by Jonah Berger
Goldstein, Noah, 200
Golf (sport), 219
Golf (Volkswagen), 157
Gone with the Wind (Mitchell), 45
Gonzales, Richard (“Pancho”), 211–14
Google Glass, 79–80
Greek yogurt, 149
Greenfinches, social facilitation and, 190
Green frogs, deception by, 16, 108–9, 229
Griskevicius, Vladas, 200
Groupthink, 58–59, 60
Gucci, 99, 129, 132, 133, 180
Häagen-Dazs, 103–4
Hamsters, novelty and, 165–66
Handbag evaluation experiment, 84–85, 129, 132, 134–35
Harding, Warren G., 162, 163
Harry Potter books (Rowling), 16, 44–46, 54
Harvard University, 198, 199, 220
Hathaway, Anne, 101
Health risk perception, 142–43
Heath, Chip, 113
Hispanics, 120
Hockey, 204
Hoffbrau Steakhouse, 116–17
Homophily, 176n
Honda, 107–8
Horsey Horseless, 182–83
Housing, low-income, 223–29
Hurricane Andrew, 154
Hurricane Katrina, 153, 154–55, 156
Hurricanes, 16, 153, 154–55, 156, 170–71
Ice cream cone experiment, 33–34
Identity
differentiation and, 80–83
signaling (see Signals)
superordinate, 144–45
Identity-relevant attributes, 180
iMac, 185
Imitation, 15, 16, 19–61, 74, 229–30. See also Conformity; Mimicry; Similarity
blockbusters and, 42–55
negative reactions to, 86–87
practical applications of, 55–61
of siblings, 68–69
Impression management, 196
Indiana University, 188
Individualism, 76–80
Industrial Revolution, 130
iPods, 97
Jefferson, Thomas, 162
Jersey Shore (television program), 100, 110
Jetta (Volkswagen), 156–57
Job interviews, mimicry in, 41
Johnson, Walter, 73
Jordan, Michael, 140
Joyce’s grocery store, 230–31
JWoww (reality show star), 100
Kara (cockroach), 187–88, 191–94
Krzyzewski, Mike, 126
Language
regional influences on, 24–25
signals conveyed by, 138
speed dating and, 41
Laskey, Alex, 199, 202
Last names, 169
Lexus (Toyota), 144
Liberals/Democrats, 15, 67, 105–6, 144
Lincoln, Abraham, 162, 163
Line-length experiment, 19–20, 23–24, 29, 58–59
Lines, avoiding, 60–61
Logos, 16, 129, 131–35. See also Branding
Longchamp, 84–85
Losing, 204–19
persistent, 211–19
quitting and, 217–19
upside of, 17, 204–11
Louis Vuitton, 133, 134, 135–36, 137, 138
LVMH, 137
Macaque monkeys, imitation by, 33–35
Marriage
appearance similarity in spouses, 30–32
influences on spouse selection, 6–8, 230–31
Massachusetts Bay Colony, 77
MBA students, 86–87
“Memory test,” 12–14
Mercedes, 133
Middle class, 90–91, 92, 93, 94–95
Mimicry, 30–35, 57
negotiation and, 40–41
neurological underpinnings of, 33–35
Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think (Wansink), 140n
Mirror neurons, 35
Mohawk hairstyle, 127–28
Monkeys
imitation by, 25–27, 33–35, 56
social facilitation and, 189
Moon Dust–DNA watch, 123–24
Moore, Don, 220
Moreland, Richard, 9–11, 230–31
Motivation, 16–17, 187–221. See also Social comparison; Social facilitation
Moving to Opportunity, 225–28, 232
Music website experiment, 46–49, 52–53
Names, 14, 150–56, 161
hurricanes’ influence on choice of, 16, 153, 154–55, 156, 170–71
last, 169
phonemes in, 152–53
prebirth secrecy about, 59n
National Assessment of Educational Progress, 118
National Industrial Recovery Act, 223
NBA teams, 15, 207–8
NCAA teams, 208n
Negotiation, 36–41
Neighborhood effects, 226–28
Newton (Apple), 184n
Nike, 180
1984 (Orwell), 78n
Nixon, Richard, 163
Nobel Prize winners, 66
Nolan, Jessica, 200
North Face, 103, 109–10
Note-taking, 195
Nouveau riche, 130–31
Novelty, 16, 164–71
benefits of, 164–65
Chinese characters experiment, 157–60
Goldilocks effect and, 166–71, 230
Obama, Barack, 141, 220
Occupation and social class, 92n
Ogbu, John, 118–19
Oops! . . . I Did It Again (album), 43
Opower, 202–3, 209, 216n, 219–20, 232
Opportunity costs, 126
Optimal distinction, 16, 171–81, 230
automobile selection and, 177–79
in eating club members, 173–76
Orwell, George, 78n
PalmPilot, 184n
Pantone, 148, 149
Pantoneview, 148
Parakeets, social facilitation and, 190
Parallel parking, 16, 195
Parking
parallel, 16, 195
preferences, 49–52, 53
Pasarell, Charlie, 212–14
Phonemes, 152–53
Physical appearance similiarity, 30–32
Physical attraction, 6–11, 230–31
Pierce, Paul, 207
Plato, 6–7
Point of light experiment, 21–23, 28, 47, 74
Politics, social comparison in, 220
Polizzi, Nicole (“Snooki”), 99–101, 180
Pope, Devin, 207
Prada, 129
Premotor cortex, 33–35
Presley, Elvis, 45
Princeton University, 3, 46, 171–76
Privacy, 59–60
Pronin, Emily, 3
Public Works Administration, 223
Quitting, 217–19
Race, academic performance and, 16, 117–20, 141–42
Rand, Ayn, 78n
Rand, Lindsay, 141
Rats, social facilitation/comparison and, 189, 215
Reagan, Ronald, 162
Relative performance. See Social comparison
Republicans. See Conservatives/Republicans
Rizzuto, Phil, 73
Robinson, David, 207
Rogers, Todd, 220
Rolex watches, 135
Romain Jerome, 123–24
Ronaldo, Cristiano, 127
Roosevelt, Franklin D., 162, 223
Rowling, J. K., 45–46, 53, 54–55, 150, 179
Ruggeri’s restaurant, 73, 74
Running speed, 16–17, 195, 221
Salganik, Matthew, 46–47, 53
San Marcos, California, 200–202, 203
Schultz, Wes, 200
Scion (Toyota), 144
Section 8 housing, 225
Sherif, Muzafer, 21–22, 24
Siblings
birth order in, 16, 64–70
same- vs. opposite sex, 69
similarities in appearance of, 30–31
Signals, 101–28, 180, 230
benefits of using, 104
branding as, 131, 1
33–35
changing meaning of, 104, 107–10, 139
costs as, 123–28
counterfeiting and, 137–39
persistent, 127–28
practical applications of, 139–45
Similarity. See also Familiarity; Imitation; Optimal distinction
benefits of, 160–62
Goldilocks effect and, 166–71, 230
practical applications of differentiation and, 181–85
social class and, 86–96
trend prediction and, 155–62
“Situation, The.” See Sorrentino, Mike
Skin tone, 16, 120
Snob effects, 74
Snooki. See Polizzi, Nicole
Soccer, 63–64, 65, 66, 205–7
Social class, 86–96
advertising and, 94–95
automobile preferences and, 86–87, 90–91
nouveau riche, 130–31
shopping habits and, 95
Social comparison, 196–220
energy conservation and, 196–204, 216n
losing and, 204–19
practical applications of, 219–20
Social desirability, 5
Social facilitation, 189–96
defined, 189
practical applications of, 220–21
reasons for, 195–96
task complexity and, 193–95
two main areas of research on, 189n
Social pressure, 29–30
Social psychology, 188
Social science, 14–15
Social Security Administration, U.S., 153
Soft drinks, regional terms for, 24–25
Sorrentino, Mike (“The Situation”), 101, 110
Soul mate concept, 6–8
South Africa, 121
Soyuz space shuttle (watches made from fragments of), 123
Spears, Britney Jean, 42–45, 53
Speed dating, 41
Sports/athletics, 63–67
birth order and, 16, 64–67
losing in, 17, 204–8, 211–18
Sports Illustrated, 94, 212
Stanford University, 111–14, 190
Starbucks, 97
STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields, 120–21, 142
Stengel, Casey, 73
Stephens, Nicole, 86–91
Structured Liberal Education (SLE), 112–14
Sunglasses evaluation experiment, 132
Superordinate identity, 144–45
Symposium, The (Plato), 6–7
Tennis, 211–14, 216, 217, 218
Terrace (eating club), 174–76
Tiffany & Co., 101, 137
Timberlake, Justin, 44
Tips, increasing, 57
Titanic (watches made from steel of), 124
TiVo, 183–84
Tocqueville, Alexis de, 78
Toyota, 144
Trends, predicting, 149–62
in automobile preferences, 156–57
Chinese characters experiment, 157–60
in name choices (see Names)
Triplett, Norman, 188
Trust, 39–41
T-shirts, logos on, 132–33n
Twin studies, 68
Twitter, 81
Uncertainty, conformity and, 23
University of California, Berkeley, 220
University of Michigan, 191
University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. See Wharton School
University of Pittsburgh, 9
Upper class, 90, 92n, 93, 95
Vacheron Constantin, 135
Van Boven, Leaf, 172
Vervets, imitation by, 25–27
Vogue, 94
Volkswagen, 156–57
Vouchers, housing, 224–25
Wansink, Brian, 140n
Ward, Morgan, 132
Washington, George, 162
Watches, 16, 123–25, 128, 135
Welfare policy, attitudes toward, 15, 104–7
Wharton School, 15, 150
Williams College, 88–89
Wimbledon, 212–13
Women in STEM fields, 120–21, 142
Working class, 90–91, 92, 94, 95–96
Wristbands, geeks wearing, 110–14, 180
Yates, Dan, 198, 202
Zajonc, Bob, 190–95
Zhang, Yao, 150
Zone of possible agreement, 37–38
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