{"id":71109,"date":"2022-07-02T10:31:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-02T14:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=71109"},"modified":"2022-07-20T08:19:41","modified_gmt":"2022-07-20T12:19:41","slug":"social-proof-examples-in-real-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/social-proof-examples-in-real-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Social Proof: Real-World Example Reveals the Dangers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How do we define social proofs? What are social proof examples<\/a> in the real world? How dangerous are negative social proofs?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Influence<\/em><\/a>, Robert Cialdini describes \u201cThe Social Proof Principle,\u201d<\/a> which states that when people are unsure of how to behave, they base their behavior on the behaviors of others in the group. Social proofs can be defined as a way to cope with insecurity and pursue social acceptance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read on for a social proof<\/a> example in the real world, taken from Glennon Doyle’s book Untamed.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Received Cultural Messages <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In Untamed, <\/em>speaker, author, <\/em>and activist Glennon Doyle explores how she freed herself from the strictures of society and embraced her true identity by rejecting the expectations and limitations society imposes on women. Her book is an intimate memoir\u2014telling her personal story of addiction and rehab, falling in love with a woman, leaving her marriage, and rebuilding her family\u2014and a call to action<\/a>. Doyle wants her social proof example in the real world to be used as a framework for women to examine their lives and deconstruct societal expectations<\/a>. Doyle believes this will liberate women from the metaphorical captivity that limits their potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Negative Social Proof Examples<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As a child, Doyle was creative, sensitive, imaginative, and intuitive. As she reached adolescence, however, Doyle started receiving and internalizing damaging cultural messages about what a woman should be: pleasing and agreeable, self-sacrificing, attractive to men, able to repress her emotions and desires, and deferential to others\u2019 opinions.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doyle abandoned her unconstrained childhood self to conform to these expectations and began bottling up her emotions, distrusting her intuition, and dismissing her imagination\u2014this messaging took away her freedom and put her in the cage of society’s expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result, she constantly sought approval from others and suffered from low self esteem, anxiety, and depression. These societal expectations so completely consumed her that she was domesticated and lived in a state of captivity by age ten. (Shortform note: Doyle\u2019s social proof example in the real world aligns with research that indicates that age 10 is when children start to internalize the gendered expectations that society communicates to them<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social Proof Examples in the Real World: Why Girls Are Disproportionately Affected 
<\/strong>
In Doyle’s social proof example in the real world, she describes how she was susceptible to the messages of her culture and internalized them at an early age. One of the reasons Doyle was so affected by this messaging is that humans place a high value on social acceptance and are therefore constantly observing the behaviors of others to guide their behavior. 

In Influence<\/em><\/a>, Robert Cialdini describes \u201cThe Social Proof Principle,\u201d<\/a> which states that when people are unsure of how to behave, they base their behavior on the behaviors of others in the group. Social proofs can be a way to cope with insecurity and pursue social acceptance. 

When thinking about this negative social proof example, remember that adolescent girls can be particularly susceptible to social proofs because they are more sensitive to rejection or social disapproval than boys<\/a>. As a result, manufactured social proofs<\/a>\u2014social proofs deliberately created to manipulate behavior\u2014disproportionately affect girls. A pervasive example of manufactured social proofs are the messages in advertising that aim to convince girls that they are not good enough<\/a>. These kinds of manufactured social proofs can have long-lasting negative consequences, including anxiety, depression, and insecurity<\/a>\u2014all of which Doyle has struggled with throughout her life. <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Social Proof Self-Reflection <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In Doyle’s social proof example, she received messages from society that told her what to be\u2014pleasing and agreeable, self-sacrificing, attractive to men, able to repress emotions<\/a> and desires, and deferential to the opinions of others. In this exercise, you can reflect on your experiences and compare them with Doyle\u2019s social proof example.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n