Several weeks ago, I noted that I had just finished reading a book for our book club—The Catalyst: How to Change Anyone’s Mind by Jonah Berger (Simon & Shuster Paperbacks, New York (2020)) (“Catalyst”). The book’s thesis is how to get people to change their minds through self-persuasion. To do this, one must “remove[] roadblocks and lower[] the barriers that keep people from taking action” (Id. at 7.) or act as a catalyst.
The author identifies five principles: Reaction, Endowment, Distance, Uncertainty, and Corroborating Evidence (Id. at 11-14.) I discussed Uncertainty in a recent blog and will discuss the final principle of Corroborating Evidence this week.
The thesis of this chapter is that people need evidence to change their minds or to decide to do something. How much evidence depends on the strength of our attitude on the subject. The author notes,”… strong attitudes are much more resistant to change.” (Id. at 180.) As a result, our confirmation bias kicks in such that “… we discount information that goes against our existing views, picking it apart rather than revising our perspective.” (Id.)
So, how do you get someone to change their view? Use social proof or corroborating evidence. If one person says that X is true, you may discount it because only one person is stating it. But, suppose multiple people are stating that X is true and they are all saying it at the same time. Then, the statement becomes harder to discount since you hear the same thing from many different sources. “There is strength in numbers.” (Id. at 188, 186-9.) “ If multiple people are doing the same thing, it’s harder to argue they’re wrong.” (Id. at 188.)
Multiple sources provide credibility and legitimacy to the statement or action at issue! (Id.) In short, social proof is being provided.
To strengthen this social proof or corroborating evidence, one should consider the who, when, and how the proof or evidence is provided. (Id. at 189.)
With respect to who should deliver the corroborating evidence, the author invokes the “likeness” principle, which states that we tend to be more receptive to information and advice coming from someone similar to us. The more similar someone is to us, the more we value what they tell us, and thus, the more significant impact it will have on us. (Id. at 188-195.)
At the same time, diversity matters, too. Suppose we are told the same thing from diverse sources independent of each other. In that case, those additional sources provide more substantial and, thus, more significant support for the proposition. (Id. at 192-195)
The next issue is when to provide the corroborating evidence. If it is provided once a month, it will not do much to change our minds; it will be weak in terms of social proof. But if different folks tell us the same thing in a concise period, this concentration increases its effectiveness and, thus, its impact. There is a big difference between hearing the same thing five times over two months and hearing it five times in one day. The latter will have a much more significant impact.
Finally, there is the issue of whether to concentrate on or spread the social proof. The author uses the example of a fire hose and a sprinkler. The spray of a fire hose is concentrated. In contrast, the sprinkler spreads the water out. By analogy, should the tellers of corroborating evidence focus on a small group of folks like a fire hose, or should they concentrate on many different folks like a sprinkler? The answer is it depends. In situations where it will not take much to get people to change their minds, the sprinkler analogy will work. But, where much more social proof is required to get people to change their minds, one will need a fire hose concentration to accomplish the task! (Id. a 199-205.)
In short, to get people to change their minds, one must show them that others are doing it or provide corroborating evidence.
… Just something to think about.
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