Idea Habitats: How the Prevalence of Environmental Cues Influences the Success of Ideas
Abstract
We investigate 1 factor that influences the success of ideas or cultural representations by proposing that they have a habitat, that is, a set of environmental cues that encourages people to recall and transmit them. We test 2 hypotheses: (a) fluctuation: the success of an idea will vary over time with fluctuations in its habitat, and (b) competition: ideas with more prevalent habitats will be more successful. Four studies use subject ratings and data from newspapers to provide correlational support for our 2 hypotheses, with a negative factoid, positive rumor, catchphrases, and variants of a proverb. Three additional experimental studies manipulate the topic of actual conversations and find empirical support for our theory, with catchphrases, proverbs, and slang. The discussion examines how habitat prevalence applies to a more extensive class of ideas and suggests how habitats may influence the process by which ideas evolve.
Cite this
Jonah A. Berger, Chip Heath (2005). Idea Habitats: How the Prevalence of Environmental Cues Influences the Success of Ideas. Cognitive Science. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15516709cog0000_10
@article{a2005idea,
title = {Idea Habitats: How the Prevalence of Environmental Cues Influences the Success of Ideas},
author = {Berger, Jonah A. and Heath, Chip},
year = {2005},
journal = {Cognitive Science},
doi = {10.1207/s15516709cog0000_10}
}Citations in this library
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