Ignoring Social Proof.

There’s a minor controversy sweeping the Crossfit site lately involving the Crossfit community’s treatment of two of their featured practioners, Eva and Allison.

I hate Internet bickering as much as the next guy, so let me sum up the whole bru-ha-ha in a nutshell: Eva is held up as the standard bearer of Crossfit (I believe her unofficial title is “Goddess of Crossfit”), while Allison is considered (by most of the Crossfit community) as an also-ran.

For your reference, here are pics (first of Eva, second is Allison):

Say what you will about either of them. I’m sure neither of them care what you think – and that’s the point of this post.

Before I go any further, a definition is in order:

Social proof, also known as informational social influence, is a psychological phenomenon that occurs in ambiguous social situations when people are unable to determine the appropriate mode of behavior. Making the assumption that surrounding people possess more knowledge about the situation, they will deem the behavior of others as appropriate or better informed.

In other words, to paraphrase a client of mine, “People are Sheeple.” Their opinions are easily swayed by the majority. And you can bet that the reason Eva is held as standard bearer for Crossfit and considered “beautiful” is due in great part to the effect of social proof – the Crossfit community admire her strength and athleticism (it’s hard not to be impressed by an Olympic athlete) and to them, her body can be considered physical expression of those qualities. So what may seem brawny or even “mannish” to the general public is redefined by the Crossfit elite (and by extension, the rest of the Crossfit community) as “beautiful” – social proof at work.

The punchline: In order for you to reach your fitness goals, chances are that you’ll have to ignore a tremendous amount of naysaying and (unwitting) sabotage by your friends, family, and associates – because they’ll be acting on the basis of social proof. After all, to get where you’ve decided you need to be (i.e., out of the ordinary), you’ll likely have to do things that seem “extreme”, or out of the ordinary (be strict about what you eat 95% of the time, lift heavy things, or whatever).

Do you have what it takes to go against the grain and achieve your goals?