Chapter 7 Flashcards
Social influence and compliance without pressure
The tactics used to foster compliance are frequently proximate, both temporally and
spatially, in that they operate in the immediate action or choice environment of the
consumer
Automaticity has been proffered as the cornerstone of these compliance techniques
Click-whirr response: Saying “yes” to a sales request is frequently a mindless response.
“Click” refers to the stimulus that prompts the behavioral response, and “whirr” to the
actual unfolding of that response.
o Fast, effortless, seemingly spontaneous, stable across situations, partly
inherited, and frequently accompanied or triggered by emotions
o The effectiveness of social influence techniques relies of mindlessness
One consequence of mindlessness is that people re-enact scripts (predetermined,
stereotyped sequences of action that define a well-known situation) without paying
attention to substantive information
o Environmental cues for behavioral actions
According to the least-effort principle that underlies the motivational assumptions of
dual process theories of information processing, people should only behave in a
mindless manner if there is no sufficient reason to invest effort in mindful behavior
In a state of mindlessness, consumers are likely to employ simple heuristics that
increase compliance rates
Adaptive functionality of such quick and dirty decision making
o Efficiency
o Sufficiency principle: The tendency to strike a balance between minimizing
cognitive effort on the one hand and satisfying current motivational concerns
on the other.
Although the mindless following of a script has some elements that are automatic,
such as the triggering of a social-behavioral script by environmental stimuli, it
nevertheless requires conscious processing and conscious awareness at some stage
o Scanning superficially, and not making an effort to think deeply
Cialdini; Click-Whirr
Saying “yes” to a sales request is frequently a mindless response.
“Click” refers to the stimulus that prompts the behavioral response, and “whirr” to the
actual unfolding of that response.
o Fast, effortless, seemingly spontaneous, stable across situations, partly
inherited, and frequently accompanied or triggered by emotions
o The effectiveness of social influence techniques relies of mindlessness
scripts
predetermined,
stereotyped sequences of action that define a well-known situation
Sufficiency principle
The tendency to strike a balance between minimizing
cognitive effort on the one hand and satisfying current motivational concerns
on the other
The principle of reciprocity
Principle of reciprocity: The norms that we should return a favor.
“Tit-for-tat”
o Positive responses to favorable treatment
o Negative responses to negative behavior
The door-in-the-face technique
Door-in-the-face (DITF) technique: A large request (which will probably be rejected) is
followed by a more moderate target request.
For the target, this should evoke the need to make a concession in return and thus to
comply with the moderate request
When one person makes the large request and a second person the smaller request,
the technique ceases to be effective
The impact of the DITF was highest when it lay embedded in a nonverbal context
suggesting eagerness and confidence
That’s-not-all technique
That’s-not-all (TNA) technique: An initial request is followed by a second request that is
made more desirable.
o Reduced cost form
o Added value form
Consumers interpret the increased desirability of the offer as a favor, and in return are
inclined to return the favor by complying with the sales request
The TNA technique works primarily when consumers are in a state of mindlessness,
rather than mindfulness
Beyond reciprocity
In order for a target individual to comply with a request, all the requester has to do is
simply ask for compliance
Influence agents systematically underestimate the intrinsic willingness of targets to
say “yes” to a request, regardless of its framing
It is only when the request becomes extremely large that the social costs no longer
outweigh the instrumental costs of acquiescence and hence rejection is the result
Product sample as reciprocity traps
o People are inclined to return something higher rather than lower in value than
what they have received
Principle of reciprocity
The norms that we should return a favor.
The door-in-the-face technique
Door-in-the-face (DITF) technique: A large request (which will probably be rejected) is
followed by a more moderate target request.
For the target, this should evoke the need to make a concession in return and thus to
comply with the moderate request
When one person makes the large request and a second person the smaller request,
the technique ceases to be effective
The impact of the DITF was highest when it lay embedded in a nonverbal context
suggesting eagerness and confidence
That’s-not-all technique
That’s-not-all (TNA) technique: An initial request is followed by a second request that is
made more desirable.
o Reduced cost form
o Added value form
Consumers interpret the increased desirability of the offer as a favor, and in return are
inclined to return the favor by complying with the sales request
The TNA technique works primarily when consumers are in a state of mindlessness,
rather than mindfulness
Door-in-the-face (DITF) technique:
A large request (which will probably be rejected) is
followed by a more moderate target request.
That’s-not-all (TNA) technique:
An initial request is followed by a second request that is
made more desirable.
Beyond reciprocity
In order for a target individual to comply with a request, all the requester has to do is
simply ask for compliance
Influence agents systematically underestimate the intrinsic willingness of targets to
say “yes” to a request, regardless of its framing
It is only when the request becomes extremely large that the social costs no longer
outweigh the instrumental costs of acquiescence and hence rejection is the result
Product sample as reciprocity traps
o People are inclined to return something higher rather than lower in value than
what they have received
The principle of commitment/consistency
Commitment/consistency principle: The tendency to respond consistently.
o External and internal forces
Shopping momentum effect: The tendency to engage in repeated acts of purchasing
after an initial and unrelated act of buying.
Foot-in-the-door technique
Foot-in-the-door technique (FITD): Compliance with an initial, small request increases
the likelihood of compliance with a second, much larger request, because the initial act
of compliance triggers the principle of consistency.
It appears that for compliance with the second request to occur, consumers need to
“do” something first: it is not enough simply to agree with the initial request
Continuing Questions Procedure
The impact of the CQP was boosted by the nonverbal behavior the fundraiser
displayed
It is not the act of initial agreement per se that is the decisive factor in producing
compliance, but rather how much effort is required to accomplish the initial request
According to self-perception theory, people sometimes infer their attitudes from their
overt behavior, rather than vice versa
o Hence, after performing the initial request, consumers infer from their
behavior that “they must be the kind of person to comply with these kinds of
requests”
o Involvement with the initial request should be high rather than low
o The initial request should be performed rather than only agreed to
o The initial request should be of considerable size
o Congruence of initial and target request will also contribute to compliance with
the large request
o Individual differences in consistency needs
Lowball technique
Consistency pressures can also arise from the need to be consistent in one’s behavior
towards other people
Commitment can be felt toward the deal or offer that is the object of the influence
setting
Lowball technique: Soliciting commitment from customers with a particularly seductive
offer and then changing the deal for the worse. Commitment sets in when the initial
offer is presented.
For the commitment principle to be most effective, commitment should be active,
public, effortful, and freely chosen
Direct response advertising and product trials frequently prompt more active and
effortful responding
o Trigger a reciprocity response that is frequently accompanied by a cognitive
change as well: the victim tends to generative cognitions supportive of the
new behavior
Product samples generate new product knowledge on a first-hand basis
o Reciprocity and commitment
Commitment/consistency principle
The tendency to respond consistently.
o External and internal forces
Shopping momentum effect
The tendency to engage in repeated acts of purchasing
after an initial and unrelated act of buying
Foot-in-the-door technique (FITD)
Compliance with an initial, small request increases
the likelihood of compliance with a second, much larger request, because the initial act
of compliance triggers the principle of consistency.
Lowball technique
Soliciting commitment from customers with a particularly seductive
offer and then changing the deal for the worse. Commitment sets in when the initial
offer is presented.
The principle of social validation
Social validation principle: Turning an eye to others to assess the merits of some
object, issue, or offer.
Advertising uses this principle in appealing to consensus information and highlighting
the social dimension of consuming the product
Social validation should convince the target consumer that whatever is on offer can be
trusted to be of value
Social validation is particularly effective under conditions of ambiguity and
uncertainty, when consensus information is more readily accessible than more
“objective” forms of information
Reference groups
Reference group: A person or group of people that significantly influences an
individual’s behavior.
Reference groups act as agents of social proof because they communicate standards,
norms, beliefs, and values that are shared by significant others and thus can act as a
benchmark to determine what is right or wrong, what is good, what is valuable, and
how one should behave
Primary vs. secondary groups
When using a negative reference group, advertising cleverly portrays members of
groups to which the target consumer would not like to belong
Reference group
A person or group of people that significantly influences an
individual’s behavior.
Social validation principle
Turning an eye to others to assess the merits of some
object, issue, or offer.
Individual differences and social proof
Individualism vs. collectivism
Irrespective of nationality, commitment/consistency proved generally more influential
for participants who scored high on individualism, whereas social proof was most
influential for individuals who scored high on trait collectivism
Motivation and social validation
We view something as correct to the extent that we see others believing it or doing it
Three types of motivation that can affect persuasion:
o Defense motivation
o Impression motivation
o Accuracy motivation
Strong accuracy and impression motivations are likely to increase the impact of social
proof on beliefs, attitudes, and behavior
Consistent with the assumption that impression motives exert stronger influence on
public rather than private behavior, the negative reference group information was
more effective in public than private consumption settings
Membership groups and aspirational groups can exert considerable conformity
pressures on individual consumers, and can elicit delinquent behaviors for consumer
who would normally not consider these behaviors
Three types of motivation that can affect persuasion:
o Defense motivation
o Impression motivation
o Accuracy motivation
Values and lifestyles
Values and Life-Style typology (VALS)
o Claims to identify various groups of consumers along two axes, based on the
availability of resources and three types of orientation, namely principle,
status, and action orientation
o Principle-oriented consumer tend to act on the basis of their own personal
beliefs and values
o Status-oriented consumers have a strong impression motivation, are higher in
self-monitoring, and are primarily concerned with the beliefs and values of
others
o Action-oriented individuals are physically and socially active
Based on their responses to the 43 statements of the VALS, consumers are classified
into one of eight segments
o Actualizers
o Strugglers
o Fulfillers
o Believers
o Achievers
o Strivers
o Experiencers
o Makers
Using the taxonomy to match consumers to the type of advertising appeal to which
they are most susceptible in order to sell them the kind of product or service they are
most likely to be interested in
The principle of liking
Liking principle: We are more likely to comply with the request of someone we like than
someone we dislike or feel neutral towards.
The simplest and most effective of all influence principles
Becoming liked is not so hard, and is sometimes achieved by astonishingly small
means, at the disposal of even the most unsympathetic sales representative
Determinants of liking in social influence situations
Familiarity breeds liking
Friends are more powerful
sources of influence than strangers:
o Tupperware party
o Members-get-members campaigns; discounts for referring friends
o Asking the customer who refused the offer to suggest it to friends
Physical attractiveness
o Attractiveness halo
Similarity
o Name-letter effect: The tendency to have a positive predisposition to the letters
in one’s own name, especially the first and last initials.
o Pretending to share someone’s birthday, name, or fingerprint increased
compliance with requests
o Indirect associations; “basking in reflected glory”
o Using a “testimonial” or “slice of life” format in commercials
Ingratiation
o Flattery may also work through generalized positive mood that spills over to
whoever asks for a favor or presents a sales offer
o Flattery right before a purchase may elicit suspicion
Bringing good news
Liking principle
We are more likely to comply with the request of someone we like than
someone we dislike or feel neutral towards.
Name-letter effect:
The tendency to have a positive predisposition to the letters
in one’s own name, especially the first and last initials.
The principle of authority
Authority: The power to influence others into behaving in a certain manner either
through coercion or with the aid of status and position-related symbols.
Typically, authority comes with social dominance, and dominance is conveyed through
titles, specific items of clothing, or conspicuous products that impress others and
communicate a high rank in the social pecking order
Brands are associated with competence and status
Incidental exposure to brands suffices for hierarchization behavior to occur
Nonverbal submissive and dominant behavior patters are important contributors to
hierarchization
The mere presence of brands with specific salient attributes is sufficient to affect
nonverbal hierarchization behavior, without these brands playing any role of
significance in the interaction
Submissive nonverbal behavior in response to exposure to the competent brands was
more pronounced for individuals low in sociable dominance compared to individuals
high in dominance
Women, in their interaction with men, are more prone to respond to status cues, than
men in their interaction with women
Authority and obedience
Milgram obedience experiment
o 65% of participants were willing to deliver the maximum shock
o Milgram and his coworkers did not need to use coercion to get people to
deliver the deadly shock
Authority:
The power to influence others into behaving in a certain manner either
through coercion or with the aid of status and position-related symbols
Milgram obedience experiment
o 65% of participants were willing to deliver the maximum shock
o Milgram and his coworkers did not need to use coercion to get people to
deliver the deadly shock
The principle of scarcity
Principle of scarcity: Consumers value goods that are scarce.
Scarcity appeals are frequently used in advertising and marketing
o Luxury items
Sometimes, scarcity is created unintentionally when products are banned, something
that marketers may capitalize on
Time limits on availability and dwindling supplies may also be used to stir up scarcity
perceptions
Scarcity can be either supply driven or demand driven
The scarcity principle is used frequently in what is known as the deadline technique in
advertising when promoting “now or never” discounts, limited offers that suggest
exclusiveness and special editions of various products
The scarcity principle serves an important heuristic function
Scarcity instigates a tendency to form more extreme attitudes
Reactance theory suggests that as availability is reduced, we feel that we lose the
freedom to choose, which prompts a strong motivation to restore freedom
(“psychological reactance”)
Principle of scarcity:
Consumers value goods that are scarce.
The principle of confusion
Research has shown that slightly confusing consumers can increase their tendency to
comply with sales requests
Disrupt-then-Reframe (DTR) technique: A small twist, or odd element, in a typical
scripted request.
o E.g. “They’re 200 pennies, that’s 2$! It’s a really good deal.”
The disruption in the DTR reduces the ability of the target individual to produce
counterarguments in the response to the sales script
By distracting the target individual, the DTR technique would boost the impact of any
additional persuasive elements that happened to be present in that context
Because the disruption confuses consumers, it may motivate the need for cognitive
closure, resulting in increased compliance
Disrupt-then-Reframe (DTR) technique:
A small twist, or odd element, in a typical
scripted request.
o E.g. “They’re 200 pennies, that’s 2$! It’s a really good deal.”
Mindlessness revisited: the limited-resource account
Sequential request techniques essentially trigger one underlying psychological
mechanism that accounts for their impact: self-regulatory resource depletion
o Processes involving active self-control require resources that are finite; hence,
the active self can become depleted
A state of resource depletion increases the tendency to rely on simple heuristics for
decision-making
