Introduction

Why Influence?
Everyday
Modern
Definitions
Ethics I
Ethics II
Disciplines
Approach
Bad Info
Structure
Mindfulness
Mindlessness
6 Principles
Matrix
Cults I
Cults II
Cults III
Framing I
Framing II
Framing III
Framing IV
Framing V
Framing VI
Framing VII
Framing VIII
Bibliography

Links

Mindlessness

Here's a great experiment that demonstrates mindlessness:

Ellen Langer conducted the following brilliant, fascinating study. She conspired with her university librarian to shut down all but one of the photocopy machines in a busy wing of the library. This quickly resulted in a long line behind the single operating photocopy machine. Over the course of several days, Langer had confederates approach a person at the front of the line with a request to "cut" in line. The confederate's request was carefully worded in three different ways. In the first condition, the confederate said, "Excuse me, may I use the Xerox machine, because I'm late to class?" The form of this question, request + reason, resulted in a 94% compliance rate. In the second condition, a confederate asked, "Excuse me, may I use the Xerox machine?" The structure of this question, a request followed by no supporting reason, resulted in a much lower compliance rate of only 60%.

No surprises so far, right? You'd expect a person who gave a reason would get more help. Consider the various styles of panhandlers you've encountered. Were you more likely to help the fellow who said, "Hey buddy, gimme a dollar so I can buy a burger" or the one who said, simply, "Hey buddy, gimme a dollar?"
Social Influence Web Site  But this obvious conclusion wasn't what Langer was after. In order to demonstrate the truly mindless manner in which people operate, she added a third form of the request to the confederate's repertoire: "Excuse me, may I use the Xerox machine, because I have to make some copies?" What? "...because I have to make some copies?!" What kind of dumb reason is that? Why else would a person be at the copy machine if it weren't to make copies? But this bogus request matches the pattern of a legitimate request. And the response from the target is automatic. In this condition, the confederate gained compliance 93% of the time, just 1% less than with the legitimate request.

Heuristics are shortcuts for thinking. They are ways we can get out of a lot of thought, by employing only a very little. Influence practitioners are skilled at preying upon people who use heuristics. Robert Cialdini illustrates the nature of mindless, automatic responses with a description of the shrewd tactics of the saber-toothed blenny, a small fish that preys on aquatic predators much larger than itself.
 
L Quote"There is, for instance, a little fish, the saber-toothed blenny, that takes advantage of an unusual program of cooperation worked out by members of two other species of fish. The cooperating fish form a Mutt-and-Jeff team consisting of a larger grouper fish on the one hand and a much smaller type of fish on the other. The smaller fish serves as a cleaner to the larger one, which allows the cleaner to approach it and even enter its mouth to pick off fungus and other parasites that have attached themselves to the big fish's teeth or gills. It is a beautiful arrangement: The big grouper gets cleaned of harmful pests, and the cleaner fish gets an easy dinner. Normally, the larger fish devours any other small fish foolish enough to come close to it; but when the cleaner approaches, the big fish suddenly stops all movement and floats open-mouthed and nearly immobile in response to an undulating dance performed by the cleaner fish. This dance appears to be the trigger feature of the cleaner that activates the dramatic passivity of the big fish. It also provides the saber-toothed blenny with an angle--a chance to take advantage of the cleaning ritual of the cooperators. The blenny will approach the larger predator, copying the undulations of the cleaner's dance and automatically producing the tranquil, unmoving posture of the big fish. Then, true to its name, it will quickly rip a mouthful from the larger fish's flesh and dart away before its startled victim can recover." R Quote
 

Cialdini argues that humans respond mindlessly to trigger features as well, as the following story attests:
 
   A man in a Philadelphia hospital was suffering from multiple disorders, including an infected right ear. His physician wrote out an order for antibiotic drops to be placed in the man's ear by the nurse on duty. Unfortunately, the physician had poor handwriting, and abbreviated his instructions to the nurse by writing " . . . place 6 drops in R.ear." Misreading the note, and acting in a fashion sure to go down in the Mindlessness Hall of Fame, the nurse dutifully rolled the patient over and placed 6 drops of the ear medicine in his anus. Now, there's no known medicine that can correct an ear infection if administered anally. As a medical expert, the nurse knew this. But she mindlessly used the authority heuristic, which states that an expert knows what he's doing and should not be questioned.  

Now let me ask you a question. If you were going to spend your valuable, limited cognitive resources understanding either central or peripheral routes to persuasion, which would you choose?

You'd want to learn about heuristics, of course, since people operate in an "idling" mode most of the time. And for an understanding of the most fundamental and influential heuristic processes, there's no better starting point than Cialdini's 6 principles of influence . . .


Copyright © 1997 by Kelton Rhoads, Ph.D.
All rights reserved - Revised April 1999
www.influenceatwork.com

Adherance, advertise, advertising, arizona state, asae, astd, asu, attitude, chaldini, cialdini, communicate, communication, compliance, comply, conform, conformity, consult , consultant, consulting, executive education , executive program. Executive training, harvard, harvey mackay, iabc, inc. magazine, influence, influence at work, influencing, kelton rhoads, ken blanchard, law, leadership, leadership education, leadership training, legal, leigh bureau, management, managing, market research, marketing, michael hammer, motivation, mpi, negotiation, negotiations, pcma. Persuade, persuasion, persuasive, peter drucker, politics, principles of influence, psychological persuasion, psychological research, psychology, psychology of persuasion, public relations, rhoads, rhodes, robert cialdini, sales, science of persuasion, selling, social influence, social psychology, speaker, speaker bureau, speech, stanford, steven covey, tom peters, trainer, washington speaker's bureau, ypd.Adherance, advertise, advertising, arizona state, asae, astd, asu, attitude, chaldini, cialdini, communicate, communication, compliance, comply, conform, conformity, consult , consultant, consulting, executive education , executive program. Executive training, harvard, harvey mackay, iabc, inc. magazine, influence, influence at work, influencing, kelton rhoads, ken blanchard, law, leadership, leadership education, leadership training, legal, leigh bureau, management, managing, market research, marketing, michael hammer, motivation, mpi, negotiation, negotiations, pcma. Persuade, persuasion, persuasive, peter drucker, politics, principles of influence, psychological persuasion, psychological research, psychology, psychology of persuasion, public relations, rhoads, rhodes, robert cialdini, sales, science of persuasion, selling, social influence, social psychology, speaker, speaker bureau, speech, stanford, steven covey, tom peters, trainer, washington speake