Broken Window Theory and the Cialdini Effect

Last week, the Globe and the National Post quickly picked up on the findings of a Dutch research paper, published in the respected journal Science. The research claims that urban decay is contagious - that people are more likely to defy social norms (e.g., littering, stealing), if there is evidence in plain view that others have already done so.

It's a riff on Gladwell's Broken Windows Theory, first put forth in The Tipping Point, in which Gladwell described, and then explained, the sharp reduction in crime in New York City during the late 80's and 90's. Social contagion also builds upon Dr. Cialdini's Social Proof principle, which states that people are more likely to do something if they observe others doing the same thing.

It's also likely one of the most under-utilized of the persuasion principles. Whether you're in sales or marketing, whether you're trying to influence 1 or 1000 people, whether you're the client or the vendor, it doesn't matter... NEVER forget to provide proof of what similar others are doing. Why rely just on your own persuasion power when you can harness the power of other people to get the job done more effectively?

As Dr. Cialdini has said so eloquently in testimony before the U.S. Congress and at 10 Downing Street last year: "As a rule, people grossly underestimate the guiding role that others play in choices and the extent to which their actions in a situation are determined by the (previous and current) actions of others."

Read the full Globe article here.