Social proof has less impact when you recognize that influencers are mak- ing false claims and/or creating false impressions. For instance, producers of infomercials pay actors to participate in “spontaneous” demonstrations designed to convince us that juicers and other products are effective and easy to use. Supporters of the president pack the gallery during the State of the Union address and applaud at every opportunity, hoping to make the chief executive look more popular. In addition to being on the lookout for mislead- ing influence attempts, you can also increase your resistance to this shortcut by periodically testing the crowd’s reactions against established facts as well as against your past experiences and personal judgments.

Liking As targets of influence, we are more swayed by people we like. Avon,

Amway, and other marketers take advantage of this fact by having their repre- sentatives sell directly to friends and neighbors. This strategy has been so suc- cessful that the Tupperware Corporation has abandoned its retail locations and largely moved from the U.S. market to cultures in Latin America, Asia, and Europe where friends and family exert a stronger influence over behavior. (A Tupperware party begins somewhere in the world every 2.7 seconds, according to the company.) Liking is based on a variety of factors, including: (1) physical attractiveness (attractive people are more likely to get elected, hired, and paid more money); (2) similarity (in appearance, attitude, nonverbal behavior, eth-

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192 Chapter Six

nic background); (3) compliments (flattery, praise); (4) familiarity and fre- quent cooperative contact; and (5) association with positive events and people (the Olympics, winning sport teams, celebrities).

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