Social Proof

Biological Parallel

When one gazelle bolts, the herd follows instantly without independent threat assessment. Social proof evolved because the cost of verifying danger independently (death) exceeds the cost of false alarms (wasted energy). Copying the behavior of conspecifics is a survival heuristic, not laziness. Humans inherit this: we assume crowded restaurants are good, popular products are superior, viral ideas are true—all without direct evaluation. The herd doesn't verify; it replicates.