Among the most influential dynamics they found, two stand out. Social Proof, and Authority. The interesting thing about these is that when you explain their effects on people, most imagine that they would never be influenced by two basic and seemingly animalistic stimuli. But study after study concludes that despite humanities great strides in the arts, in science, and literature, these two very basic influence factors have a strong effect on our decision making process.

Social proof is simply when you along with the crowd for no better reason than going along with the crowd. If you are walking down the street, and you see a crowd gathered up ahead on the other side, you will feel an overwhelming desire to find out what is going on.

Authority has a similar effect.  When a doctor or lawyer, or high-ranking police officer makes a statement, it is much easier to believe than if the guy that works at your local car wash had said the same thing.

When you combine these two, the results can be devastating. Nazi Germany is probably the most common example of how a simple combination of Authority plus Social Proof can drive a whole country to willingly perform horrendous acts of violence on fellow humans. If you've seen or read "The Reader," this is a fantastic example of this.

One powerful force that has existed for thousands of years that has been continually and successfully applying these two factors is organized religion. The leaders, or priests, or rabbis of any church are regarded with the utmost respect, and their words are often taken without any question or critical thought. And when you get a church leader giving a sermon to a large, socially proofed group, it can be almost humanly impossible to resist going along with the crowd and following what the priest is saying.

Try this experiment. Go to a Catholic Mass, and participate as much as you can. Say the right words, sing the right songs. But when the time comes to throw in a couple of dollars into the collection basket, try and resist. Just notice how difficult this is to do this without feeling a huge dose of anxiety as you pass the plate by without throwing in even a couple of coins.

The most fascinating thing about these two factors is that they operate unconsciously. Whenever you feel the need to follow the crowd, or go along with what a figure in authority is saying, you will likely come up with reasons to justify your thinking and your behavior.

Your mind is a wonderful and fascinating gift that man will likely never even begin to understand. Be careful of what you let inside.

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