Week 5 Flashcards
What is scarcity?
Things are more valuable when they are rare, hard to get, or might be taken from us.
What are the types of scarcity?
Amount (low stock)
Time (limited sales)
Perceived (artificial scarcity, ostracism)
Why does scarcity work?
Acts as a heuristic (mental shortcut)
Increases perceived value
Creates urgency (FOMO)
Boosts self-esteem
What did Burger & Caldwell (2011) study about uniqueness?
People comply more when they believe an opportunity is rare or they have uncommon eligibility.
What was the Rare Beef Study (Knishinsky, 1982)?
Supermarkets were told about a limited supply of imported beef. Scarcity condition led to six times higher purchases.
How does scarcity affect compliance?
Increases perceived value
Creates urgency (less time to process info)
Makes decisions feel more important
What was the Taco Bell Study (Brannon & Brock, 2001)?
Scarcity made people more thoughtful—strong arguments worked better under high scarcity.
How does scarcity fit into the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)?
Low thought: scarcity acts as a heuristic
High thought: scarcity increases scrutiny
Moderate thought: biases information processing
What is the bidirectional relationship of scarcity and value?
Scarcity increases perceived value, High value makes things seem scarce
What is social proof?
People determine what is correct by finding out what other people think is correct.
What is informational influence?
The influence of others on our beliefs and behavior because we assume they know better.
Why does compassion matter in social influence?
Compassion can increase compliance and positive behaviors
What is social comparison theory?
We compare ourselves to others to evaluate how well we are doing.
Who do we compare ourselves to?
We compare ourselves to the people around us, such as through customer reviews or social media followers.
What was the outcome of the donations study?
People were more likely to donate if presented with a list of previous donors (43%) versus no list (25%).
When is social proof most effective?
Social proof is most effective when there is uncertainty or ambiguity about the right choice.
How did the tone and language of the letter in the lost wallet study influence behavior?
People were more likely to return the wallet if the letter was in standard American English and supportive.
How did cultural background affect compliance in the marketing study?
People from collectivist cultures (Poland) were more influenced by group norms, while individualistic cultures (USA) cared more about personal choice.
How can group membership influence compliance?
People may comply with a request to express or promote their group membership, even if it goes against norms.
How did social proof affect cigarette disposal in the study?
People were more likely to dispose of their cigarette butts properly when they saw a sign indicating that most smokers did the same.
How did “voting” influence compliance in the cigarette disposal study?
The “Vote Cat or Dog” sign led to fewer cigarette butts being discarded on the ground (23.3%).
What is reverse social proof?
When people are influenced by the group to express their membership or comply with group preferences.
