Social Proof: Why We Follow the Crowd
How many times have you not gone into a restaurant because it looked dead?
Last weekend was our first curry-and-beer night of the year. It’s a simple concept. Go for a curry, get some beers. A solid evening all round.
Like many people, my friend and I are creatures of habit. The same curry house, the same pubs. But hey, it’s 2026, a new year, new us, let’s mix things up and try a new pub, crazy. But as we walked past the new pub in question, I looked through the window, and I was immediately hit with a feeling of regret. It looked empty, loads of free tables, no one at the bar. Fortunately for the landlord, it was raining; we were full and in no mood to walk any further. So, in we went anyway. And to our relief, inside, around the corner, the place was bustling, the sport was on, and the drinks were flowing. Suddenly, the fact that no one was queuing at the bar became a win!
That brief moment of indecision, standing in the rain, says a lot about how we, as humans, behave.
We love to think of ourselves as independent, rational, considered decision-makers. We’d done our research, the pub looked good online. But in reality, we’re constantly scanning our environment for cues from others. We started to doubt ourselves. What feels acceptable here? What are people like me doing? Luckily, they were inside having a good time.
This is social proof. A shortcut to navigate our overwhelming world without the need to stop and consciously evaluate each choice. And there’s a reason why it’s so powerful. It’s not about laziness or being gullible; it’s because we’re social, tribal creatures; constantly interacting, constantly checking
Back in the 1950s, psychologist Solomon Asch ran a now-famous experiment on conformity. Participants were given a simple task: match the length of one line to another. The answer was always obvious. But when actors in the room deliberately gave the wrong answer, something strange happened. Around 75 percent of participants went along with the group, despite their own eyes telling them otherwise.
Why was this?
Well, it’s because humans conform for two core reasons:
1. Normative influence: the desire to be liked and accepted.
2. Informational influence: the belief that the group might know something you don’t.
And in a world of constant choice and information overload, that instinct has only intensified. We’re surrounded by signals. No matter where we look, we see reviews, ratings, likes, shares, comments, influencers, friends’ choices. Even the opinions of strangers are shaping our decisions before we even realise it.
Think about reviews. We trust a five-star rating not just because it suggests quality, but because it reduces uncertainty. We actually want the product to be good. We want reassurance that others had a good experience. And once we see enough positive reinforcement, our brain stops asking questions. Job done.
The same thing happens offline. We see our friends using a brand, ordering the same drink, wearing the same trainers, and that brand starts to feel safer, more trustworthy, and easier to choose. We’re relying on our friends without needing to consciously engage our brains and decide for ourselves.
And then there are the influencers and celebrities. Aspiration and perceived authority play a role. If someone we admire or identify with makes a choice, it sends a signal: people like us do things like this. Acceptance, status, and belonging play an important part in the decision-making process.
Looking at how social proof works inside smaller subcultures and community groups is equally fascinating. In these environments, social proof carries even more weight. A brand adopted by a tight-knit group can gain credibility incredibly fast.
In these communities, trust compounds quickly, and your peers have more clout than celebrities, even if you consciously don’t want to admit it. Perhaps the future of influence is in these tighter circles, but that’s a topic for another day.
Most brands view social proof as something to manufacture. More reviews. Bigger influencers. But this doesn’t guarantee success. Humans are remarkably good at spotting when something feels engineered. Enthusiasm needs to be real. Rather than telling people to choose your brand, create the conditions where people see others choosing you, and proof will organically build over time.
At Valentine, we’re always looking at how brands create chemistry and shift behaviour. Social proof sits right in the middle of that. At its core, it’s about trust. And trust is what makes decisions feel easier.
Trust is why we follow the crowd.