‘Social proofing’ the way to environmentally friendly behaviours

Picture this:

It’s 8:30PM on a Saturday; you're at home.
From your window, you notice a curious phenomenon outside.
One by one, all the house lights in your neighbourhood turn off.
Except for yours.
What do you do?

You may have heard of ‘social proof’ and how we emulate the behaviours of people similar to ourselves (Cialdini, 1984).
Social proof works best with outwardly visible behaviours – such as whether one’s house lights are on – hence the success of Earth Hour to date.
But what about private behaviours that aren’t readily seen by others: whether we sort out the trash, take short showers or waste food at home?

Can social proof be activated in these situations? How?

Remember, the input required to activate social proof is the individual’s perception that a certain behaviour is commonplace.
i.e. The key to social proof for private behaviours lies in creating a community-wide acceptance of the behaviour as being the norm.

If we want to encourage people to act in a particular way, we need to promote dialogue and participation at the grassroots level.
When a certain topic overtakes your social media feed, drives conversations with your neighbours and is discussed in the workplace, it’s safe to say that the influence of social proof is working.

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Cialdini, R. B. (1984). Influence: The psychology of persuasion. New York: Collins.