the tipping point summary chpt 1-4
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
Literature Review of the Tipping Point
American culture changes dramatically over time. Malcolm Gladwell (2002), author of The Tipping Point, presents a theory of social epidemics. Gladwell’s notion on epidemics and human behavior uses a combination of scientific fields such as psychology, epidemiology, sociology, intragroup and intergroup dynamics to explain the spread of social and cultural behaviors. The Tipping Point is explained how things spread from one person to another, whether it is ideas, products, fashion trends, increase in crime rates, sexually transmitted diseases/infections, and any other sudden unexplained changes or patterns. The underlying idea The Tipping Point occurs when a specific trend or behavior dramatically increases and spreads like a virus. Gladwell presents the idea that there are three rules of epidemics: (1) the Law of Few, (2). the Stickiness Factor, and (3) the Power of Context.
The Law of Few refers to what economists identify as the 80/20 principle. This principle presents the idea that a task is completed by only few people. When referring to the rationale of epidemics, only 20% of the people commit 80% of the work. An example of this epidemic disproportionality would be the tipping of the shoes called Hush Puppies in the late 1994 and early 1995. These American suede shoes were out-of-style until then. According to Gladwell (2002), shoe sales were declining to only 30,000 pairs a year, primarily selling at small town outlets. The company that produced these shoes was contemplating on whether or not to do away with these classic shoes until an unexplained trend began. These shoes that were once dead became popular once again, in a social setting in Manhattan and were being bought in the small-town stores that carried them. Hush puppies had strangely become a new fashion trend in which it all began with a few residents in the small towns in
Literature Review of the Tipping Point
American culture changes dramatically over time. Malcolm Gladwell (2002), author of The Tipping Point, presents a theory of social epidemics. Gladwell’s notion on epidemics and human behavior uses a combination of scientific fields such as psychology, epidemiology, sociology, intragroup and intergroup dynamics to explain the spread of social and cultural behaviors. The Tipping Point is explained how things spread from one person to another, whether it is ideas, products, fashion trends, increase in crime rates, sexually transmitted diseases/infections, and any other sudden unexplained changes or patterns. The underlying idea The Tipping Point occurs when a specific trend or behavior dramatically increases and spreads like a virus. Gladwell presents the idea that there are three rules of epidemics: (1) the Law of Few, (2). the Stickiness Factor, and (3) the Power of Context.
The Law of Few refers to what economists identify as the 80/20 principle. This principle presents the idea that a task is completed by only few people. When referring to the rationale of epidemics, only 20% of the people commit 80% of the work. An example of this epidemic disproportionality would be the tipping of the shoes called Hush Puppies in the late 1994 and early 1995. These American suede shoes were out-of-style until then. According to Gladwell (2002), shoe sales were declining to only 30,000 pairs a year, primarily selling at small town outlets. The company that produced these shoes was contemplating on whether or not to do away with these classic shoes until an unexplained trend began. These shoes that were once dead became popular once again, in a social setting in Manhattan and were being bought in the small-town stores that carried them. Hush puppies had strangely become a new fashion trend in which it all began with a few residents in the small towns in