SOCIAL INFLUENCE WEEK 1
HOOFDSTUK 1 – WEAPONS OF INFLUENCE
Fixed-action patterns = Intricate sequences of behavior, such as entire courtship or mating rituals. A fundamental
characteristic of these patterns is that the behaviors comprising them occur in virtually the same fashion and
in the same order every time. It is activated by a trigger feature.
Trigger feature = One tiny aspect of the totality that is the approaching intruder. Could be a shade of color, or a
sound, etc.
Automatic, stereotyped behavior is prevalent in much human action, because in many cases, it is the most efficient
form of behaving, and in other cases it is simply necessary.
Judgmental heuristics = A number of mental shortcuts that we employ in making our everyday judgements
(expensive = good, ‘if an expert said so, it must be true’).
Automatic (Click, whirr) responding = The tendency to respond mechanically to one piece of information in a
situation.
Controlled responding = The tendency to react on the basis of a thorough analysis of all of the information. People
are more likely to deal with information in a controlled fashion when they have both the desire and the
ability to analyze it carefully.
Mimics = One group of organisms who copy the trigger features of other animals in an attempt to trick these animals
into mistakenly playing the right behavior tapes at the wrong times. The mimics then exploit this altogether
inappropriate action for their own benefit.
Humans too have profiteers who mimic trigger features for our own brand of automatic responding. Our tapes
usually develop from psychological principles or stereotypes we have learned to accept. In the eye of others, each
such principle is a detectable and ready weapon of automatic influence.
Contrast principle = Affects the way we see the difference between two things that are presented one after another.
If the second item is fairly different from the first, we will tend to see it as more different than it actually is.
HOOFDSTUK 7 – INSTANT INFLUENCE
Modern life is different from any earlier time. Because of remarkable technological advances, information is
burgeoning, choices and alternatives are expanding, knowledge is exploding. In this avalanche of change and choice,
we have had to adjust. One fundamental adjustment has come in the way we make decisions. Although we all wish
to make the most thoughtful, fully considered decision possible in any situation, the changing form and accelerating
pace of modern life frequently deprive us of the proper conditions for such a careful analysis of aal the relevant pros
and cons.
We employ the factors of reciprocation, consistency, social proof, liking, authority, and scarcity so often and so
automatically in making our compliance decisions. Each, by itself, provides a highly reliable cue as to when we will be
better off saying yes instead of no. We are likely to use these lone cues when we don’t have the inclination, time,
energy, or cognitive resources to undertake a complete analysis of the situation.
Because of the increasing tendency for cognitive overload in our society, the prevalence of shortcut decision making
is likely to increase proportionately. Compliance professionals who infuse their requests with one or another of the
triggers of influence are more likely to be successful. The use of these triggers by practitioners is not necessarily
exploitative. It only becomes so when the trigger is not a natural feature of the situation but is fabricated by the
practitioner. In order to retain the beneficial character of shortcut response, it is important to oppose such
fabrication by all appropriate means.
ARTIKEL 1 – FLUENCY AND SOCIAL INFLUENCE
Over the last couple of decades, numerous studies have shown that the experience of ease or difficulty in generating
thoughts, generating images, processing information, or making a decision, can have a profound influence on
judgments and behavior.
, Fluency-familiarity-truth = To infer a norm, people draw on the experience of familiarity, but are insensitive to
where this fluency experience comes from. Hence, their perceptions may often be faulty and driven by fluency
variables that are unrelated to the actual frequency of the relevant opinion or behaviour. Frequent repetition and
design qualities can increase the influence of a message beyond its effect on attention and retention. Variables that
facilitate fluent processing (repetition, contrasting background, rhyme) create the impression tat a statement is true.
The link between fluency, familiarity, and risk perception has many practical implications. In certain domains, risk is
valued. For instance, in river rafting, bungee jumping, parachuting, or hang gliding, the value of the experience
comes from its unpredictable nature. In such cases, disfluency experiences may highlight the promise of adventure
and excitement. In other domains, however, such as insurance and food, risk is undesirable. Hence, using novel and
interesting but difficult to pronounce names can have a backfire effect.
Th e experience of fluency in creating mental images also affects how we estimate the likelihood of undertaking
specific actions, such as purchasing a product or helping a victim. The more difficult it is to imagine the behavior, the
less likely we think we are to engage in it. When it is difficult to imagine the action in question, hypothetical
questions will reduce its likelihood.
The experience of fluency can dramatically change one’s perceptions of the amount of eff ort it would take to
complete the task. If we want people to adopt a new behavior, it is important that our recommendation is not only
conceptually clear and easy to follow, but also perceptually easy to process. The goal to present the information in a
unique and stylistically interesting way often leads to adopting a unique, but difficult-to-process message.
From a fluency perspective, the experience of difficulty in making a choice can have substantial negative effects. It
can create decision paralysis and choice deferral, lower satisfaction with the decision process, cause people to switch
to a different option later, and reduce motivation and commitment to implement the choice.
Mere exposure effect = One of the best known fluency effects. The more often we see an object, the more we like it.
From a fluency perspective, repeated exposure is just one of many variables that facilitate fluent processing.
Fluency influences how we think in different ways:
Serving as a source of information.
Changing how information is represented and processed.
SOCIAL INFLUENCE WEEK 2
HOOFDSTUK 4 – SOCIAL PROOF
Principle of social proof = This principle states that we determine what is correct by finding out what other people
think is correct. The principle applies especially to the way we decide what constitutes correct behavior. We
view a behavior as correct in a given situation to the degree that we see others performing it. The principle
of social proof works on uncertainty and similarity.
In general, when we are unsure of ourselves, when the situation is unclear or ambiguous, when uncertainty reigns,
we are most likely to look to and accept the actions of others as correct. Another way that uncertainly develop sis
through lack of familiarity with a situation. Under such circumstances, people are especially likely to follow the lead
of others there.
Pluralistic ignorance = The failure of entire groups of bystanders to aid victims in agonizing need of help. Reasons
why a bystander to an emergency will be unlikely to help when there are a number of other bystanders present:
With several potential helpers around, the personal responsibility of each individual is reduced.
Very often an emergency is not obviously an emergency. In times of such uncertainty, the natural tendency
is to look around at the actions of others for clues. We can learn from the way the other witnesses are
reacting whether the event is or is not an emergency. What is easy to forget is that everybody else observing
the event is likely to be looking for social evidence too. Therefore everyone is likely to see everyone else
looking unruffled and failing to act.
