Margaret Mead Predicts Social Science

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.” Margaret Mead said this in the early 20th century. Who knew that in the early nineteen hundreds, she’d be quoting today’s science?

People and Crowds

A new study conducted at the Social Cognitive Networks Academic Research Center (SCNARC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on how beliefs spread through social networks found that minority rules: Only 10% of a population needs to be convinced of a new or different opinion to change the beliefs of an entire community.

According to the article, there are two main take-aways for those in the public health space:

  • Public health campaigns might do well to target a small percentage of a community.
  • Getting an entire population to adopt a new belief might require simply convincing 10 percent to believe it first.

In an interview, Prof. Boleslaw Szymanski, director of SCNARC, was quoted saying:

“We suggested,” Sreenivasan said, “that instead of trying to convince everyone, it might make the most sense to target selectively the people who are open-minded enough to hear out the evidence and make up their minds rationally.”

Reading through the details of this study is fascinating and so many questions come to mind for future exploration:

  • Is minority rule a good thing? This research helps us better understand the importance to develop messages, materials and services with a certain community in mind to help ignite a movement. However, taken to the extreme, one can’t help but wonder about this insight being applied with misguided intent.
  • Is 10% the tipping point? Once you reach 10% of the population–is that the tipping point for spreading ideas through social networks and alter behaviors on a larger scale?
  • Does this rule apply across the board? According to the article, the research is still in its early stages. It’s uncertain if this 10% rule will apply to all kinds of beliefs, especially political ones.
  • How does this connect with influencer theory? So much has been said about the role of influencers: who they are and how to connect with them–and if that even matters. Craig Lefebvre made a good point during last week’s CDC conference that the hyper-focus on influencers leads to a “distraction from understanding who are the ‘influenced’ and what can we learn from them.” I tend to agree.

What about you–What’s your reaction to this research?

flickr credit: ThisParticularGreg


Notice: compact(): Undefined variable: limits in /home2/flyfouch/public_html/wp-includes/class-wp-comment-query.php on line 853

Notice: compact(): Undefined variable: groupby in /home2/flyfouch/public_html/wp-includes/class-wp-comment-query.php on line 853

Notice: compact(): Undefined variable: groupby in /home2/flyfouch/public_html/wp-includes/class-wp-comment-query.php on line 853

Notice: compact(): Undefined variable: limits in /home2/flyfouch/public_html/wp-includes/class-wp-comment-query.php on line 853

Notice: compact(): Undefined variable: groupby in /home2/flyfouch/public_html/wp-includes/class-wp-comment-query.php on line 853

Notice: compact(): Undefined variable: limits in /home2/flyfouch/public_html/wp-includes/class-wp-comment-query.php on line 853

Notice: compact(): Undefined variable: groupby in /home2/flyfouch/public_html/wp-includes/class-wp-comment-query.php on line 853

6 thoughts on “Margaret Mead Predicts Social Science


  1. Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /home2/flyfouch/public_html/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387

    Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /home2/flyfouch/public_html/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387
    Ifdy Perez

    This sounds true; people will be inclined to support a cause when someone they know asks them to. So I see how the 10% could end up mobilizing a whole community. And I like how it feels like a more manageable number to start with (though some healthcare nonprofits represent millions of individuals).

    Do you know of any studies that dig into the influencer theory? Aside from moving people to “like” a cause and donate just once, do influencers help nonprofits engage with or build their community?


  2. Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /home2/flyfouch/public_html/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387

    Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /home2/flyfouch/public_html/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387
    Alex Post author

    Hi Ifdy,

    Thanks for stopping by! I too see how the 10% rule could work–for both good and bad. It reminds me of the responsibility we all have as individuals to educate ourselves, seek the truth and discuss ideas that we not only agree with–but also work to understand those that we differ with as well.

    As for studies that dig into influencer theory–that would be a great follow-up blog post! The link to Geoff’s blog that I included mentions a number of the theories out there. For me however, I tend to look at studies about behavior change such as BJ Fogg’s behavior grid and the science behind social change–> social marketing (which is different than social media).

    Social marketing takes a human-centric approach–which means focusing on the community you want to connect with as a starting point (rather than looking at your influencers). To answer your question, yes–influencers can help nonprofits engage with and build their community. Just realize that influencers aren’t always who you think they are and remember to keep the mission, goal and community you want to support top of mind.

    To be continued… Does anyone else have anything to add?


  3. Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /home2/flyfouch/public_html/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387

    Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /home2/flyfouch/public_html/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387
    Ifdy Perez

    Hey Alex, thanks for the info… and yes! It would make a great blog post! 🙂


  4. Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /home2/flyfouch/public_html/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387

    Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /home2/flyfouch/public_html/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387
    Nikko Marasigan

    Just a suggestion here, You can increase the 10% by injecting campaigns on social network sites. Facebook did something to level up the marketing industry, why not try to make a campaign or something like that too increase the 10%?
    No one started with a large group, it always start with a simple thought and little steps moving forward.


  5. Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /home2/flyfouch/public_html/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387

    Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /home2/flyfouch/public_html/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387
    Paul Brinkman

    Excellent post. Another study of interest to all networks, real and virtual. Sociologists have long observed a related concept called “first voice.” Moreover, the influence theory work of ASU’s Professor Emeritus Robert Cialdini is highly revealing for anyone interested in learning more on this subject. Cialdini’s work provides a useful framework to help interpret behaviors, opportunities and social events. In fact, the notion of heuristics on its own is worthy of further consideration and study.


    1. Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /home2/flyfouch/public_html/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387

      Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /home2/flyfouch/public_html/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387
      Alexandra Bornkessel

      Sounds amazing – I’ll be sure to check it out. Thanks!

Comments are closed.