Change

1. Social change spreads through complex contagions, not simple viral transmission

Complex contagions are contagions that people resist.

Simple vs. complex contagions. Simple contagions like information or viruses spread easily through single exposures. However, behaviors, beliefs, and social norms are complex contagions that face resistance and require multiple exposures from different sources to spread. This explains why viral marketing often fails to create lasting change.

Four barriers to adoption:

• Coordination: Innovation requires collective action
• Credibility: Skepticism about effectiveness or safety
• Legitimacy: Fear of social disapproval
• Excitement: Need for emotional energy from others

Social reinforcement is key. Unlike viruses, complex contagions need repeated exposure and social proof to overcome resistance. Successful changes often spread through overlapping networks of strong ties rather than weak ties, contradicting conventional wisdom about viral spreading.

2. The network periphery, not influencers, drives transformative change

Stop looking for special people, and focus instead on special places.

Limits of influencers. Highly-connected "influencers" are often ineffective at spreading complex contagions because they face more countervailing influences from their large networks. The idea that influencers are crucial for social change is a persistent myth.

Power of the periphery. Transformative changes like Twitter, the Arab Spring, and civil rights movements often originate and gain traction in the less-connected network periphery. These moderately-connected individuals face less resistance to new ideas.

Protection enables innovation. The network periphery allows new behaviors to take hold by protecting early adopters from overwhelming opposition. Clustering of like-minded people in the periphery creates pockets where innovations can grow before spreading more widely.

3. Wide bridges between groups accelerate the spread of new behaviors

The wider the bridge between organizations, the more reliable and enduring these relationships are likely to be.

Narrow vs. wide bridges. Narrow bridges consisting of single connections between groups are good for spreading information but ineffective for behavior change. Wide bridges with multiple overlapping connections enable trust, credibility, and knowledge transfer between groups.

Benefits of wide bridges:

• Increase trust through multiple points of contact
• Reduce risk by allowing observation of innovation's effects
• Enable coordination on adopting new practices
• Sustain connections even as individuals come and go

Examples of impact. Wide bridges were crucial for the success of the Human Genome Project, the spread of the Black Lives Matter movement, and the rapid growth of social media platforms like Twitter across different communities.

4. Relevance and social reinforcement determine adoption of innovations

There is no magic bullet for establishing relevance, no single defining trait—gender, race, fitness, status, age, income, or political ideology—that is always influential.

Context determines relevance. The most influential sources for behavior change depend on the specific barriers to adoption in each situation. Sometimes similarity is key, other times diversity matters more.

Three principles of relevance:

1. Similarity is important when social proof of usefulness is needed
2. Similarity helps spread emotional contagions and solidarity
3. Diversity is crucial when establishing broad legitimacy

Reinforcement overcomes resistance. Regardless of the specific type of relevance, multiple exposures from different sources are typically necessary to overcome resistance to change. Social reinforcement turns new behaviors into accepted norms.

5. The tipping point for social change is often around 25% of a population

Tipping points offer inspiring potential for social change.

Critical mass triggers change. Once about 25% of a population adopts a new behavior, it often spreads rapidly to the majority. This explains why social changes can appear sudden after long periods of apparent stability.

Experimental evidence. Studies show that committed minorities of about 25% can overturn established group behaviors. Smaller minorities have little impact, while slightly larger ones consistently succeed in changing social norms.

Strategic implications:

• Focus on building a core group of committed early adopters
• Target social clusters to reach critical mass efficiently
• Be patient - change may seem slow until the tipping point
• Beware that tipping points can also reinforce harmful norms

6. Egalitarian networks foster innovation and reduce bias better than hierarchies

Networks are not neutral. They either foster innovation or they hamper it.

Centralized vs. egalitarian networks. Centralized, hierarchical networks spread simple ideas quickly but stifle creativity and amplify biases. Egalitarian networks with diverse, interconnected clusters foster innovation and reduce groupthink.

Benefits of egalitarian networks:

• Preserve diverse perspectives
• Allow exploration of unconventional ideas
• Facilitate knowledge transfer between groups
• Reduce amplification of individual biases

Applications. Egalitarian networks improve decision-making in fields from medicine to sports, reducing diagnostic errors and enhancing talent scouting. They also foster scientific breakthroughs and technological innovation.

7. Effective change strategies protect early adopters and leverage social clusters

To make your change initiative successful, do not rely on the contagious spread of information to solve the problem.

Key principles for change:

1. Don't rely on contagiousness - viral campaigns often backfire
2. Protect innovators from overwhelming opposition
3. Target the network periphery, not central influencers
4. Establish wide bridges between diverse groups
5. Create relevance based on context-specific factors
6. Use the "snowball strategy" to build momentum in clusters
7. Design team structures to improve discovery and reduce bias

Shift focus from information to norms. Lasting change requires shifting social norms, not just spreading information. Design strategies that allow new behaviors to take hold in supportive environments before expanding.

Leverage the network periphery. Identify and support "bridging groups" that connect different parts of a community. These often-overlooked clusters are crucial for initiating cascades of change that can ultimately transform entire systems.

Last updated: March 28, 2025