The term was coined by Robert Cialdini in his 1984 book Influence: Science and Practice.
When "we conform because we believe that others' interpretation of an ambiguous situation is more accurate than ours and will help us choose an appropriate course of action",[1] it is informational social influence.
[4] Social proof is also one of Robert Cialdini's six principles of persuasion, (along with reciprocity, commitment/consistency, authority, liking, and scarcity) which maintains that people are especially likely to perform certain actions if they can relate to the people who performed the same actions before them.
[6] In this experiment subjects were placed in a dark room and asked to look at a dot of light about 15 feet away.
In a high-importance condition of the experiment, subjects were told that they were participating in a real test of eyewitness identification ability that would be used by police departments and courts, and that their scores would establish the norm for performance.
[8] Although this trend seems reoccurring, there is evidence which suggests that these results are a simplification, and that an independent subject's personal individualistic-collectivist tendency also makes an impact upon their decisions.
[11] In addition, research performed by David Phillips between 1947 and 1968 further supports the existence of copycat suicides.
[12] Theaters sometimes use specially planted audience members who are instructed to give ovations at pre-arranged times.
They have found that even though viewers find a laugh track annoying, they perceive shows that use canned laughter to be funnier than those that do not.
[10] In e-commerce, social proof takes the form of positive testimonials from previous customers.
Showcasing these testimonials is one of the tactics that is found to be effective in encouraging potential customers to sign up.