Online communities and behavioural psychology

October 4, 2013

As social media, connectivity and the web in general continue to evolve and transform our lives, the crossover between social media and behavioural science is becoming ever more evident. Even though I’m not a psychologist, I found the article written by Sean D. Young on TechCrunch a couple of days ago very thought-provoking.

Professor Young wrote about the ways people take part in online communities, and how these communities possess the capacity to change human behaviour. According to his observations, online communities have the potential to change human behaviour following their basic inner needs:

The Need to Trust
The Need to Fit In
The Need for Self-Worth
The Need to Be Rewarded for Good Behaviour
The Need to Feel Empowered

On one hand, I’m not too keen about the idea of setting up communities with the aim to change their behaviour. As one of the commentators of the article above put it, it sounds a bit manipulative! On the other hand, this world consists of a constant clash of ideas, messages and millions of mini-communities. (It has been estimated we are exposed to 3,000 to 20,000 marketing messages a day!) The question then remains – is the idea that you are convinced about stronger than the rival idea? And – how will you convey your ideas to your online communities?

Mind-blowing stuff, for a Friday morning! I’ll leave you to think about it, and comment below, but before I leave here’s two comments from the article above which I think are worth attention:

Arnold Waldstein:

I think of this from the opposite side–not that you build communities to change behavior but that you platform certain behaviors and give them a voice.

Rafael Kireyev:

There’s no need to change the behavior of most people. I never get tired of repeating that each person is unique and unrepeatable. Thus, every online community will always be hopelessly fragmented but amazingly talented and originative. There’s only need to take a closer look and see this inartificial miracle.

Latest Posts

B2B marketing success in 2025 depends on trust, not just reach. Buyers use social to research, value authentic video, and trust thought leadership more than ads. This roadmap shows how to build belief with content mixes, creators, and social proof—because trust is the KPI that drives growth.

Here we are, entering the “Mber” months, and we all know those are always busy months for marketing and design teams. Between new campaign launches, seasonal promotions, and the pressure to deliver standout visuals before the holidays, structuring your workflow becomes just as important as the creative work itself. This…

If you still think Reddit is the wild west of the internet, you’re already behind. For years Reddit sat on the sidelines of marketing plans, overlooked in favour of shinier platforms. Too messy, too unpredictable, too risky. And guess what, while brands looked away, audiences didn’t. They piled in. And…