Asch
Famous for the Asch conformity experiments of the 1950s, where participants agreed with obviously incorrect group answers simply to avoid standing out. A landmark illustration of how strongly we lean on social cues, even against our own judgement.
Muzafer Sherif
His autokinetic experiments showed how, in ambiguous situations, people’s perceptions shift to match group norms. A foundational study in the psychology of social influence.
Key Research
Solomon Asch’s Line Experiments (1951)
Participants were shown a line and asked to match its length. When actors within the groups deliberately gave the wrong answer, many participants conformed and agreed, even when the answer was clearly incorrect.
Hotel Towel Study (Goldstein, Cialdini & Griskevicius, 2008)
Signs were placed in hotel rooms which read “Most guests reuse their towels”. Towel reuse increased far more than when compared to environmental messages.
Online Review Studies (Multiple Authors, 2010s–Present)
Research consistently shows that a high number of reviews increases sales — even when the actual ratings are only moderately positive.
Everyday Example
You sit down intending to watch a specific film. You open the streaming app, scroll once, and suddenly notice a prominent banner: Most Watched This Week. There is a glossy thumbnail, a familiar actor, and a reassuring number of views.
You have no strong reason to watch it. You came here to watch something else. But the social signal — everyone else is watching this — creates a momentary sense that this is the “right” choice. Not objectively, not thoughtfully, but socially.
You hover. You click the trailer. And before you know it, you’ve abandoned your original plan and joined the digital crowd.
Nothing forced you, but your mind took a shortcut: popularity equals quality; what others choose must be worth choosing. A tiny, silent negotiation took place, and the group won.
Popularity signals are designed to guide your choices.
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