DYK : The cheerleader effect.
Did you know what the “cheerleader effect” means? Really…
The cheerleader effect is the reason why our brain, when confronted with a group of elements or people, automatically treats them as a whole rather than treating each characteristic individually.
This being said, the brain takes into consideration an “average value” of what is presented to it (parameter, size, emotion conveyed, attractiveness of people, etc.) and makes a global judgment based on this average. Thus, elements or people who, alone, would have appeared to us as less attractive or interesting, can benefit from this group effect.
But what does that mean in simple terms?
Lets explain.
When a group of attractive people are together, everyone looks even more attractive than they really are.
Using the name of this effect as an example, each member of a cheerleading squad enhances the beauty of the others, making them look more beautiful.
As unbelievable as it sounds, this term became popular because of the show “How I met your mother.” And it became so popular that it was the subject of a 2013 study by Walker and Vul.
The study presented participants with photos of the same person, once in a group photo, once alone in the photo, asking them if they found the person attractive. The results of the experiment always led to a common answer: the level of attractiveness of each person increased in the group photo.
In conclusion
In my opinion, this social effect is very interesting and can be very beneficial. The Cheerleader effect has many applications concerning our relationship to individuals, but also to any group of objects.
In web marketing, for example, it can be much more effective to present your products as a group in order to arouse the general interest of your visitors, instead of presenting them one by one. This way, you avoid having them focus individually on the features they like or, more importantly, dislike.
Similarly, customer testimonials are more effective when presented as a group: your worst reviews will be balanced by the best, and the overall average in the eyes of your visitors will be better.
If you liked it, encourage me by offering me a coffee.
