Social Proof

One overlooked benefit of organizations sharing authentic stories of change is the possibility they will inspire others to emulate that behavior, a phenomenon psychologists refer to as “social proof.”

An article in THE ATLANTIC: “Thy Neighbor’s Solar Panels” discusses the power of peer pressure to cause widespread behavioral changes:

Though behavioral contagion—as the phenomenon is known—can exacerbate bullying, cheating on taxes, and problem drinking, among other harmful behaviors, people also become more likely to exercise and eat prudently when those behaviors become more widespread among peers.

Where contagion creates a problem, it can also help solve it.

Solar-panel adoption, for example, is particularly contagious… [and] can be seen in Google’s Project Sunroof, which displays aerial photos of neighborhoods and identifies houses with solar panels by placing red dots on their roofs. Those houses tend to be near others with red dots.

Given the power of contagion, it is astonishing that the question of how policy makers might harness this power has received so little serious attention.