The Cialdini effect takes its name from Robert Cialdini, a American psychology professor who wrote a groundbreaking book called Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. A Dutch study has recently shown that the Cialdini effect is only the start of our troubles, claims an article in The Times:
"People can actually be steered into criminal behaviour, such as stealing, simply by tinkering with their environment. In fact, the scientists claim, if you know what psychological buttons to press, you can make antisocial behaviour spread like a contagious disease."
Cialdini's argument that "people do what they see others doing, even when they know they shouldn't" would seem to support Tom Davies' assertion that people seeing anti-social activities through the media can then become involved in copy-cat activities. The Times article includes an example of just this phenomenon:
"The looting of the MSC Napoli off the coast of Devon two years ago is a perfect example. Media coverage showing people walking off with items washed ashore emboldened others to try their luck, culminating in “looting mayhem”, in the words of an inquiry into the incident published this week."
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Jeff Buckley - Everybody Here Wants You.
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