The Psychology of influence
The ability to engage and influence others is crucial when you want to make a positive change in your professional or personal life. Understanding how experts influence change can increase your understanding of the process involved and provide you with a toolkit to influence others.
In his bestseller, ‘Influence’, psychologist, Robert Cialdini, explains that there are six potent ‘weapons of influence’ that we can all use to influence others. According to Cialdini, the ‘weapons of influence’ are incredibly effective because we are programmed to respond predictably (by complying automatically) when confronted with these triggers. Cialdini is famous for his six principles of influence, they are:
1. Reciprocation
2. Commitment and Consistency
3. Social Proof
4. Liking
5. Authority
6. Scarcity
The second weapon of influence we’ll take a look at in this series of blogs on the psychology of influence is the principle of commitment and consistency.
The Principle of Commitment & Consistency
Described by Robert Cialdini as one of the six ‘weapons of social influence’, the principle of commitment and consistency illustrates that once we have committed ourselves to an action or decision, it becomes essential for us to behave in a way that is consistent with the decision we’ve made.
What beach blankets reveal about influence, commitment and consistency
A now famous experiment, known as ‘the beach blanket experiment’ , first conducted by psychologist, Thomas Moriarty, illustrates the commitment & consistency principle well. In the study, a research assistant placed a blanket on a New York City beach, five feet from a randomly chosen individual. The researcher then produced a portable radio to listen to before waiting a couple of minutes and then standing up to go for a walk. As the researcher wandered away from the blanket, a second researcher approached, masquerading as a thief, grabbed the radio and ran. As might be expected, very few bystanders were willing to put themselves at risk by pursuing and apprehending the thief, only four of the twenty subjects attempted to stop the thief.
The same experiment was then conducted with another twenty random subjects but this time, before the researcher went for their walk they asked the subject to please “watch my things,” with each subject agreeing to do so. This seemingly small change to the experiment drastically changed the results. Having committed to watching the radio, the rule of consistency was strongly engaged for the subjects and nineteen out of twenty of them gave chase when the ‘thief’ made to run off with the radio. Some subjects even physically restrained the thief or grabbed the radio from them.
Researchers gave this experiment a twist in 2009 by having their female researcher with the beach towel shout at her brother on her cell phone, play music loudly and then shave her arms and legs. Would making the person as unappealing as possible change the results? Nope, the principle of commitment and consistency held strong.
The power of consistency explained
Consistency is a highly valued personality trait and is often associated with personal and intellectual strength. Cialdini suggests that we tend to view inconsistent individuals as confused, indecisive or in some cases even mentally ill. We value consistency in our culture as it provides us with a gainful approach to life. Consistency can be a powerful tool for influence.
Cialdini also warns that, as with other automatic responses, when consistency occurs unthinkingly it can create problems. Although automatic consistency can be a useful means of dealing with situations effortlessly it also enables us not to have to think in too much detail or as Cialdini puts it “sealed within the fortress walls of rigid consistency we can be impervious to the sieges of reason.”
So what sets the consistency principle in motion? Social psychologists believe that the answer is commitment. Once we commit to something, for example, watching someone’s belongings in the beach towel experiment, there is a natural tendency to behave in ways that are consistent with that commitment.
Psychologists have also found that once we have made a relatively minor commitment to something we are much more likely to make a larger commitment as a consequence of the initial commitment and consistency principle.
How to use the commitment and consistency principle
- Create a sense of commitment in others by asking them to describe why they are passionate about the subject or issue that you’re seeking to influence them on.
- Encourage others to commit to something small before asking them to be consistent withe their commitment regarding a bigger request.
- Check agreement with what your saying at intervals throughout the conversation, break the idea down into smaller segments and seek commitment from the other person at each stage of the conversation. Lots of small verbal commitments throughout the conversation will build to a persuasive commitment by the time the conversation reaches its conclusion.
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