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 …show more content…

Revere and his close friend Warren made the decision to warn the town and surrounding communities. It didn’t take long for Revere to spread this word, because he was able to cover thirty miles in only two hours, riding a horse. The news was abruptly spreading like a virus because Revere informed those and these people told others who also went out to help spread this information until the entire region was aware. Once the British arrived they headed towards Lexington and were shocked by the colonist and military personnel lined up and eventually they were defeated. This historical event is a prime example of word-of-mouth, in which information is spread over a long distance in a short period of time. Though individuals pass information frequently, it is rare that it is spread like wild fire as in Revere’s story. For example on a similar mission, William Dawes failed. His message was not spread in a word-of-mouth epidemic such as Reveres. This is because everyone is not a connector and it takes someone with a special gift that can create such a phenomenon.
Mavens are information experts on whom people rely to retrieve new information, resolve conflict in decision-making, and in the spreading of social epidemics. According to Gladwell, a Maven accumulates a handful of knowledge and does well with marketing which is why they also refer to these individuals as “Market Mavens”. Mark Alpert is