Hit Makers audiobook cover - The Science of Popularity in an Age of Distraction

Hit Makers

The Science of Popularity in an Age of Distraction

Derek Thompson

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EconomicsSociety & Culture

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Hit Makers
Core Drivers of Popularity+
The Mechanics of Spread+
Audience Psychology & Downsides+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 8
Why did Claude Monet become a world-famous painter while Gustave Caillebotte remained relatively obscure, according to the text?
  • A. Monet's impressionistic techniques were objectively superior to Caillebotte's.
  • B. Monet's work was included in a major exhibition that provided crucial audience exposure.
  • C. Caillebotte refused to allow his paintings to be displayed in commercial art galleries.
  • D. Monet painted highly recognizable subjects, while Caillebotte painted abstract concepts.
Question 2 of 8
What does Raymond Loewy’s principle of MAYA (Most Advanced Yet Acceptable) suggest about successful product design?
  • A. Consumers prefer products that completely break away from traditional forms.
  • B. Products must feature the most advanced technology to achieve mainstream popularity.
  • C. Successful designs strike a careful balance between recognizable characteristics and novel elements.
  • D. People are naturally drawn to designs that are entirely predictable and comforting.
Question 3 of 8
Based on experiments with mice, what is the most effective musical pattern for maintaining a listener's attention?
  • A. Using completely unpredictable and complex chord progressions.
  • B. Establishing a repetitive pattern and introducing a slight variation.
  • C. Playing a single, continuous note without any interruption.
  • D. Alternating equally between incredibly fast and slow tempos.
Question 4 of 8
What did research by the Geena Davis Institute reveal about how audiences react to gender roles in popular movies?
  • A. Audiences rate movies lower when characters act outside of stereotypical gender roles.
  • B. Popular media consistently challenges and changes audiences' preconceived notions about gender.
  • C. Movies featuring female protagonists in business positions are consistently rated the highest.
  • D. The popularity of a film is entirely unaffected by the gender expressions of its protagonists.
Question 5 of 8
Why might a book that wins a prestigious award end up receiving lower ratings on review sites compared to books with no awards?
  • A. Award-winning books are generally older and feature outdated, unrelatable writing styles.
  • B. Marketing departments usually stop promoting books once they have won major awards.
  • C. Readers assume award-winning books are pretentious and automatically rate them poorly.
  • D. Awards attract readers outside the book's natural target audience who come with inflated expectations.
Question 6 of 8
According to Peter McGraw's Benign Violation Theory, why did the laugh track work so well on mid-twentieth-century television?
  • A. It artificially stimulated the auditory cortex, forcing viewers to laugh involuntarily.
  • B. It made jokes feel popular and socially acceptable, signaling that the humor was a 'safe' violation of expectations.
  • C. It drowned out offensive punchlines so that sensitive viewers would not complain.
  • D. It distracted audiences from the poor writing quality of early sitcoms.
Question 7 of 8
What did Duncan Watts’s computer simulation reveal about the nature of a product's popularity?
  • A. 'Cascades' of popularity happen frequently as long as a product is of high quality.
  • B. Success depends entirely on targeting the most highly connected individuals in a network.
  • C. A population's 'vulnerability' is the only factor that guarantees a product will become a hit.
  • D. Information cascades are incredibly rare, indicating that uncontrollable chance plays a major role in popularity.
Question 8 of 8
Why does the author argue that the concept of content 'going viral' on the internet is a myth?
  • A. Most popular content spreads through a single powerful broadcaster rather than person-to-person sharing.
  • B. Internet users are generally unwilling to share digital content with their friends and family.
  • C. Social media algorithms are designed to actively suppress content that grows too quickly.
  • D. True virality only happens with physical products, not digital content like videos or tweets.

Hit Makers — Full Chapter Overview

Hit Makers Summary & Overview

Hit Makers (2017) looks into the cultural phenomena of popularity and fashion, as well as the science behind them. These blinks offer an up-close examination of why some products, songs and works of art take off, while others fade into the past.

Who Should Listen to Hit Makers?

  • Marketers, advertisers and business people everywhere
  • Pop culture nerds
  • Artists, producers and agents

About the Author: Derek Thompson

Derek Thompson is a senior editor at the Atlantic, where he focuses on media- and economics-related topics. He is a regular voice on radio, appears often on television and was named in Forbes’ “30 Under 30" list. Hit Makers is his first book.

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