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Are you ready for the 62nd edition of Podup? Enjoy the best bits from Nudge.
With the advent of AI, originality is the new oil. We need to learn the psychological principles that can boost or bottleneck creativity. Join Phill Agnew and Professor Ayelet Fishbach as they discuss how the conformity bias and social loafing can shape human behavior in surprising ways.
The herd mentality
The first type of conformity happens when we see people doing something and we assume they know more than us on the subject, so we follow them.
This is how people were initially convinced to use shopping trolleys. Back in 1937 a supermarket owner called Sylvan Goldman recognized that with a trolley, customers could carry more and thus buy more from his store.
At first, nobody used them because they hadnât built the habit and didnât see anyone else doing it. People felt that theyâd look ridiculous pushing these strange trolleys around the store.
To solve the problem, Sylvan turned to the conformity bias. He paid actors to push trolleys around his supermarket. Why? Because if shoppers saw dozens of people using the trolley, theyâd assume it was normal.
Phill Agnew
We want to be liked
The other type of conformity bias happens when we do something because we want other people to like us. We want to be popular by being like everybody else.
In this case, I might not think other people are right. But if I say what they say, if I wear what they wear, then they might like me.
The best example of this is wearing heels for women or wearing a tie for men. I donât think many people think theyâre convenient but we all wear these silly things because we think other people will appreciate us more.
Professor Ayelet Fishbach
Smaller is better
Individuals put in less effort when theyâre part of a group compared to when theyâre working alone. This is called social loafing.
People feel like their efforts could be lost in the crowd or that their contribution wonât be valued. They take it easy and reduce their level of effort.
Many businesses are aware of this problem and actively look for ways to split their organization into smaller groups. Tech companies create smaller innovation groups that are physically separated from their headquarters.
These smaller groups have developed products like Google Maps, Appleâs iPhones, 3Mâs post-it notes, and Netflixâs recommendation algorithm.
Small groups help avoid social loafing and conformity. Studies show that any team larger than 6 will lead to social loafing and it can take only 4 people to lead to conformity.
Phill Agnew
Why it matters
Sam Parr told everyone at The Hustle to "let your freak flag fly". He championed individualism as a way to motivate his team and maximize productivity. It worked. He sold his company to HubSpot for more than $25 million and built a personal brand around being direct, honest, and opinionated.
By avoiding conformity and forming small teams, you'll not only create a safe space to share ideas, but you'll also see your team work faster and smarter because of Metcalfe's Law. It becomes exponentially easier for small teams to keep track of all their conversations, accelerating decision-making and overall productivity.
Next steps
To counteract conformity and social loafing:
Implement a 'short toes policy'. Encourage your employees to ask questions and challenge decisions in areas outside of their immediate scope of work.
Celebrate individuality. Promote a culture where unique perspectives and ideas are valued. You'll be pleasantly surprised to find different people have different ways of solving a problem.
Champion role models. Like the shopping trolley example, use conformity to your advantage. Highlight instances of team members questioning the status quo and their subsequent impact. This encourages others to follow suit.
Your thoughts?
Coincidently, I want to thank Nudge Podcast for making this post possibleâŠ
Behavioral science is only for marketers, right?
WRONG. Human psychology impacts everyone in the workplace.
From staying motivated to improving your memory, Nudge has it all.
No wonder Nudge is the 3rd most popular business podcast among Podup readers.
So why not subscribe and get an MBAâs worth of insight every week?
P.S. Phill is one of the nicest guys in podcasting. If you donât want to subscribe, youâd make his day if you left a quick review.
Quotes were pulled at different points of the episode. Sentences were left out to make the narrative more concise. Podup is not associated or affiliated with any podcast.