It’s 7:30 in the morning. You overslept (damn that Netflix show!), and as a result you’re late for work.
Tapping the rim of your steering wheel impatiently, you stare at the long line of vehicles ahead of you, inching along, and wait for that wretched green light. Bit by bit, you’re losing your patience.
There’s a heavy truck in front of you, blocking your view. Then you see a lightweight car after the truck shift to the lane on the right, which seems conspicuously empty. You too shift to the right lane…and curse under your breath.
The lane leads to a bus stop and disappears, converging to the lane on the left. You join the company of other opportunistic drivers that want to change back. Sucks for you, because only the fifth car in the row lets you through.
“Bollocks. What a bunch of jerks,” – you think.
But are they? And what you should’ve done?
Put yourself in my shoes
Social proof is a well-documented principle in modern psychology. It basically says we rely on collective wisdom (pfft) to make a decision. Other interpretations of social proof refer to it as the desire to belong.
There are loads of experiments out there that explore the influence of social proof on our decision-making. Returning a lost wallet you found on the street, children overcoming a fear of spiders in front of their parents, and how your three closest friends shape your identity – just to name a few.
Those drivers are rude!
Back to our traffic example. Put yourself in the shoes of drivers that make a decision whether to let you through or not. They’re probably just as anxious as you are. “Will the car in front of me let him through?” I would probably do the same.
Given this logic, what should you do about rude drivers?
Realise that those drivers make decisions on auto-pilot. And you need to set them straight.
So yes, disturb their thought process and force them to take responsibility. I said it: be rude yourself. Yell if you must. Politeness will get you run over.
But be warned, don’t go yelling at the guy who looks like he would eat Arnold Schwarzenegger for breakfast…social proof isn’t black-eye proof…
In the event you encounter a rogue and muscular man or woman doing the dirties, let it pass. It’s not worth a broken rib to say the least. That may not be collective wisdom as such, but it’s the sort of wisdom that could spare you a cup-full of blood…
Now let’s answer a million-dollar question: are drivers in your city a bunch of jerks?
Yes?
No?
Bit of both?
Let us know in a comment.
If you feel empowered by the concept of social proof, read about how you can deal with shady car salesmen, here on Mikaniki.
