How to Coach Yourself and Others How to Influence, Persuade and Motivate | страница 237

Usually, as long as most people agree with what we are doing or about to
do, we feel social validation. For the most part, we are all conformists.
We will do what the crowd does. We might not like to admit that, but it is
true. Only 5 to 10 percent of the population engages in behavior contrary
to the social norm.
We see this law operating in groups, in organizations, in meetings, and in
day-to-day public life. In all of these circumstances, there is a certain
standard or norm. In churches, the moral code determines the standard
behavior acceptable for the group. In organizations, the bylaws and years
of tradition establish a standard operating procedure. Because we want to
fit into these groups and maintain our membership with them, we conform
our actions to the norm.
When we find ourselves in a foreign situation where we feel awkward or
unsure of how to act, we look for those social cues that will dictate our
behavior.
[4] This could be at a party, during freshman orientation, while attending
a family gathering, or on one's first day on the job in a new company.
When the social information we are seeking is at all ambiguous, we don't
know how to respond and thus continue seeking out social clues. Imagine
if you were sitting in the movie theater enjoying your show when
somebody shouted, "FIRE!" Do you think you would jump up and run for
it? Well, if everyone else did, you would, too. If everyone remained
seated, you would remain seated also.
[2]Douglas Rushkoff, Coercion: Why We Listen to What They Say (New
York: Riverhead Books, 1999), p. 123.
[3]M. Sherif, The Psychology of Social Norms (New York: Harper,
1936).
[4]A. Tesser, J. Campbell, and S. Mickler, "The Role of Social Pressure,
Attention to the Stimulus, and Self-Doubt in Conformity," European
Journal of Social Psychology, (1983): 217–233.
The Rule of Social Validation at Work
The Rule of Social Validation is in action all the time, everywhere:
publicly passing the donation plate to help with a community project;
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