98. When People are Uncertain, They Let Others Decide What to Do
Imagine you’re browsing a Web site to decide what boots to buy. You see a pair that looks good, but you’ve never heard of the brand before. Will you buy the boots or not? If you’re unsure, then chances are you’ll scroll down the page and look for reviews and ratings left by others. And chances are you’ll listen to the reviews, even though the people writing the reviews are total strangers.
Uncertainty Tips the Scale
In my book Neuro Web Design: What Makes Them Click? I talk about the tendency to look to others to decide what to do. It’s called social validation.
Bibb Latane and John Darley (1970) conducted research in which they set up ambiguous situations to see if people were ...
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